Summer 1998

The Region 6 Archives has joined the "Information Superhighway." This Spring, the initial Internet homepage of the Archives has been added to the Trinity Lutheran Seminary website. TLS’s Internet address is http://www.trinity.capital.edu You can connect to the Archive page by clicking on "Links," then on ELCA Region 6 Archives. Or you can go directly to the page by entering http://www.trinitylutheranseminary.edu/ECLA/ This preliminary page will grow, so keep an eye out for any changes. Any on-line inquiries can be sent to the Region 6 e-mail address at reg6Archives@TrinityLutheranSeminary.edu

(2) Workshop Information

(2) A Call to All Congregations

(3) Reference Library information

(4) Region 6 Congregational Anniversary Celebrations

This winter, the ELCA Region 6 Archives received a "face-lift." Connie Conner, the archivist since the Archives’ establishment, has left the basement of Mees Dormitory on the campus of Trinity Lutheran Seminary for a full-time, special project position at the Ohio Historical Society. She left with heavy heart and smiles as she took her experiences with her to OHS. The new Region 6 Archivist, Jeanene H. Letcher, joins not only a new employment community, but a new living one as well. She arrived in Columbus, OH, with her husband in August from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where the last two years she spent working on an Internet Project at the SIU Museum. Jeanene has been adjusting to her new surroundings, attending synod assemblies, and enjoying the challenges that many have provided. She looks forward to the continued experiences the Archives furnishes.

The Region 6 Archives received a generous grant from AAL for the purpose of conducting Mini-workshops on archival issues and congregational histories. The money will be used for supplies and travel, but the people and locations of these workshops are still needed to ensure the needs of the entire Region 6. Your congregation can host a workshop for both you and others to learn from during our time together. Please call the Archives at 614/235-4136 X4002 if you are interested for further details.

At this time workshops are scheduled for the following dates and times.

Saturday, October 3, at 9:00 am

Wednesday, October 21, at 9:30 am

Both workshops will last about 4 hours long and will be followed by a good will donation lunch.

The Region 6 Archives is working with Wright State University in Dayton, OH, and Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH, to provide high quality archival microfilming services to ELCA congregations. Both institutions offer free microfilming of specific congregational records through the Genealogical Society of Utah. Records not covered by the GSU grant program may be microfilmed at a reasonable cost. Call the Region 6 Archives at 614/235-4136 X4002 to receive a microfilm program information packet.

Presently, the Archive is organizing an information pamphlet to help congregations understand the various research issues that affect congregational record research. Please contact the Archives if you are interested in a copy when the publication is completed.

The Region 6 Archives is not the official repository for the actual records of active congregations, but it does collect microfilm copies of congregational records and congregational histories. Histories and microfilm records allow the Archives to preserve the history of Region 6 congregations and to provide reference services to patrons with questions about specific congregations.

You can help to document your congregation’s history by sending a copy of your congregation’s histories and special publications to the Archives and to your synod office. If your congregation has not prepared a history yet, help is on the way. Please contact the Archive office for the various resources to help you prepare a congregational history. You may also want to consider attending one of the many Archives Workshops held throughout the region.

The Archives has begun a new active collection of Region 6 Church Postcards. An extensive collection has been received by the Archives from a retired minister and collector. The Archive wants to see this collection grow! Please consider donating any postcards or postcard photos of your church building and/or parsonage to the Archives. These can be ones produced recently or those decades old. A visual image of your church will add to the Archives collection as well as to the research anyone conducts. Please contact the Archives office if you have any questions or you wish to donate items to the collection.

The Archives continues to lay the foundation for a comprehensive collection of records of Region 6 ELCA and its predecessor bodies. If you have official records or publications of former synods, congregations, committees, or organizations, please contact the Region 6 Archivist so that they may be preserved and made accessible for all to learn the story of this region.

ELCA organizations in Region 6, make sure your minutes and publications are preserved when leadership changes. Add the Region 6 Archives to your mailing list for organizational publications so that your activities may be continually documented.

Reference Library: The Archives reference library continues to develop as new (and old) publications are acquired. Some recent additions include information on histories of the Lutheran Church and genealogy. Any donations or suggestions to the reference library would be greatly appreciated. One text the library could still benefit from is Arnold R. Mickelson and Robert C. Wiederaenders’ A Biographical Directory of Clergymen of the American Lutheran Church, published in 1977, by Augsburg Press.

The Archives would also be interested in historical atlases and maps of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Congregations may want to consider the following resources for your own records management. They would be strong keys to effective records keeping and administration. There are many other resources and reference publications you may be interested in obtaining. Please contact the Archives for further information.

Wittman, Elizabeth, ed. Brief Guide for Archives of Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Chicago: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 1989. Single copies available from the ELCA Resource Information Service or the Region 6 Archives.

Sueflow, August R. Religious Archives: An Introduction. Chicago: The Society of American Archivists, 1980. Available through the Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis, MO.

Records Management Handbook with Retention Schedule. Itasca, IL: Fellowes Manufacturing Co., 1986.

Suggestion for Retention of Region 6 ELCA Congregational Records. Published by and available from the Region 6 Archives office.

The Region 6 Archives is always receiving valuable records that celebrate our history. What follows is a short list of records acquired by the Archives.

• ELCA IN, KY, OH, and MI closed congregational records
• Congregational histories
• Various photographs of church bodies and church buildings
• ELCA Region 6 synodical records including published synod minutes, newsletters, council minutes, and videos
• Deceased pastor records and correspondence
• Several examples of communion ware
• Various records of ELCA Social Service organizations
• IN-KY synod Women’s Missionary Society and Lutheran Church Women records