October 6 is historically “Archives’ Day” in the Church calendar, when churches are asked to gather materials from the previous calendar year which in the Book of Order are required to be sent to Archives. If your congregation hasn’t sent in your materials from 2016, please do so now. While the 2014 Book of Order doesn’t give a specific shopping list, the 2010 listing still is a good one:
“Congregational Records
The Pastor, with the assistance of the Congregational Archivist, 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 70 years, which may be consulted only by written permission of the Chair of the relevant board.
Items which should come to the Archives at the end of the year:
a. Elders and Trustees (or Church Board) minutes b. Joint Board minutes c. Congregation Council minutes d. Year-end reports given out at Congregation Council e. Year-end financial report (if not included in the previous item) f. Attendance records g. Minutes and year-end reports of other committees, such as Stewardship or Christian Education
Items which should come to the Archives as they are produced (or may be placed in a folder for the Archives and deposited each year):
a. Directories of members
b. Memoirs
c. Histories of the Congregation and organizations within it d. Special programs and printed materials for special occasions ,anniversaries, dedications, projects, etc.
e. Newsletters
f. Photographs (with locations, persons, and dates identified on the back)
Items which should come to the Archives when they are completed or filled up and are no longer needed for regular consultation:
a. Church Registers
b. Congregation Diaries (if maintained)
c. Building Plans
d. Any other material that would be of value to future generations
Hard copies of all the above are to be provided to the Archives. In addition, electronic forms may be submitted along with the hard copies.”
We are exploring the submission of digital materials (such as selected church photographs) through cloud transfer, and will post here procedures for you to submit those materials once we standardize them. If you are uncertain about what materials you need to get to us, or the processing status of any materials sent, please contact Assistant Archivist Nicole Crabbe at moravianarchives@mcsp.org or call our offices at 336-722-1742.