Preserving the Historic Records of United Methodism

 The Virginia Conference is unquestionably the most complex and the most richly historic of any conference in Methodism. After all, the current Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church is the successor to seven denominations and 38 conferences. Preserving the record of this historic conference is the task of the Conference Archives, housed in the Virginia Conference Center.

 

That record includes the minutes of the predecessor conferences — admittedly with some gaps — and the current Virginia Conference. In fact, the archives collection includes the leather-bound, handwritten minutes of the first 10 conferences of American Methodism — 1773 to 1783. A museum collection which may be viewed near the entrance to the building includes historic items such as the pine pulpit used in the first conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Petersburg, May 1846. Also on exhibit there is a mantel from “Church Hill,” the Fairfax County home of William and Ann Adams, whose home was an early meetinghouse and often welcomed Francis Asbury.

 

Also housed in the archives are the records of conference agencies, clergy, and closed churches, and several special collections, including a significant collection inherited from the United Methodist Historical Society of Northern Virginia. Because the archives space in the former conference office building on West Broad Street in Richmond was severely cramped and inadequate, a sizeable backlog of processing now confronts the archives director. Volunteers are welcome to assist.

 

The only staff is the director/archivist, Patti B. Russell, who has served in the position as a volunteer since 1977. Because much church records keeping is done at the local level, Patti is available to assist local churches in a consulting capacity. She also offers a two-hour training session in local church records keeping, titled “What to Keep and How to Keep It.”

 

Conference Archives is creating a database of pastoral records for everyone who has served in full connection within the bounds of the present Virginia Conference. Stephen E. Bradley Jr., pastor at Lawrenceville, is building this valuable resource. The archives collection offers a helpful research facility for genealogists and church historians.

 

The collection includes a rich treasury of artifacts from the history of the conference, its churches, and its people. Since its founding in 1932, the Conference Historical Society has encouraged individuals and churches to preserve their historic artifacts and, where appropriate, to place them in the Conference Archives. The Conference Archives welcomes contributions of suitable records and memorabilia, but please inquire in advance before bringing materials to the Conference Center. Donors will be asked to sign a gift agreement. The archives are housed in a secure, spacious, and well-appointed facility where the valuable records of the conference are maintained in a controlled environment for the use of the conference and its staff and members. Contact Conference Archives at (804) 521-1100 or 1-800-768-6040, ext. 132.