It is Reading Day break here at Trinity Christian College. That means that yesterday and today, most faculty and many students are off campus. It’s very quiet in my building this morning. I’m getting caught up on projects and grading.
Last weekend I attended the Conference on Faith and History (CFH) Biennial Meeting. It was held at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. One of my students presented at the undergraduate conference. I participated in a roundtable discussion of “Biography and the Search for Meaning.” It was a fascinating session; I learned how Christian historians are approaching the writing of biographies of Americans as diverse as John Jay, Elizabeth Ann Seaton, and Sojourner Truth. The conference also made it possible for me to have a brief conversation with Margaret Bendroth, who wrote a book on Congregationalism that I read for this project and who directs the Congregational Library and Archives in Boston. You’ll remember that Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up in Congregational churches during the 1870s and 1880s. The Congregational Library has some materials that I hope to look at, either by traveling there next summer or by getting them to scan them for me. It was also very good to see a number of old friends, including Jared Burkholder, Jay Case, John Fea, Jay Green, Brad Gundlach, Jim Hommes, Eric Miller, Steven Keillor, David Zwart.
This fall I have been very busy with my work as an Academic Dean. I’ve been struggling to keep working at least some each week on Wilder’s faith. I’ve started writing chapter 4. I’ve also spoken to several members of our Psychology department about resources on childhood spiritual formation, since I’m writing the sections of the book on Laura’s childhood. Finally, I’m considering whether to propose a presentation for LauraPalooza 2019, which will be held in Wisconsin.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Links:
2018 Conference on Faith and History and the Program
My blog post on The Last Puritans by Margaret Bendroth
The Congregational Library and Archives
LauraPalooza 2019 Call for Papers
The Faith of Laura Ingalls Wilder 
The conference and panel sounded very interesting, particularly related to the Congregational Church history based in Boston. I hope you’ll be able to delve into the “Youth’s Companion” newspapers that Laura refers to so often in the books; it was also a publication of the Congregational denomination and featured popular authors like Louisa May Alcott.
I’ve been reading Dr. Thomas Kidd’s (Baylor Univ.) early Baptist histories and biographies of colonial Americans, particularly George Whitefield and the Great Awakening. Lots of overlap (and conflict!) with the Congregationalists.
Have a great school year and keep posting on your Laura research!
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