General Board of Religious Education (GBRE) fonds—1895-1975, 1995.

Extent of Material:
18.28 m of textual records and other materials.
Administrative History:

The General Board of Religious Education (GBRE) Committee (1918-1967) came into existence by the enactment of Canon VII at the 8th General Synod in September 1918.  Its mandate was to study the educational needs of the church in respect of primary and secondary education and of all Sunday School work, and to recommend such measures as it may deem advisable and to advance the cause of religious education in the schools.   This does not generally include Indian Residential Schools.

The GBRE was divided into I. Educational Section  for parish needs, teacher training, and religious education in public schools; and II. Editorial and Supplies Section.  Other residual programs were the Sunday School by Post and Radio, the Sunday School Caravan Mission, and the Anglican Young People’s Association (AYPA).

The GBRE was run by the General Secretary:

  • Robert Arthur Hiltz (1877-1955), 1910-1950
  • Arthur Harding Priest (1892-1958), 1950-1958
  • Kenneth Howard Michael Creal (1927- ), 1958-1965
  • Thomas David Somerville (1915-2011), 1965-1966
  • Jefferson, Philip Clarke (1928-2012), 1966-1973

The GBRE was preceded by Inter-Diocesan Sunday School Committee and the Sunday School Commission of the Church of England in Canada.  In 1967 the GBRE Committee was dismantled and the Department of Religious Education became a section in the Programme Department at the General Synod.

Scope and Content:

Fonds consists of reports, minutes, legal documents, correspondence, financial records, printed materials, graphic materials and audio-visual materials.

Fonds organized into the following series:

  • Series 1. Inter-Diocesan Sunday School Committee, 1889-1904
  • Series 2. Sunday School Committee of the General Synod of the Church of England in Canada, 1905-1908
  • Series 3. Sunday School Commission of the Church of England in Canada, 1908-1918
  • Series 4. General Board of Religious Education, 1918-1967
  • Series 5. Anglican Young People’s Association, 1902-1967
  • Series 6. Periodicals, 1883-1971
  • Series 7. Pamphlet and Printed Materials, 1910-1967
  • Series 8. Curriculum and Text books, 1926-1967
  • Series 9: Illustrated Materials and Picture Rolls, [192-?]-1965
Finding Aids:
Finding aids available.
General Notes:

Most of the graphic and audiovisual material from the AYPA

Repository:
Anglican Church of Canada. General Synod Archives.
Personal Names:
Creal, Kenneth Howard Michael, 1927-
Hiltz, Robert Arthur, 1877-1955
Jefferson, Philip Clarke, 1928-2012
Priest, Arthur Harding, [c.1892]-1958
Somerville, Thomas David, 1915-2011
Corporate Names:
Anglican Young People’s Association
Sunday School Caravan Mission
Anglican Church of Canada. Department of Religious Education
Subjects:
Religious Education
Accession numbers:
GS75-104, GS2012-16, M2006-05, P7527, P8447, P8804, P2007-04, P2011-05, AV 8608

Please contact the Archives for more information on this record.