Recognizing the invaluable contribution of our local church historians,
I want to make more information available to them, to make their jobs easier and more productive. Shown below are links to listings of church histories received, 2001 - current.
Congregational Histories received in : |
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2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
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Then to the left are links for various online brochures that should be of help. The Handbook for Local Historians has now been made available at no charge. The link to that Handbook, in the right-hand column, will take you to an index page with links to each of the chapters of the Handbook. For now I have simply posted image scans. The content is noticeably dated in a number of places and a revision of the whole work is in process. Please pray for the progress on this work. In good Presbyterian fashion, nothing happens quickly around here!
Quotable helps--
In this section we want to share some of the wisdom of other church historians. The PCA Historical Center is in the practice of collecting published congregational histories from all of the various American Presbyterian denominations. One of these published histories, recently acquired, opens with this very useful advice:
"The members of every congregation should be familiar with its history. God's dealings with them ought to lead them to avoid former mistakes, to be warned by former failures, and to be inspired by former victories. The past throws a flood of light upon the present and the future. He who is acquainted with the works and ways of God is best prepared for today's duties and best qualified to be the teacher of generations to come. The Old Testament Church was faithful, to a commendable degree, in this duty. The important events in the life of the Jewish people were not only recorded in their sacred Scriptures, but they were also rehearsed by parents, year after year, in the ears of the children."
[Source : Reid, William J., History of the First United Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, PA, 1801-1901, page 5.]