Blessed Collections Newsletter of the Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group (COFTSIG) of the Australian Society of Archivists Inc

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1 ISSN (Print) ISSN (Online) Blessed Collections Newsletter of the Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Group (COFTSIG) of the Australian Society of Archivists Inc Number 24 March 2015 Contents From the convenor 2 Introducing the COFTSIG 3 Committee for 2014/15 3 Report for Western Australian colleagues 3 Dates for your Diary 3 Annual service for archivists and archives 4 Report from ARANZ 5 Visit to Chicago 7 Blessed Collections, Number 24 Welcome to Blessed Collections, Number 24. This issue of our newsletter is the first for our SIG under the new title of Collections of Faith Traditions. The change of name was endorsed by the SIG AGM held in October 2013 and had subsequently been approved by ASA Council. We hope it will encourage a new dimension of interest in our SIG and broaden the scope of our activities. We hope you enjoy reading this issue of our newsletter. Denis Connor Newsletter Editor

2 Page 2 From the Convenor Greetings to you all We are all very busy proving our collections are important, are in heavy demand and are valuable, and need care and attention. I am sure it is the same for each of you. Next we look forward to the Hobart Conference in August where I hope we can meet together as a SIG (for our delayed AGM) as well take a site visit. Any offers or suggestions would be appreciated. Here in Sydney for the last few months we have been busy organizing the Annual Church Service and Dedication for Archivists and Archive workers which took place at xx and was attended by 50 people (see report in this newsletter). I suggest other States take up this idea as it is beneficial and a fruitful time together where we can enjoy a time of meeting as a group and take time to have fellowship over a coffee with lovely food afterwards. In doing this we give witness to who we are to our church people who are sometimes delighted to attend and ready to support. This year we applied for ASA sponsorship for the catering. We are very grateful to the Society ASA for supporting us in this way. I do have visits from other Archivists on occasion and thank you for your contacts. I am sure Denis Connor would appreciate any input for the newsletter of your events or happenings. All the best, Sincerely Pauline Garland 27 Feb 2015 Introducing the COFTSIG

3 Page 3 Committee for 2014/15 The Annual General Meeting last August selected the following Convenor and Committee for 2014/15 Convenor: Pauline Garland (Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney) pauline.garland@sydneycatholic.org Secretary / Newsletter Editor: Denis Connor (Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn) archive@cg.catholic.org.au Committee: Sheena Hesse (Uniting Church, Perth) archiveswa@wa.uca.org.au Rachel Kuchel (Lutheran Church, Adelaide) lutheran.archives@lca.org.au Sue Laidlaw (Anglican Diocese, Brisbane and Sisters of Mercy, Brisbane) slaidlaw@anglicanbrisbane.org.au Suzanne Ryan (Adelaide) suzanne.ryan@sosj.org.au Report from Western Australian colleagues Sheena has reported how the site has helped our clients in their searches. Also Sheena visited the Sydney Archdiocesan Archives during her visit to Sydney in October There is a small group of Church Archivists who meet in Perth. Sheena Hesse Uniting Church Archives, Western Australia Dates for your diary August 2015 (Tuesday) 9.00am to 12.00pm COFTSIG AGM. Exact time and venue to be advised. We have been advised that the ASA conference in 2015 will be held in the city of Hobart, Tasmania. We would very much like to hear from archivists working with faith traditions collections located based in that city who would be able to host the SIG meeting, and perhaps be able to provide a facility tour. Annual service for archivists and archives in Sydney

4 Page 4 The speaker Professor Alanna Nobbs of Macquarie University and President of the Society for the Study of Early Christianity Venue was St James Church, King Street, Sydney and host was rector of St James Rev Andrew Sempell Report for Blessed Collections. (from Pauline) On Thursday 12 February 2015 at am the Annual Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving for Archives and those who work in them was held at St James Anglican Church 173 King St Sydney (opposite Hyde Park Barracks) in the heart of the city. Those taking part in the service were clergy The Reverend Andrew Sempell Rector of St James, The Reverend Robert Evans OAM Uniting Church of Australia, The Reverend Dr Paul Logan OAM Presbyterian Church in NSW, speaker Professor Alanna Nobbs AM Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University and President the Society for the Study of Early Christianity, Readers Dr Louise Trott Diocesan Archivist, Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Dr John Stanhope OAM Archivist Baptist Church of NSW, Ms Pauline Garland Records Manager Sydney Roman Catholic Archdiocese, organist Mr Alistair Nelson. Afterwards refreshments were held in the crypt below the church sponsored by The Australia Society of Archivists with a group of 50 people being catered for, who enjoyed the venue and the food while mixing and fellowship. The text of the address by Professor Alanna Nobbs is planned to be printed in Archives and Manuscripts. ARANZ Conference Christchurch NZ. 2014

5 Page COFT Meeting, Christchurch The historic setting of St Margaret s College, Christchurch was the venue for the 2014 combined meeting of the National School Archivists and Collections of Faith Traditions Special Interest Groups, held 30 August in conjunction with the joint ASA/ARANZ Conference. Due to a lack of committee members attending the conference it had been decided in advance to defer the AGM to 2015 and for those attending to meet informally. This proved to be a great success and for the next hour or so five of us engaged in warm and fruitful discussions and sharing of information before joining with the Schools SIG members for a short historical film viewing, followed by a conducted tour of the college. Although the scale of devastation from the recent earthqaukes was still very evident throughout the tour, this was more than matched by the extraordinary speed and beauty of the re-building which has taken place over the past 3 years. A prime example is the new state-of- the-art auditorium which also doubles as the college chapel and is widely used as a public venue for cultural and community events in addition to college use. Unfortunately for our host Geraldine Pickles, the re-building hasn t yet included the college archives. The entire collection is still housed in boxes in shipping containers at the rear of the college grounds and it was both humbling and inspiring to hear Geraldine speak of the many challenges this presents.

