Reuben A. Sheares II papers

The bulk of Sheares' papers include newsletters and publications from various organizations that Sheares was a member or supporter, as well as publications from various United Church of Christ (UCC) congregations. The papers focus mainly on theological issues and programs, including 122 audiocassettes of sermons that Sheares presented at the Congregational Church of Park Manor in Chicago from 1989-1992. Also included are notes and essays from classes in which Sheares was enrolled during the 1970s, mostly at Roosevelt University and the Chicago Theological Seminary, as well as notes from his sermons later in his life.

A couple of highlights that emerged through Sheares' papers include mid-1980s materials on the AIDS epidemic and how churches across the nation responded to the challenge, as well as materials from the Time Tellers Project of the 1960s. The latter project, that began in Los Angeles in 1964, developed as a learning and witnessing experience for lay people through direct involvement in and confrontation with the major issues of the urban life during this tumultuous time. As Sheares wrote, the program's goal was to "enable the laity to become as completely as possible representatives of Christ in their engagement with society, help the Church find renewal and clarity of mission in our time, and to make the Church an instrument of reconciliation."