“Congregational Records”
The Pastor, with the assistance of the Congregational Archivist/Administrative Assistant, will see that the following materials are deposited in the Provincial Archives in a timely manner. These materials are available for use in the Archives immediately, with the exception of Board Minutes and Correspondence of the past 75 years, which may be consulted only by written permission of the Chair of the relevant board.
1. Items which should come to the Archives at the end of the year: (THESE ITEMS MAY BE SUBMITTED IN DIGITAL FORM, OR A SINGLE HARD COPY OF EACH)
a. Elders minutes
b. Trustees minutes
c. Congregation Council minutes
d. Year-end reports given out at Congregation Council
e. Year-end financial report (if not included in previous item)
f. Budget (if not in year-end reports to Congregation Council)
g. Joint Board minutes
h. Minutes and year end reports of other committees such as Stewardship or Christian Education
2. Items which should come to the Archives when they are produced (or may be placed in a special folder marked Archives and then be brought to the Archives each year) (THESE, EXCEPT MEMOIRS, SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IN HARD COPY, THREE COPIES OF EACH)
a. Directories of members (membership lists)
b. Memoirs (THESE MAY ALSO BE SUBMITTED IN DIGITAL FORM, OR ONE HARD COPY.) If possible, please enclose the memoir in the Death Record/Memoir envelope provided by the Archives. For emailed memoirs, if possible, please provide the information found on the template of the Death-Record-Memoir-Envelope.
c. Histories of the congregation; histories of organizations within the congregation.
d. Special brochures concerning any facet of church life
e. Programs and printed materials used for anniversaries, dedications, etc.
3. Items which should come to the Archives a few years after they have been completed or filled up: (SINGLE COPY OF EACH)
a. Church registers (registers of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials)
b. Congregation diaries
c. Building plans for church-owned buildings
d. Minutes and year-end financial reports from organizations within the congregation such as Women’s Fellowship (THESE MAY BE IN DIGITAL FORM)
e. Photographs (limit to under 50 per year) (THESE MAYBE HARD COPIES OR IN DIGITAL FORM) (PLEASE identify the people and place on the back of the photo; or if digital, in label or accompanying document to digital submission)
f. Journals/Ledgers
4. The Archives should be on your newsletter mailing list so that each issue comes to the Archives automatically. (Be sure our mailing address is correct: Moravian Archives, 457 S. Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.) (THESE MAY ALSO BE SUBMITTED DIGITALLY)
Accession Policy Regarding Financial Records
The following items should not be deposited in the Archives*:
Weekly/Monthly financial statements or reports
Cancelled checks
Receipt books
Bank Statements
Personnel re cords
Paid bills or invoices
These documents should be kept by the individual congregations for the length of time deemed appropriate for tax and other purposes. When disposing of these documents please do so in an appropriate manner, i.e., shredding.
De-accession Policy Regarding Financial Records
The Archives reserves the right to dispose of items that do not meet Archives Policy criteria set forth by the Archives Board. The items will be disposed of in an appropriate manner. It is strongly recommended each church hold onto these records and not to deposit them in the Archives for that reason.
Questions? Contact us! moravianarchives@mcsp.org or 336-722-1742