Do you have parish records taking up space in your parish office? Are they lurking in the garage or in boxes under the spare bed? Don’t put them in the recycling or heave them into the skip. Send them to us at the Presbyterian Research Centre (Archives) at Knox College, Dunedin. We would love to receive your records, and give them the care and attention that they need as a record of the faith journey of your parish. “But there’s so much here” people often say. “How do we know what to send to the Archives?” Don’t despair! Here is a quick list of the kind of material that needs to come to Archives:

[b]Marriage and Baptism Registers[/b] These are a great resource for people wanting to find out about their family history. We would also like you to keep registers of communicants, and any burial registers (if kept). [b]Minute Books[/b] You need to keep the Minute Books for both the Kirk Session and the Board of Managers (and Parish Councils). These tell the story of your parish. Please also keep all official correspondence. [b]Plans[/b] Any plans of your church or other associated buildings, along with deeds, titles, mortgage records, and any other documents or correspondence relating to the buildings. [b]Photographs[/b] A picture tells a thousand words...Photographs bring the people and events of your parish vividly to life. We would greatly appreciate any information about who is in the photographs, and what is happening. [b]Financial Records[/b] These help to flesh out your story, but we don’t need to have all of your bank records (they take up heaps of space!). Please hold onto them yourselves for seven years to meet IRD requirements.

[b]Records of Other Church Affiliated Groups[/b] This can include records of sports teams, literary societies, craft groups, choirs and other music groups, temperance organisations, and groups associated with social justice or community support. Whatever your church community has done, we want to know about it. [b]Newsletters and Annual Reports[/b] These illuminate the day to day life of your parish. Email us at pcanzarchives@prcknox.org.nz or phone (03) 473 0777 for more information.

[b]Records of Women’s Organisations[/b] This includes records for the APW, PWMU, Ladies’ Guilds and Women’s Fellowship. Women have always played a vital role in the life of the Church.

[b]Records of Groups for Children and Young People[/b] Do you have Cradle Rolls or records for Sunday School, Busy Bees, Bible Class, Youth Groups, Boys and Girls Brigades, or Scouts? What about Messy Church? We would love to see any of these.