Online Archives

BY JIM REEVES
SPECIAL TO THE UMCONNECTION

Records and other documents held by the local church are a vital link to the history of a congregation.

These records, including baptismal, marriage and funeral records, meeting minutes and correspondence relating to an important church event are important in that they tell the story of a congregation and its interaction with the community.

A local church?s records are evidence of what God?s people attempted and accomplished in God?s name, whether successful or not.

The safeguarding of church records is addressed in the United Methodist Discipline. It advises '?that the charge conference elect a church historian in order to preserve the history of each local church.' The Discipline also recommends the formation of a committee on records and history for each local church.

The committee on records and history, along with the church historian and pastor, are charged with the preservation of church records no longer in current use. They are also charged to help the local church with a records management program (an important step in creating and maintaining a local church archive), homecoming, anniversary and heritage day celebrations, oral history programs and the researching and writing of the church?s history.

The activities and responsibilities of a church history program can seem overwhelming and difficult.

There are many resources available to assist the local church with these important tasks. The best place to start is the Baltimore-Washington Conference Commission on Archives and History.

The commission, through the staff at the Lovely Lane Museum, stands ready to assist the local church with information on records management, archival practices, referrals to archival material suppliers, advice and encouragement.

Cokesbury Bookstores publishes an excellent series called Gbwc_superuserelines for Leading Your Congregation 2005-2008, and one of the volumes is entitled 'Church Historian.' This modestly priced booklet is a treasure trove of information.

A Web-based source of information is the General Commission on Archives and History, which is responsible for the archives and history of the General church. Their Web site offers a variety of downloadable documents at www.gcah.org.

Here are the steps to take to begin processing and organizing your church records.

First, find all the records you can before you begin. Church records can be anywhere; a closet, the church office, pastor?s study, the basement or attic, an unused room and even at church members? homes.

Second, go through the documents and decide what is important and what can be discarded. It may sound strange, but a local church (or any organization, for that matter) doesn?t need to keep everything and shouldn?t try.

Some items are permanent in nature; meeting minutes and approved operating budgets are two examples. Other documents don?t have to be saved forever, and examples are cancelled checks over seven years old and routine correspondence. Correspond-ence that relates to a significant event in the history of a local church should be retained.

A listing of what to keep and what to discard is available on the general commission?s Web site.

Third, sort the records according to category. For example, board of trustee?s meeting minutes should be grouped together.

Documents should be kept in acid-free folders with 25 or fewer items in each folder, arranged chronologically. The folder is in turn stored upright in a filing cabinet (ideally a lockable, fire resistant filing cabinet referred to as a fire file) or in an archival box.

Photographs should also be stored in acid-free folders. Segregate newspaper clippings from other documents, as newsprint can discolor paper.

Record books, such as ledgers, should be stored flat in as controlled an environment as possible. Secure ledgers and other books that are coming apart with archival ribbon.

Note on the folder (with pencil or archival pen) the contents as the materials are being processed, and it is not necessary to list each item in the folder. A general title is all that is needed; i.e., 'Church Council Minutes [Jan. 1964 ? Dec. 1999]'

These gbwc_superuserelines should get a local church records and history committee moving in the right direction. I would be delighted to work with individual churches to address their special circumstances.

Local church historical records are our connection to our past. We are responsible to care for and preserve these records, so that future generations of United Methodists know where they came from, and where they are going.

Jim Reaves is director of Archives and History for the Baltimore-Washington Conference.