Got church records? We can help!
Need help with church records? You are not alone. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to keep (and for how long), and what can be thrown away. Caring for records can be challenging in the face of time limitations and multiple responsibilities. The Conference Archives is here to help you decide where to start!
Special Note: Register for our Upcoming Records Workshop!
The Christman Archives will be offering a church archives and records management workshop on March 9th, 2013 at St. Paul's UMC in Northport, NY. Get more information and register here.
The Book of Discipline specifies that: 
- Church records of active churches remain in the church, to be cared for by the church historian and a committee on archives and history.
- Records of older churches that have merged into an active church also remain in the active church.
- Records of closed churches are to be collected by the district superindent and deposited in the conference archives.
Although the conference archives houses only records of closed churches, part of our mission is to assist active churches in preserving their records. Some records are very important in documenting your church’s history and its ongoing activities, while other records have only a limited lifespan. We can help you figure out which records need to be kept, allowing you to use your limited resources to preserve what is really important. We can also provide advice on appointing a church historian and establishing a committee on archives and history.
We can prepare workshops for your local church, provide on-site help with sorting and organizing records, and even help you create a customized records retention schedule (a list specifying the types of records to be kept and for how long). Contact us at archives@nyac.com to learn about on-site visits and programs that the C. Wesley Christman Archives can customize and present to your local church leaders.
See our January 2011 Newsletter for a general introduction to collecting and preserving your church’s records. For additional information, the General Commission on Archives and History has produced several helpful resources for those responsible for local church records in the United Methodist Church; these can be found at www.gcah.org.Free to a good home!
We have many, many copies of the following pamphlets – please contact us at archives@nyac.com if you would like any of the following sent to you.
- From Chore Boy to Bishop: The Story of Francis Burns, First Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church
- The Hunter Camp Meeting
- Chester A. Smith of Peekskill: His Memoir
- Thomas Webb: A Founder of American Methodism
- Maggie Newton Van Cott: First Woman Licensed to Preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church