FOR THE RECORD
by Christina Greenawalt, Assistant to the Stated Clerk, Central Florida Presbytery
What do you do when your files outgrow your space?
Spring cleaning at the presbytery often is actually summer cleaning when the office is a bit quieter as people and committees take a rest and respite from life and the Florida heat. Part of the presbytery’s summer cleaning has been to work on our file room. With every institution, paperwork and files tend to get out of hand.
One of the challenges that you may be facing is deciding what files and information your congregation needs to keep, for how long and what can be shredded or thrown away. You are not alone. Central Florida Presbytery struggles as well. Luckily, there is help in deciding and help in storing records that the PC(USA) deem as historically significant. Did you know that the Presbyterian Church has a historical society? The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) was organized in 1852 as a way to archive the American religious experience. It acts as both a repository for records and as a way for people to learn and explore the history of their faith and even learn about their family of origin through genealogical searches.
In July, I took 23 boxes of Central Florida Presbytery’s records to be housed at the PHS. These records included: minutes from the presbytery, records from closed or dissolved congregations, old clergy files and records from the former presbyteries of St. John’s, North East Florida, West Florida and South Florida. These records will be added to the collection already housed in Philadelphia as part of their collection that spans over one city block. One of the awesome facts about housing records at the historical society is that though they no longer reside in our file room they are still accessible to us.
There are many types of records that the PC(USA) suggests retaining permanently and others in which there is a schedule for retention. If you have questions regarding records management for your own congregation the PHS is there to serve you. It may seem unnecessary or redundant to keep paper records in the digital age; however, they retain the longest shelf-life. It is through these records that scholars and others will be able to learn how we worked out our faith in the present time. It is through the work of the Historical Society and scholars that we can trace what the response of Presbyterians was during climatic times within our nation’s history.
If you are ever up in Philadelphia, the Presbyterian Historical Society would love to their passion for the collection that included Bibles from the 1500’s to sharing what current initiatives they are researching to share how the Presbyterian church and transitioned and even struggled in its growing pains. Or if y our church would like to share part of Presbyterian history with the congregation check out one of the traveling exhibits that the Historical Society has to offer.
Spring cleaning at the presbytery often is actually summer cleaning when the office is a bit quieter as people and committees take a rest and respite from life and the Florida heat. Part of the presbytery’s summer cleaning has been to work on our file room. With every institution, paperwork and files tend to get out of hand.
One of the challenges that you may be facing is deciding what files and information your congregation needs to keep, for how long and what can be shredded or thrown away. You are not alone. Central Florida Presbytery struggles as well. Luckily, there is help in deciding and help in storing records that the PC(USA) deem as historically significant. Did you know that the Presbyterian Church has a historical society? The Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) was organized in 1852 as a way to archive the American religious experience. It acts as both a repository for records and as a way for people to learn and explore the history of their faith and even learn about their family of origin through genealogical searches.
In July, I took 23 boxes of Central Florida Presbytery’s records to be housed at the PHS. These records included: minutes from the presbytery, records from closed or dissolved congregations, old clergy files and records from the former presbyteries of St. John’s, North East Florida, West Florida and South Florida. These records will be added to the collection already housed in Philadelphia as part of their collection that spans over one city block. One of the awesome facts about housing records at the historical society is that though they no longer reside in our file room they are still accessible to us.
There are many types of records that the PC(USA) suggests retaining permanently and others in which there is a schedule for retention. If you have questions regarding records management for your own congregation the PHS is there to serve you. It may seem unnecessary or redundant to keep paper records in the digital age; however, they retain the longest shelf-life. It is through these records that scholars and others will be able to learn how we worked out our faith in the present time. It is through the work of the Historical Society and scholars that we can trace what the response of Presbyterians was during climatic times within our nation’s history.
If you are ever up in Philadelphia, the Presbyterian Historical Society would love to their passion for the collection that included Bibles from the 1500’s to sharing what current initiatives they are researching to share how the Presbyterian church and transitioned and even struggled in its growing pains. Or if y our church would like to share part of Presbyterian history with the congregation check out one of the traveling exhibits that the Historical Society has to offer.