A016 Reaffirm and Commit to the Goal of a Permanent Location of an Archives for the Episcopal Church
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,
That the 81st General Convention commend the work of the Episcopal Archives staff for transferring more than 60 years of physical holdings from the Seminary of the Southwest to an interim location in Austin during the pandemic, at the same time maintaining the digital archive and providing research assistance to all who requested it; and be it further
Resolved, That General Convention recognize the current relocation is an interim solution only and the need for a permanent historical records depository and research center remains a priority for the Church, recognizing that the Executive Council first identified this need in a resolve of February 2001 and General Convention reaffirmed the work to find a permanent center in both 2006-A143 and 2012-A162; that General Convention recognize property bought in Austin Texas for a possible Archives site was sold by the church in 2020, recognizing a net gain of over $20 million for the church, to be administered by Executive Council; and be it further
Resolved, That the 81st General Convention reaffirm the need for a permanent location of the Archives and authorize the Board of the Archives, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, and with the aid of prudently selected individuals and advisory bodies, to investigate, evaluate, and adopt a plan for the location of The Archives of the Episcopal Church to an appropriate and accessible site within the United States, adequate for the present and future needs of the historical records of this Church, as contemplated by Canon 1.5 and described in Keeping Archives, Keeping Faith: Archives Board Report to Executive Council (June 2019); and be it further
Resolved, That the study to be completed by 2027; Funding for the recommendation of a site and for the move to a permanent location be utilized by funds realized by the 2020 sale of land acquired by Executive Council for this purpose in Austin.
Explanation
This resolution was referred from the 80th General Convention, proposed by Ms. Pan Adams-McCaslin and endorsed by Ms. Margaret Porter and Prof. Lawrence Hitt II, listed as 2022-D077, and referred to Legislative Committee 17 - Agencies & Boards.