Centenary College archivist selected for United Methodist archives committee
October 21, 2016
SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College archivist Chris Brown has been elected to serve on the historical agency of the United Methodist Church, the General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH). He was nominated by the UMC’s Council of Bishops and formally elected to a four year term by the General Conference in the summer of 2016.
“It’s an honor to serve as a member of the Commission, and I appreciate the encouragement of Louisiana Conference Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey,” says Brown. “In the course of my job, I regularly use and help others use resources created by the General Commission on Archives and History. I’m excited to be a part of the group that helps develop those resources and promotes the denomination’s ministry of memory.”
The GCAH is charged with promoting and caring for the historical interests of the UMC, fulfilling a mission to “serve the Church’s Ministry of Memory so we may continue to learn from our past and anticipate our future.” The commission consists of 24 members serving on four committees: Executive, Archives and Library, History and Interpretation, and Heritage Landmarks.
Brown is serving on the Archives and Library Committee and was elected to serve as the committee’s secretary and one of its representatives to the Executive Committee. The Archives and Library Committee advises the United Methodist Archives and History Center at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey and also provides guidance for developing archival policies for all levels of the denomination. The committee’s current work includes creating a contact list of conference archivists outside the United States and surveying them on the usefulness of resources traditionally used to train archivists and church historians.
The GCAH held its annual meeting at Drew University in September.
Centenary’s Archives and Special Collections department serves as the archival repository for the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. Brown is a 2001 graduate of Centenary College and has been managing the department full-time since 2009.