A quick history of key moments in the history of the Northfield Conference, from 1837 to the present day.
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A Tale of the Northfield Conference
Written by George Blackman and edited by his son Harry, this document offers a glimpse back at the history of the Northfield Conference.
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My First Northfield
Written by George Blackman and edited by his son Harry, this document recounts the author's initial experiences with Northfield back in 1969.
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Northfield is a multi-faith conference with roots in the Judeo-Christian faith. The first non-denominational Northfield Conference was held in 1893. May Whittle Moody, the daughter-in-law of evangelist Dwight L. Moody, started an annual week-long conference for girls on the campus of the Northfield School (situated on the grounds of the Moody farm).
During wartime in the 1940s, the Conference was forced by circumstances to separate into three geographic areas: the Northern Area Conference (our "Northfield") on the Northfield-Mt. Hermon campus; the Erie Area Conference, held at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania; and the Middle Atlantic Conference, held on Cape Cod. Each conference developed uniquely. Ours has become a multi-generational conference for individuals and families committed to peace and equality, with the program planning coming from within the community
In 2007, the Middle Atlantic Conference officially rejoined with our Northern Area Conference, bringing the number of Northfield Conferences back down to two.
A Note About The Historical Documents In This Section
The Conference is creating new section of our website that is devoted to historical documents and other writings specifically related to the Conference and its history. It might, for instance, include Conference Hour talks, or written reflections about peoples' perceptions of the Conference; however it will not include polemic or political writings.
The first two documents were written by George Blackman and offer some fascinating glimpses into the Conference in years past. They have been edited by Harry Blackman, George's eldest son, who has spent considerable time and energy putting them in presentable form. Our thanks to him for this offering. There is also a 'bullet' history of the Conference written by Maeve Blackman.
We welcome other contributions, so if you have something you believe would be of interest, email them to Andrew Mason at awmason@snet.net. We are, by the way looking for someone, who has the interest and the time, to be the Conference's historian!