Adelaide Teague Case

Early Life and Education

Adelaide Teague Case (1887-1948) was born on January 10, 1887 in St. Louis Missouri, with her twin sister, Mary Cushing Case. Their parents were Charles Lyman Case, American manger of the London Assurance Company, and Lois Teague Case; their complete family included six children, three daughters and three sons. While Adelaide was still an infant the family moved to New York - she considered herself a "native" New Yorker all her adult life-and eventually acquired a home in Bronxville, New York, and a summer residence in Paris Hill, Lake Sebago, Maine. Case was graduated from the Brearley School in New York City in 1904, and received a B.A. in mathematics and philosophy From Bryn Mawr College in 1908. She began her illustrious teaching career in 1909, as a teacher of mathematics and Latin at St. Faith's School, an Episcopal girl's boarding school in Poughkeepsie, New York. Always a gifted student, Case began graduate studies in history and sociology at Columbia University in 1910, but was forced to withdraw within a year after a reoccurrence of childhood tuberculosis of the bone. Case spent nearly a year in treatment at Saranac Lake, New York, and then toured Europe with her parents as a semi-invalid. Though a statuesque woman in adulthood, with a keen intelligence and vibrant personality, Adelaide Teague Case battled ill health for most of her life, and withstood many operations on her legs. In 1914 she re-entered the working world as volunteer librarian at the Episcopal Church Center in New York; she was eventually placed on salary and remained through 1916. Despite her physical disability, Case had tremendous stamina, and worked tirelessly as an educator from the time she returned to graduate school at Columbia University in 1917, this time to study religious education, until her death.

Baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church, Adelaide Teague Case's religious faith followed a conventional pattern until she experienced a conversion experience after college. Thereafter, the living Christ became the dominant force in her life and ministry. Though she continued within the Episcopal Church, Case became a devout Anglo-Catholic, and was strongly attracted spiritually to the sacramental and liturgical life of the church. While in New York, she attended the Eucharist daily at St. Ignatius' Church. In 1915 she became a member of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, a society of lay women in the Episcopal Church dedicated to intercession, thanksgiving, simplicity of life, annual retreats, Christian unity, and social justice. Case remained an active member of the "Companions" during her lifetime, offering programs based on her teaching and publishing, including an annual retreat on the theme of "Thanksgiving in the Psalms." In 1918 Case was one of a small group of Companions who wrote the Commission on Unity in support of an interdenominational petition for church unity.

Once committed to the ministry of religious education, Adelaide Teague Case moved quickly through graduate study. She pursued her M.A. at Columbia University (1917-1919), while also serving as an instructor at the New York Training School for Deaconesses. In 1919 Case became a course assistant in the religious education department at Teachers College, Columbia; she was made an instructor in the same department in 1920, and received her Ph.D there in 1924. Case's adviser at Columbia was theologian and educator George Albert Coe. Her dissertation, "Liberal Christianity and Religious Education," was later published as her first book. Her graduate studies focused on the recently developed "progressive" education movement and child-centered, as opposed to teacher-focused agenda and curricula. Case fundamentally believed that for religious education to be relevant to children, or to persons of any age for that matter, it must relate to their social environment. She also developed related subspecialties in Christian social ethics, and the role of the Bible in education and worship. Adelaide Teague Case's interest in social justice was further underscored in her involvement in the National Committee of the Episcopal League for Social Action, 1921-1948.

Colleagues and students alike praised Adelaide Teague Case for the deep sense of humanity and boundless compassion that emanated from her. By all accounts, she was an amazing teacher. Besides the influence of her adviser George Albert Coe, Case was influenced by the theory and teaching methods of John Dewey. Students from over fifty years ago not only remember details from Case's classes, they still have their research papers with her comments in their possession! As one former student noted, "She was a true believer in Christ and you saw him living in and through her." As a teacher, Case had the ability to challenge students to do their most creative work. She was a genius at sensing student needs and creating a productive learning environment. A popular graduate student and instructor, Adelaide Teague Case was offered a faculty position as assistant professor at Teachers College after completing her doctorate; she was made associate professor in 1929. Once on the faculty, Case developed and offered courses in the principles of religious education, the use of the Bible in religious education, professional problems in religious education, as well as a course designed especially for directors of religious education. Her classes were popular with students from diverse religious backgrounds, including Protestants from a variety of traditions, Roman Catholic laity, clergy and religious, Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews, as well as non-believers.

