E-Newsletter

Summer update

Posted on July 5 2024 by Aaldert Prins

Evadoc Newsletter Summer 2024

Table of Contents

Game on!
To Bridge a Gap!
Joni & Friends Europe
Prague
Anglican Heritage
Acquisitions
Transfer archives?
Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Game on!

When this newsletter is published, the European Men’s Football Championship and the Tour de France are in full swing, and the Summer Olympics are about to start. The 2025 Heritage Day in the Flemish Community has an intriguing theme, ‘Game On!’, which may not immediately connect with the heritage of the Protestant-Evangelical communities. However, there are fascinating connections to be explored. For instance, For example, you can find discussions and positions about sports on Sundays in archives. Pigeon racing was also not acceptable to everyone. Not so much because of the sport itself but because of consuming alcohol in the pigeon racing cafés.

This year marks exactly 15 years since the non-profit organization Evadoc was founded. A good service has been established thanks to a collaboration protocol with KADOC-KU Leuven, and a lot of material has already been collected about the Protestant-Evangelical presence in our region. In addition to preserving and making archives accessible, we collect publications such as books and magazines. Currently, the Evadoc collection within KADOC includes over 1,200 titles. The oldest work dates back to 1808; the newest was published this year. The Protestant-Evangelical community in our country can be somewhat compared to a quilt, composed of many different pieces of fabric in various colors and materials. This diversity is reflected, among other things, in the languages of the publications in the Evadoc collection: more than half are in Dutch, about 35% in French, and around 7% in English. German, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, and Swahili are also represented. Some works are even written in multiple languages. As an Evadoc expert within KADOC for Protestant-Evangelical and Anglican heritage, I consider it a sport to work with you to expand the collection of archives and publications further. This way, interested parties, and researchers can use these sources to find answers to their questions about these faith communities in our regions. Please feel free to contact us if you wish to contribute material.

To Bridge a Gap

On October 1, 2023, the three-year KADOC heritage project ‘To Bridge a Gap,’ funded by the Flemish government, was launched. This project focuses on the tangible and intangible heritage of the Sub-Saharan communities and documents their migration from the Brussels-Capital Region to Flanders. Since many of these communities identify as Protestant Evangelical, KADOC relies on Evadoc’s expertise for this project. In the first project year, work is being done in the Aalst-Ninove-Denderleeuw region, where over 20 international or migrant church communities have emerged since the beginning of the 21st century. More information can be found on the special project page.

Joni & Friends Europe

Students from the Evangelical Theological Faculty-Leuven regularly do internships with us. This spring, Marjolein Dernison spent seven weeks delving into the history of Joni & Friends-Europe (JAF-Europe), which was based in Brussels from 1993-2000. This European branch of a larger organization, founded in 1979 by the American Joni Eareckson-Tada, focuses on people with disabilities and combines practical assistance with evangelism. Marjolein studied the JAF-Europe archive, which has been donated to the non-profit organization Evadoc, and interviewed several involved individuals. Based on her research and interviews, she wrote an article about JAF-Europe. We will inform you as soon as it is published.

Prague

At the end of August, the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA), together with two other organizations, is organizing a conference on the identity of the evangelical movement in contemporary Europe. This theme was chosen in response to the fact that 50 years ago, a committee led by Billy Graham organized an International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. The resulting ‘Lausanne Movement’ has spread worldwide. The conference in Prague will include a retrospective on the evolution of the evangelical movement in Europe from 1974 to the present. Aaldert Prins will give a presentation on the European Evangelical Alliance archive, which has been entrusted to the care of Evadoc and stored at KADOC-KU Leuven. This will provide an excellent opportunity to establish new contacts and deepen existing ones, and to work together to care for the evangelical movement’s heritage in Europe.

Anglican Heritage

A practical training session on the heritage of the Anglican community will be held at Saint Boniface Church in Antwerp on Saturday, October 19, 2024. The initiators are the Central Committee for the Anglican Church in Belgium, KADOC, and Parcum. As the Evadoc expert within KADOC for Protestantism and Anglicanism, Aaldert Prins will discuss the care of documentary heritage. This link provides the registration form and more information about this fascinating bilingual (English-Dutch) event.

Acquisitions

Traditionally, we also use this channel to let you know about the most significant acquisitions in the past months.

Archives

A new archive entrusted to our care is the Eglise Protestante Evangélique Bruxelles-Woluwe. This church community’s website has a brief historical overview dating back to 1978.

Through Henk Lutjeharms, we have received the personal archives of Prof. Dr. W. Lutjeharms and Karel Blommaert. We will certainly revisit this in future newsletters. While collecting the last boxes of archives and documentation, the conversation turned to the portable organs often used by Protestant and Evangelical communities during activities in squares and markets. One such organ, which still plays, was quickly brought out. It is wonderful that this heritage is also being preserved for future generations.

Another acquisition is the archive of the Belgian Gideons (1957-2023). The Gideons originated in the United States, where in 1899, three traveling salesmen took the initiative to make a Bible available in all American hotels and motels. In the run-up to Expo ’58, this organization also came to Belgium. In addition to the still-active Gideons International, the non-profit Belgian Gideons was established. The archive of this organization, which was dissolved in 2023, provides a good insight into its operations, governance, and extensive network through numerous board reports, annual reports, correspondence, and a large number of order forms.

Publications

The following new titles have been added to our book collection in recent months:

  • Raymond Hausoul, Gids voor vergeving
  • Cheryl Crane – God overwinnaar
  • The Gospel of Marc in a new Flemish translation
  • Gerrit Vink, Oog in oog met Elia
  • Gottlieb Blokland, Ik ben een vreemdeling geweest; Evangelische gemeenten en migratie
  • Kelly Keasberry, Geworteld in verbinding – Een ecologische theologie voor de toekomst
  • Johan Temmerman, Verboden kennis; De andere kant van de westerse cultuur

In addition, we have also received many older titles. Here is a small selection:

  • Stack of French-language children’s books from publisher Le Phare
  • Daniël Walraed, Wie was toch die Abraham Hans?
  • Sous le Drapeau, magazine of the protestant chaplaincy service in the Belgian army
  • De Torenwachter, the magazine of the Dutch-speaking Protestant schools in Belgium
  • Entre Nous – Mission Méthodiste
  • Vuur, Bulletin voor charismatische theologie

 

Transfer archives?

It is possible to deposit archives at Evadoc. If you give it to us for safekeeping, we will keep and manage your records, but you will retain ownership. This means, for example, that we will always ask your permission if someone wants to consult something from your archives. The other option is a donation. We then not only take care of the storage and management, but also deal with consultation requests. General guidelines for transferring paper or digital archives can be found here and here [links available only in Dutch]. For specific questions or further information, please contact Aaldert Prins.

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