Overture 04-73. On Directing the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) to Develop a Long-Range Plan for the Department of History to Provide for Regional Historical Centers—From the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.

The Presbytery of Western North Carolina overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) to do the following:

1. Direct the Office of the General Assembly to develop a long-range plan for its Department of History that would provide for regional historical centers, with the Montreat facility serving several synods in the south (e.g., Living Waters, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and the Sun) and their presbyteries, congregations, and church-related institutions.

2. Direct the Office of the General Assembly to develop a funding plan that would provide limited funding from the General Assembly for the Montreat facility with major funding being raised from individuals, churches, governing bodies, and church-related institutions in the south that are served by the Montreat facility.

3. Direct that all plans for the moving of the Montreat holdings to Philadelphia be held in abeyance until a plan for regional historical centers can be considered by the various synods and their constituencies.

Rationale

The Office of the General Assembly is now considering major changes in the plan for the future of the Presbyterian Historical Society.

The preserving and sharing of the story of the American Presbyterian church for posterity is a matter of major importance to the total church in planning for the future.

There already exists two major centers for the preserving of these archives, each with excellent facilities and with a distinctive set of archives and other material related to our Presbyterian heritage.

The cost of moving the Montreat holdings to the facility in Philadelphia would be extremely expensive and time consuming, and would make such holdings inaccessible for years to come.

The housing of the archives in one high-cost urban center would make it much more difficult for churches, governing bodies, church-related institutions, and individuals to make use of the archives.

The Montreat Conference Center is both a regional and a national gathering place for many congregations.