Series Description

Series 1: Biographical and Family Records, 1948–2006, 3.5 cu. ft.
  This series includes biographical material, loose and framed photographs, Claypool’s earned and honorary degrees, and honoraria.  Of interest is a 1948 letter from Claypool’s pastor and a copy of a photograph of Claypool and Martin Luther King Jr. that ran in a local newspaper in 1961.  These records are intellectually arranged in chronological order, but in some cases (due to size) materials have been housed in separate, oversize boxes, which is noted in the Inventory of Holdings.
 
Series 2: Sermons, Addresses, and Lectures in Print, c.1959–2005, 8.6 cu. ft.
  The Sermon series is comprised of approximately 1,500 pieces dating from 1959 to 2005. The collection has been divided into subseries to distinguish JRC’s sermons from his other addresses; to maintain the bound volumes of JRC sermons; to gather the sermons by other preachers that JRC collected; and to recognize the indexes and titles, which cover some but not all of the years of his preaching.  Roughly 15% of the printed sermons and addresses are found in the audio recordings series and ten sermons are found in the video recordings.  Arranged chronologically.
 
Series 3: Correspondence, 1982–2011, 3 cu. ft.
  Much of the correspondence in this series has to do with Claypool’s cancer diagnosis and his subsequent illness and death, and is not exclusively addressed to Claypool.  Letters are also addressed to Claypool’s wife, Ann and to the two jointly.  Post-September 2005 (after Claypool’s death) correspondence is addressed to Ann Claypool, with a subseries dedicated to condolences she received in 2005.  The series also includes a subseries of correspondence from parishes where Claypool worked or was called to work.  Of note is correspondence from authors including Barbara Brown Taylor and Fred Buechner, and from public figures such as President George Bush and Tipper and Al Gore.  Correspondence with clergy includes Archbishop George Carey, Peter Gomes and Bishop Girault Jones.  Arranged chronologically.
 
Series 4: Publications and Collected Works, 1959, 1964–2008, 2 cu. ft.
  The series features books authored by Claypool: both the English language original editions, and translations  in several foreign languages.  Also included are pieces Claypool wrote for newspapers, school newsletters, and magazines.  Of note is an Anglican Digest article regarding sexuality and women.  Claypool’s 1959 doctoral thesis from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is here.  Among the collected works is the  sheet music for “You Are Being Redeemed,” for which Claypool wrote the lyrics in the 1960s.  A regular column entitled “Letters to the Parish,” are pieces written by Claypool as rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham for their Dialogue newsletter (1987–2000).  Claypool described the newsletter as his way of using the medium of the printed word to weekly “bless, inform and inspire” his parishioners.  Arranged chronologically.
 
Series 5: Clippings, 1947–2006, .3 cu. ft.
  Newspaper and magazine clippings about Claypool.  Arranged chronologically.
 
Series 6: Publicity, 1972–2009, .6 cu. ft.
  Consists of publicity items such as pamphlets, flyers and invitations pertaining to Claypool’s speaking engagements; also book reviews and publicity for Claypool’s books.  Arranged chronologically.
 
Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1952–1990, .4 cu. ft.
  Five numbered scrapbooks contain mostly news clippings, leaflets and flyers regarding Claypool’s speaking engagements and accomplishments, and follow a chronological order from book to book.  Of interest is a poem to Claypool from a fourth grade student and clippings from the early years of his ministry.
 
Series 8: Collected Artwork, 1983, 1986, 2000, .4 cu. ft.
  The series consists of three items, including a small portrait sketch of Claypool and a larger oil portrait.  A sketch of Mt. Rushmore, incorporating Claypool, offers a humorous take on the “Famous Americans.”
 
Series 9: Audio and Video Recordings, 1976–2009, 6.8 cu. ft.
  The series consists of 871 cassette tapes, 55 VHS tapes, 38 CDs, and 10 DVDs, and is arranged in four separate sub-series. The majority of the cassette tapes are sermons from various locations but especially the churches in which he served.  Audio recordings include Claypool’s Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity School in 1979, as well as lectures at the Chautauqua Institute and Princeton Theological Seminary.  In addition, a series of 12 sermons from the National Protestant Hour are found here.  Fifteen of the video recordings include VHS tapes entitled “30 good minutes,” a weekly series featuring religious leaders produced by the Chicago Sunday Evening Club.  The collection includes a DVD of Claypool preaching his post-September 11, 2001 sermon, “The Worst Things and the Last Things,” as well as his addresses at the Claypool Lecture Series at St. Luke’s, Birmingham, in 2005.  Some items in this series are unidentified or do not feature Claypool.  Approximately 15% of both the audio and video recordings are represented in the printed sermons series.  Arranged in boxes by unique number.  All AV items are listed in a separate Excel spreadsheet inventory (see Appendix B which is a separate data file).