Christian churches have been going through cycles of planting, growth, realignment or merger, and completing ministries for the past two thousand years. When a church makes the difficult decision to close, the records of that church are a vital resource for completing its ministry and an important way in which its mission and memory can live on after the church has closed. The legacy process involves many moving parts, and too often archiving the church’s records is de-prioritized or seen as an overwhelming task that gets put off to the end.

This virtual workshop with the Congregational Library and Archives‘ archivists, Zachary Bodnar and Billy McCarthy will explain the importance of a church’s records to the legacy process, how to use the church’s records to create a legacy workbook, and finally, how to go about finding and working with an archive to maintain your church’s records going forward.

Although any church seeking to steward their records will find value in this program, the workshop has been specifically designed as a resource for pastors guiding their congregations in implementing a legacy process, administrative staff who have been tasked with facilitating the work of bringing an institution to completion, members of the congregation’s legacy committee, and church historians and other interested members of the community concerned about safeguarding the memory and mission of the church.

This free webinar will take place on June 4, 2025, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm CT (10:00 am PT; 1:00 pm ET). It is open to all, but registration is required via this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3017460021220/WN_8g2ZDnAfTf6QxRikKzsM6Q.