Adelaide Teague Case was appointed full professor and chair of the religious education department at Teachers College in 1935. The previous year, Hobart College conferred an honorary Litt.D. upon Case in recognition of her contributions to scholarship. Besides teaching, Case wrote all her books while on the faculty at Teachers College. These works include her doctoral dissertation, Liberal Christianity and Religious Education (1924), an extended bibliography for religious educators focused on books about Jesus, As Modern Writers See Jesus (1927), and two devotionally oriented books based on scripture, Seven Psalms (1935) and The Servant of the Lord (1940). Case continued to write chapters in books and sundry articles for publications throughout her career, yet it should be noted that professional writing was but one aspect of her ministry as a religious educator. Surpassing her published output were the countless workshops, conferences, and lectures that Adelaide Teague Case conducted throughout her career - often in addition to a heavy teaching and student advisement load. From 1928 until her death, Case was on the board of Windham House, a training school for women church workers. Beginning in 1930 she also served as part-time educational advisor for the Woman's Auxiliary of the Episcopal Church. In addition, Case was a voluminous correspondent to a global community of friends and colleagues, amounting to over 100 letters per month. Throughout her tremendously active professional life, Adelaide Teague Case was fueled by a deep interior life, nourished by corporate worship and private prayer and meditation.

During the 1930s Adelaide Teague Case became involved in peacemaking efforts and in peace education. For Case "peacemaking" was always more than an international concern; it was also practical and personal. As a pacifist, she worked for peace in relationships, in the classroom as well as through international organizations. Case served on the executive board of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (1930-1934); as a member of the Peace Action Committee of the New York Federation of Churches (1936), as well as vice-president of the Episcopal Pacifist Fellowship (1939-1948). In 1936 she and Paul Limbert conducted a study entitled "Around the World," that was the result of a survey completed by 373 school age children about their perceptions regarding other cultures and countries. "Around the World" was later published by the Associated Press. The resultant article, "Educating For Peace: A Study of Children's Opinion on World Affairs," was reissued in 1949 as part an of anthology on peacemaking dedicated posthumously to Adelaide Teague Case. Peace Is Possible: Essays Dedicated to The Memory of Adelaide T. Case, was published by Case's colleagues of the Episcopal Pacifist Fellowship, and included essays from a diverse group of scholars, activists, and bishops.

In the early 1940s, Angus Dun, the dean of the Episcopal Theological School (ETS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts recognized Adelaide Teague Case as the foremost religious educator in the Episcopal Church - if not in the United States - and persuaded her to resign her position in New York. As a way of introducing her to the school and alumni, Dun asked Case to come to campus as Kellner Lecturer in 1940-1941 to offer a course on "A Parish Program of Religious Education "on Monday afternoons. She was elected "Professor of Christian Education" in 1941, thus becoming the first woman elected to a theological faculty in an Episcopal or Anglican seminary. Though other women, particularly in the field of religious education, had taught theological students before Adelaide Teague Case arrived on the scene, none held the rank of professor previous to her.

"The problem of religious education" - as it was referred to by faculty administrators, alumni and trustees - was not a new concern at the Episcopal Theological School. The alumni urged the creation of a chair in "religious pedagogy" as early as 1917. By the time the trustees got the campaign underway in the 1920s, with $100,000 from the endowment set aside for the chair, the school couldn't find a "man" to fill it. The seminary experimented by hiring part-time lecturers, and recruited from the nearby Harvard School of education, but complained that the later lacked training in religion. As time passed and the financial pressures of the depression impacted the school, the intention of the trustees to set aside funding from the endowment was lost. It fell to Dean Dun to find both the funding and the scholar for the job. Adelaide Teague Case's reputation as an educator, scholar, and religious leader, along with her work at ETS as the Kellner Lecturer convinced Dun that she was the "man" for the job, and he proceeded to raise enough funding from private donors to cover her salary for three years.

