Collection 724 Margery E. Dickinson Papers

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: CN 724

Staff Only

Brief Description

This collection consists of Dickinson's prayer letters to her supporters; copies of "Gleaning's for God's Servants," the newsletters of the counseling ministry of the Bible Clubs Movement (BCM), and oral history interviews with Dickinson. The materials describe her background, education, and decades of ministry in the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo forming Bible clubs, training Bible club teachers, preparing curricula for the clubs, and providing counseling services for BCM missionaries and others in the United States and Congo.

Dates

1965-2021

Creator

Dickinson, Margery E. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Two brief segments of Tape 3 are closed to users until October 26, 2071. No audio files or transcripts of these segments will be available for researchers before that date. Researchers may use an edited version of T3 from which these segments have been removed.

Conditions Governing Use

The donor retains all intellectual rights to the following articles in the newsletter Gleanings in folder 1-4, including the right to publish. The donor does give permission to others to quote from Gleanings provide they attribute the quotations from the Gleanings newsletters.The articles are:

November 1992. Theme of living a Biblically balanced life, part 1

January 1993. part 2

November 1993. Dealing with Death and Grieving, part 1

January 1994. Dealing with Death and Grieving, part 2

January 1995. Growing Older, part 1

March 1995. Growing older, part 2

March 1996. The Power of Prayer

March 1998. When Things Change

September 1999. Burning the Candle at Both Ends

January 2003. Spiritual lessons from H.C. Anderson’s parable

May 2005. The Importance of Encouraging Word

Biographical

FULL NAME: Margery Elsie Livingston Dickinson

BIRTH: 1940 in Petoskey, Michigan

FAMILY:

PARENTS: David Eugene and Beryle May (Herrington) Livingston

SIBLINGS: 1 brother, 15 months younger

MARITAL STATUS: Married in 2005 to Albert Hugh Dickinson

CONVERSION: Starting at the age of 15 while at a Baptist summer camp, she had continuing struggle with her faith until received assurance of salvation while in college

EDUCATION:

1958-1962 Bachelor of Science with honors in elementary education, Taylor University, Upland, Indiana

Ca.1965 Columbia Bible College Graduate School, Columbia, South Carolina

1969-1970 Attended the Centre Chretien d’Enseignement du Francais, a language school in Albertville, France from September to June

1970 Language course at the Sorbonne in Paris from July to August

1970 Bible course in French at the Emmaus Bible School in St.Legier sur Vevey, Switzerland from September to December

1980 Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya Courses in Cross Cultural studies

1981-1983 Master of Arts with high honors, Wheaton College, Illinois. Received a Billy Graham Center Scholarship

1989 West Chester University, West Chester, PA Course in Statistics and Abnormal Psychology

CAREER:

Ca. 1959-1961 Camp counselor during the summers at Jack and Jill Bible Club Camp

1962-1964 Teacher of the third grade in Waterford (Michigan) School Systems. During the summer was counselor and waterfront director at Jack and Jill Bible Club Camp

1965-1969 Educational missionary, county director Bible Club Movement International (BCM), Union County, New Jersey

1969-1970 Educational missionary BCM International, Albertville and Paris, France

1970-1981 Educational missionary, technician in Watsa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Joint appointment with BCM and Africa Inland Mission. Organized Bible clubs, trained teachers, translated education materials; held Bible camps

1983-1984 Counselor, therapist BCM International/Africa Inland Mission International Amani Counseling Center, Nairobi, Kenya,

1984 Taught pastoral counseling at Bunia Theological Seminary, Congo

1985-1997 Organizer, director counseling department, counselor, consultant BCM International, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania

1986-1995 Psychological testing and assessment of BCM mission candidates

1990-retirement Professional certification: licensed psychologist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

1995-1997 Organizer/facilitator Missions and Mental Health-East, Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania

1998-2000 organizer, director BCM member care ministries

2000-2007 BCM member care ministries, consultant

2001-2007 Fundraiser, facilitator printing and distribution of Christian literature in the Democratic Republic of Congo

OTHER SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION: Member of American Psychological Association (associate), Midwest Member Care Network (charter), Christian Therapists Bible Study, Association North America Missions, American Association of Christian Counselors

Extent

3 Sound Recordings : 398 minutes

1 document case : .5 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement and Description of Materials

The collection consists of two series: I. Oral History interviews and II. Paper records.

I. Oral history interviews: Interviews of Dickinson in 2021 by Bob Shuster of the Archives staff.

T1 - Family background, childhood, conversion, education at Taylor University and Columbia Bible College, joining BCM and working in New Jersey; going to the Congo on a joint appointment with BCM and Africa Inland Mission. For more information, see the item description of this recording.

T2 - Continuation of T1. Work in the Congo starting Bible clubs and training teachers; memories of Bessie Traber; the church in Congo. For more information, see the item description of this recording.

T3 - Beginning a counseling ministry for BCM missionaries, her counseling education from the Wheaton Graduate School, counseling missionaries in Congo and the United States; development of her own faith and prayer life. For more information, see the item description of this recording.

II. Paper Records.

(Folder 1-4 means box 1, folder 4.)

This series includes more than four decades of Dickinson's prayer letters and e-mails and almost two decades of the "Gleanings for Gods' Servants," a newsletter from BCM counseling ministry.

Dickinson's prayer letters in folders 1-1, 1-2 and 1-3 were mimeographed or printed bulletins for her supporters and friends describing her monthly activities, achievements, challenges, and prayer needs. They give a complete picture of her ministry and the general work of BCM, which provided Bible training for children and youth. There are also a few general BCM newsletters among these and prayer letters from other BCM missionaries. Occasionally there are also newsletters of other BCM missionaries and activates. Folder 1981 contains a 1987 one-page summary of her educational and ministry experience up to that point. Even after her return to the United States in 1985, her prayer letters continued to contain reports on BCM activities in the Congo, especially of her BCM colleague Longboyo Anyamvoko (see spring 1996, December 1998, May 2017). Folder 1-2 contains information on the start of member-care ministry for BCM workers, which continued Dickinson's counseling activities. She also periodically visited Congo again and described these visits in her bulletins. Folder 1-2 also contains information about her marriage to Rev. Hugh Dickinson. Almost all the bulletins in folder 1-3 are e-mail messages.

Folder 1-4 contains what seems to be a complete set of the "Gleanings for God's Servants" newsletter. This was issued by the counseling department of BCM, later the members-care department. The newsletter was edited by Donna Culver for its entire existence, and Margery Livingston Dickinson served as the advising psychologist for the publication from 1991 until 2022. There is a January 3, 2002, e-mail describing her work with the newsletter. The newsletter contained some news but it was mainly concerned with advice and tips for dealing with stress, burnout, marital conflict, and other psychological issues.