Video: The Covenant Archives at 90: Telling the Story of Swedish Covenant Hospital

2025 marks the 90th anniversary of the Covenant Archives. Celebrate this milestone this academic year through a lunch and learn series, sponsored by the Commission on Covenant History. Learn more about the Covenant Archives and how archival research supports the current mission and ministries of the ECC through a series of virtual discussions.

The December 10 presentation features discussion of a new project to create an exhibit telling the history of Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, which was installed earlier in 2025 in the second-floor lobby of Swedish Hospital’s Galter Medical Pavilion. Exhibit creators Marit Johnson Awes and Janis Rueping will explain how their project came into being and how they used Covenant archival sources to tell the story of the hospital. Mark Safstrom will provide historical context for how Swedish Hospital in Chicago fits into the broader movement by Swedish immigrants to establish hospitals in the United States. 

Discussion Outline

• Project origins 00:04:37

• Archival sources & research 00:12:10

• Exhibit design choices 00:24:52

• Swedish immigrant hospital context 00:36:05

• Why the story matters today 00:49:30