6 Page 6 The visit concluded with a delicious home-cooked lunch personally prepared by our host and the opportunity for more networking and information sharing across both SIGs. On behalf of all present on the day, our sincere thanks to Geraldine and to all at St Margaret s for hosting the event and providing such a memorable and enriching visit. Sue Ryan Archivist, Sisters of St Joseph Present: Roberta Cowan, Santa Maria College, Perth, WA; Merle Conaghan,The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch; Alison Flett, The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch; Sheena Hesse, Uniting Church Archives, WA; Suzanne Ryan, Sisters of St Joseph, Kensington, SA. Trip to Chicago My Visit to the Association of Catholic Diocesan Archivists in America.

7 Page 7 In the last Blessed Collections issue I indicated I had attended The Association of Catholic Diocesan Archivists Biennial Conference in Chicago July 2014 with the theme Less Theory, More Method: A practical approach to Archives and Record Management. The conference program had an introduction stating that the 2014 ACDA Biennial Conference was to focus on filling the gap of education. This education it says can sometimes focus on how to create and implement functional records management programs but the practical skills needed by diocesan archivists and records managers are missed. The aim was then to teach these practical skills regardless of skill level, budget or staffing. Key note address. The keynote address on the first night, Monday, was fascinating given by the archives manager, Michael Bullington, from McDonald s Corporation, with the title of his talk: World s Largest Real Estate Owner? Michael spoke about how he applied the skills of a corporate archivist to this position, where qualifications are important to give him credibility in such a large organization. He spoke of its history, its early days, and how he uses the collection to advance the business and reinforce pride within the business. The Archives is open to all and is used by researchers, suppliers, companies, and others to support the brand, and then by external audience for anniversaries, events etc. Michael has only one staff member to assist him. Within the collections he has all the toys, other objects and marketing tools of McDonalds over the years. There were also many comparisons and similarities with us as Church Archivists hence the title The World s Largest Real Estate Owner. It was a very entertaining, striking and informative presentation. The Schedule. With the Theme of Less Theory, More Method: a practical approach to Archives and Records Management, I found there was a variety of presentations with two tracks for beginner and more advanced, with also general interest such as a whole morning on Introduction to Records Management by a trainer in this subject. As I look at the program I see they covered Oral History, Sacramental Registers, Sacred Objects, Photographs, Handbooks and Relationship with Parishes, then the theory side of records management program, intellectual control, archiving the web and then a section at the end of Asking the Experts. All this was all very pertinent and informative for us as Church Archivists. As someone remarked to me, It is good to know what you don t know. The Presenters. These were some of their own members as Church Archivists, with experience and qualifications such as Emilie (Dr) Leumas of New Orleans Archdiocese, and Jackie Uhler from Chicago Archdiocese. Some of the practical sessions were by younger qualified archivists working now in the some of the dioceses. But there were also some highly qualified outside people from universities, institutions and state archives. What I got out of it. To visit another group of Archivists is always an enriching experience. It is the networking and sharing of experience, the feeling of being understood and having the same issues, the same mind set and the same environment, which is all so affirming, inspiring, positive and worthwhile. From this experience I came

8 Page 8 away deeply motivated and encouraged. America at the moment is feeling deeply financial restraints, so there was a lot of talk of financial restraints, so they are all struggling to some extent in this regard. Church Objects. Particularly I enjoyed and benefitted from the talk by Emilie (Dr) Leumas on Appraising Church Objects: or documenting sacred patrimony. Emilie shared her experience with the cyclone Katrina, and what she learnt from that, and how they coped with it, and what their response was to it. For example they set up warehouses where they deposited church goods and were then able to share with others who lost everything etc. How they had students, volunteers and others come to help restore objects. The content of this presentation was on explaining the application of the particular canon law numbers to sacred objects, church patrimony, inventory of goods, relics. In another talk she also dealt with sacramental registers. The distinction between blessed and consecrated objects in Church use was an interesting and useful clarification. So besides the canons that apply to archives ( ) she also dealt with canons 123, 1171, 1283, and The importance of documentation not only in a full description in a database, but also in photographic images, was emphasized for many reasons such as identification, but also for loans and future records especially for restoration in the case of a cyclone. The issue of benefactor s wishes was also mentioned and discussed. Question time was particularly useful with the mention of altar stones, lending of material, destruction and disposal of unwanted objects, sharing of resources, closing and joining or in transition parishes. Handbooks. The presentations on Handbooks was particularly instructive and different. This is required because of the need for consistency and having and following standards. It also promotes credibility and helps to promote Archives to parishes, agencies and other archives. Summary. With over 80 attending this meeting, it was a fruitful experience and well worth the cost. The spiritual venue of Our Lady of the Lakes of Mundelein out of Chicago is a restful and refreshing experience and worth the effort of travel, to be immersed in this beautiful large property with a large number of ornamented historical buildings. Pauline Garland