Archives Heritage Retreats

The Commission on Archives and History hosted its first Archives Retreat at Pine Lake Camp in 2011.  This annual retreat continued for the next nine years.  Topics of historic interest that have been covered include Wisconsin missionaries, our musical heritage, circuit riders and a camp meeting re-enactment, a celebration of our camping heritage, women’s place in the pulpit, a celebration of the 50^th anniversary of union that resulted in the formation of The United Methodist Church, and a marking of the 150^th anniversary of United Methodist Women.
 

Our retreats have included Powerpoint presentations, panel discussions, skits and dramatizations, and live performances. 

A local church historian workshop has also been part of each retreat.  We use this time to focus on the special history of some of our Conference’s local churches and how they have celebrated their history, restored their buildings, built their archives, etc.  It is a time of sharing best practice strategies for the local church historian and for asking questions of each other and of our Conference Archivist.  Records retention, organization, and preservation guidance and resources are also part of the workshop. 2020 will see a pause in our annual Archives Heritage Retreat, but we hope to be back in 2021