Though Adelaide Teague Case later told friends that her years at ETS were some of the happiest of her life, there is evidence to suggest that establishing herself as a professor in the seminary community was a slippery slope. Case had the courage - in her fifties - to give up a professorship at Columbia University with a very good salary and students and colleagues who appreciated her, to move to Cambridge for a much lower salary at a seminary where some of the students refused to take her classes because she was a woman. To his credit, Angus Dun used his position as dean to insist that students study with Professor Case. Still, as friends indicated after her death, the transition for Adelaide Teague Case to the seminary community was slow and painful.

It was Adelaide Teague Case's genius for religious education and her excellence as a teacher that eventually moved the Episcopal Theological School to recognize the jewel in their midst. Former students in the present day write that working with Case was the most positive part of their seminary experience. While at ETS Case took her place on the faculty preaching rotation, and offered a variety of courses, including an introduction to Christian education, a course on the religious development of children and youth, a course on curriculum, a course on adult education, a course on education and the sacramental life, a course on "newer methods," a course on types of religious schools, and directed advanced study and research. In addition, during her last two years at ETS, Case directed a field work program which required weekly meetings, reports, and reading with each student. In this capacity, Case took it upon herself to visit students at their different field sites. Known by students as "Dr. Adelaide" or "Dr. A," Case became one of the most popular professors at the seminary, and was a mentor, counselor, and unofficial confessor for many. She shared her large faculty home with student families, and offered assistance to others who found themselves in a crisis; she provided housing and friendship to African American, Japanese American and Jewish families who were homeless. Her last faculty report at ETS - featuring goals that she did not live to implement - urged the creation of improved field work sites with more opportunities for supervision, additional courses in Christian education to meet the growing demand among students, and a plea for further integration between Christian education and other areas of the curriculum, particularly theology and church history.

During her residence in Massachusetts, Adelaide Teague Case was a member of the Church of the Advent, Boston, where she served on the parish council and on the adult education committee. The Rev. Whitney Hale, rector of the Church of the Advent, brought her the Eucharist daily during her final illness. Due to her health history, she dreaded hospitals, but nevertheless until the day of her death Adelaide Teague Case was teacher, mentor, and friend to many. Her last words to a member of her household, spoken the night before her death, were "What can I do for you?" Adelaide Teague Case died at the age of sixty-one on June 19, 1948 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Bostom, of tuberculosis of the adrenal glands. Her remains were cremated and laid in the cemetery in Paris, Maine. The Burial Office was read at a simple service at the Episcopal Theological School on June 22; on June 23 a Requiem Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Advent, Boston.

Works Cited

Manuscript sources on Adelaide Teague Case are scattered. Some of her correspondence can be located in the files of the William Russell Collection, Teachers College, Columbia University, as well as in the George Albert Coe Collection and the Archives of the Religious Education Association at the Yale Divinity School. Files of papers related to Case and assorted clippings are located at Episcopal Divinity School (formerly Episcopal Theological School), the archives of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, the Episcopal Dioceses of Massachusetts, and the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross. Reports from Case during her tenure as education adviser for the Woman's Auxiliary, and an account of her work at Windham House in the Oral History of Helen Turnbull, are located in the Archives of the Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas. Published biographical information on Adelaide Teague Case can be found in the following sources:

