CHICAGO, IL (September 4, 2014) — Anyone interested in the Covenant’s early history in Alaska can now access online the English- and Swedish-language diaries and logbooks kept by the denomination’s missionaries between 1893 to 1915.
The writings are the latest addition to digital documents available through the F. M. Johnson Archives and Special Collections at North Park University, says interim director Anna-Kajsa Anderson. Some of the Swedish-language documents have been translated into English.
The Covenant’s mission work began in Alaska in 1889 through Axel E. Karlson, whose diaries are part of the collection. The mission work began just four years after the denomination was founded in 1885.
“These journals provide a glimpse into the life and work of early missionaries, particularly those in Unalakleet and Golovin Bay,” said Anderson.
Curtis Ivanoff, field director for the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska, said he had never seen the documents and was thrilled that they are now available. “This is like saying, ‘Here is a bag of gold, it can be found at the following link….’!”
