The Abigail Rian Evans Manuscript Collection, Part I

The Abigail Rian Evans Manuscript Collection has been grouped into a logical arrangement of nine major series and associated subseries, documenting her professorial, ministerial, public speaking, bioethical, and writing careers. The collection contains considerable amounts of material on Abigail Rian Evans’ interest in the relationship between bioethics and ministry.

Series I: Personal and Biographical (Box 1-11) This series is arranged into seven subseries. Subseries A, contains educational information, including time spent at Columbia University, Georgetown University, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Subseries B, contains information regarding general employment. Subseries C, contains material related to Evans’ extensive time in Brazil (1959-1964 & 1966-1967) including materials in Portuguese. Subseries D, contains materials from time at Broadway Presbyterian Church and Columbia University as an employee. Subseries E, contains information regarding Evans’ time as an employee of Princeton Theological Seminary both as a professor and director of field education. Subseries F, is correspondence. Subseries G, contains miscellaneous personal and biographical information including personal affects and photographs.

Series II: Course Material (Box 12-53) Series II, contains course materials from when Evans’ was a professor of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological seminary. Notable topics include: biomedical ethics, pastoral care of older adults, and the connection of spirituality and health.

Series III: Speeches, Addresses, Lectures (Box 54-58) Series III has two subseries. Subseries A, contains various speeches, addresses, lectures, and conference materials from 1973-2010. Subjects of these include: health ministries and older adult ministries. Subseries B, is specifically devoted to the Bangkok Conference, which Evans participated in during the year 1973.

Series IV: Sermons/Liturgical (59-66) Series IV is separated in five subseries. Series A is the longest and contains 4 boxes of sermons in alphabetical order. This series also includes sermon preparation materials. Series B contains liturgies for worship. Series C and D are in the one box and contain materials for services, worship, prayers, and devotionals. Series E contains order of service from services that Evans participated in and those she attended.

Series V: Published Material (Box 67-72) Series V contains extensive background information that Evans used while writing her books. Some draft copies of chapters are included in this series but much of what is present is background material. The readers of this series will note that some materials are marked as “used” and “not used”, which indicates the materials that were included in her published works and those that were not.

Series VI: Bible Studies (73-74) Series VI contains series of Bible studies and information pertaining to Bible studies.

Series VII: Bioethics and Health Ministry (75-96) Series VII contains extensive resources from Evans’ research on bioethics and health ministry. Background content is presented in the forms of papers, articles, and assessments. Notable topics include health and healing, science as it pertains to health and healing, ethics (particularly within the realm of medicine and the church), the church’s role in healing, genetics, and substance abuse.

Series VIII: Additional Subject Files (97-108) Series VIII is separated into fourteen subseries. Series subjects in order are: Cailliet (Subseries A), Campus Ministry(Subseries B), Continuing Education(Subseries C), Domestic Violence(Subseries D), Jesus Movement(Subseries E), Kennedy Institute(Subseries F), National Capitol Health (Subseries G), North Presbyterian Church(Subseries H), Old Adult Ministries(Subseries I), Pornography(Subseries J), Sects and Cults(Subseries K), Women’s Issues(Subseries L), Worship Training(Subseries AM), other subject files(Subseries N). Subseries I (Old Adult Ministries) is the longest of the subseries, spanning five boxes.

Series IX: Electronic Media (109-110) Series IX contains CD, VHS tapes, and cassette tapes of lectures, class materials, personal videos, studies, and documentaries. Some materials are created by Evans, others are by different creators.