• Garraty, John A. &Mark C. Carnes (Eds.). (1999) American national biography. New York: Oxford University Press
• Ohles, John F. (Ed.) (1978). Biographical dictionary of American educators. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press
• Biography index. Vol, 1: January 1946-July 1949. New York: H.W. Wilson Company
• Wallace, Stewart (Comp.). (1988). A dictionary of American authors decreased before 1950. Toronto: Ryerson Press; Ireland
• Norma Olin (Ed.) (1988). Index of women of the world from ancient to modern times: A supplement. Norma Olin Ireland (Ed.) Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarerow Press James, Edward T.(Ed.). (1971). Notable American women, 1607-1950. Cambridge: Harvard University Press
• (1941). Religious leaders of America, Vol. II. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Smyth, Newman. (1932). A Story of Church Unity. New Haven: Yale University Press EDS Alumni Bulletin (1941).
• Obituaries and tributes, include ETS Bulletin (1984, July) XL, 4, 7-11; The Living Church (1948, July 11); School and Society (1948, July 3), 68, 1749; Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin (July 1948); Taylor, Charles L. (1948, August 8).Adelaide Teague Case: An appreciation. The Living Church ; Shepherd, Massy &Charles Taylor; (1948, June 19). Adelaide Teague Case. ETS, Minute for Faculty Meeting.
• Turnbull, Helen. (n.d.). Adelaide Teague Case: unpublished tribute, Society for the Companions of the Holy Cross; Obituaries found in the New York Times (1948, June 20);
• The Church Militant (1941, June); Boston Sunday Herald (1948, June 20); Bulletin of ETS (1948, July).
• For Case's vitae, see Temple, Sydney (Ed.). (1949). Peace is possible: Essays dedicated to the memory of Adelaide Teague Case.) Deep River, Connecticut: The New Era Press, p. v.
• For her appointment at Episcopal Theological School, see Muller, James Arthur. (1943). The Episcopal Theological School, 1867-1943. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Episcopal Theological School.

The author wishes to express her thanks to the following who shared their materials on and recollections of Adelaide Teague Case: Peg Aldrich, Charles Case, Charles Lee Clark, Phillip Douglas, Morgan Porteus, Owen Thomas, Fredrica Harris Thompsett, David Siegenthaler,

Adelaide Teague Case influenced a generation of religious educators and was the leading authority in the field in the Episcopal Church of her day. As a scholar, Case was a pioneer in "progressive" education as it relates to religious education, and in the development of child-centered, as opposed to teacher-focused methodologies. Her deep love for children, and for the Christian faith, were cornerstones of her work and research. Her concern for social justice was a key motivation behind her ministry; she had little tolerance for injustice and the misuse of power. She fundamentally believed in the need for education to be mindful of social context. Moreover, her genius as a teacher endowed her with the capacity to communicate effectively to vastly different groups; she influenced children and youth, parish folk, graduate students, seminarians, activists, and religious leaders with equal alacrity. Moreover, as a deeply spiritual person, Case enabled her students to make connections between the academy and the life of faith. Her capacity to embody her beliefs endowed her ministry as a religious educator with a deep integrity.

During her twenty years as a popular professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, Case influenced an interfaith study body and gained an established place in the wider education scheme. There she advocated seven-day, child-centered, religious education, rather than the traditional and more narrow Sunday school approach. For instance, at a 1933 conference of the Religious Education Association, Case proposed - along with Rabbi Isaac Landman, editor of the American Hebrew --the abolition of Sunday school in favor of a community-based model that would maximize the leadership opportunities for a variety of individuals. While a professor at Teachers College, Adelaide Teague Case was much in demand nationally as a speaker and a lecturer, on a variety of topics, including "The Commonwealth of God," "The Mental Effects on Students of Military Drills," "Religious Education for the Modern Child," and, "The Place of the Church in Adult Education." At the same time, Case fused the roles of educator and activist as a leader of the Children's Peace Festival (1936) and educators against the peacetime draft (1940).

As the first woman elected to the faculty of an Episcopal or Anglican seminary, Adelaide Teague Case brought the depth of her experience to a new "mission field." In the seven years before her death, Case's work at the Episcopal Theological School increased the demand for Christian education courses within the seminary curriculum, gained full status for the field within the overall curriculum, and moved toward greater integration of religious education with other theological disciplines, Moreover, Case's teaching and supervision of field work students at ETS paved the way for the development of a more comprehensive program, with a full-time faculty member in the future. While at ETS, Adelaide Teague Case's favorite courses, "Use of the Bible in Christian Education," and "Education and the Sacramental Life," became popular electives. Although her biblical methodology was not text critical scholarship, the strength of her work in this area was in her ability to adapt scripture for "the person in the pew" in the contexts of corporate worship and personal devotion.

