THE METHODIST

It is mandated in the 2004 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church that every conference shall have a central depository for preserving its records under the supervision of a Commission on Archives and History. The legislative authority for the Methodist Archives Center is found in paragraph 640 which states:

"It shall be the duty of the Commission [on Archives and History] to collect and preserve the historically significant records of the annual conference and its agencies, including data relating to the origin and history of the conference and its antecedents; to encourage and assist the local churches in preserving their records, compiling their histories, and celebrating their heritage, to provide for the permanent safekeeping of the historical records of all abandoned or discontinued churches in the bounds of the annual conference and its antecedents (see 2548.3); to maintain a fire-safe historical and archival depository and to see that all items that obviously will have value for future history are properly preserved therein;....to establish retention and disposition schedules for annual conference and local church records under standards or guidelines developed by the General Commission on Archives and History.