Adelaide Teague Case was a mentor for ETS students before their graduation and afterward. Given the unique circumstances of her appointment at the seminary, she was also an important mentor and symbol for women students. Earlier in her career, she was influential as a part-time educational adviser to the Woman's Auxiliary of the Episcopal Church for ten years, 1930-1940. Though she was a proponent for the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church, she did not write on the subject. Rather, Case used her position and status as a professor to provide women with greater access to a theological education. She kept the issue of opening the seminary's doors to women before the faculty, reminding her male colleagues that their admission was not simply a personal issue for her, but an issue for all theological educators. At a time when ETS did not accept women students into degree programs, Adelaide Teague Case proposed programs for women students or the admission of women into degree programs at least once a year from the time she arrived at the seminary until her death. Two of these creative proposals included a six-week summer session for women students, and a cooperative degree program with Radcilffe College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Further, Case taught many women as "special students," when a formal seminary education was denied them, and helped them find a place in the church where they could exercise their gifts. Case was instrumental in encouraging women to obtain training at Windham House, and through other programs. Overall, Adelaide Teague Case was a religious leader in a generation of women who sought vocations in the church, such as Dora Chaplin, Frances Young, and Helen Turnbull, but who found few role models and even less encouragement for their aspirations.

Through her teaching and scholarship, Adelaide Teague Case brought to Episcopal Theological School a wealth of experience gained through years as an activist "in the real world" and member of religious and social welfare organizations. Always intolerant of racism and discrimination in any form, Case worked actively for the American Jewish Congress, the Women's Division of Beth Hayaled, the Riverside Colored Orphanage, and the National Y.W.C.A. Courageously, she housed and sponsored Japanese American students during the World War II internment camp period. She also served on the boards of the Religious Education Association, the Church League for Industrial Democracy (later, the Episcopal League for Social Action), the Childhood Education Association, the Episcopal Pacifist Fellowship, Windham House, the International Council of Religious Education, the Federal Council of Churches, the Church Society for College Work, and the Student Christian Movement. Case also was one of the few women who served on the National Council of the Episcopal Church, 1946-1948.

After her death in 1948, a memorial fund at the Episcopal Theological School (now the Episcopal Divinity School) was established in the name of Adelaide Teague Case. The fund was established as a living memorial in recognition of Case's contribution to the field of religious education; a student prize in her name is still given at the school today. Presently, the Episcopal Women's History project also gives an Adelaide Teague Case Award for achievement in writing, preserving and disseminating the history of women in the Episcopal Church.

Works Cited

A variety of sources speak to the legacy of Adelaide Teague Case, including:

• Adelaide Teague Case. (1948, July). ETS Bulletin, XL, 4, July 1948, p. 7-11
• Taylor, Charles. (1948, August 8). Adelaide Teague Case: An appreciation.
• The Living Church. Episcopal women open sessions here. (1941, February 8).
• New York Times; Theological seminary called woman professor. 1941, June 14).
• New York World-Telegram; Educators assail peacetime draft. (1940, July 9).
• New York Times; Peace parade here in Spanish section. (1936, November 12).
• New York Times; $10,000 sought by churches in day. (1948, October 14).
• New York Times; Lead in education urged on churches. (1937, August 23).
• New York Times; Junior league to discuss child training in religion tomorrow." (1933, November 13)
• New York Times; Deny military drill had value in school." (1930, December 12).
• New York Times; 'The commonwealth of God' given at White Plains convention. (1923, October 28).
• New York Times; Propose abolition of Sunday schools. (1933, May 5).
• New York Times.. Faculty minutes, Episcopal Theological School, November 21, 1941; February 27, 1942; March 12, 1942; December 10, 1943; January 14, 1944. Episcopal Women's History Project, (Fall 1990). Timelines, X, 4.

Numerous books written by her former students are dedicated to Adelaide Teague Case, for example, see Chaplin, Dora P. (1948). Children and Religion. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.