As we draw nearer to the PCA’s 50th anniversary, we will highlight the role of the PCA Historical Center. Though the center exists primarily to archive the records of each General Assembly, there’s far more to it than that.
Why does the PCA have a historical center?
Our Historical Center is kind of like grandma’s attic, where you’ll find boxes of old letters, photo albums, and other objects that together tell so much about family: where folks came from and what they did in life. These things provide a sense of place and connection; they help fill in the picture of who you are in this world.
On a practical level, we have a Historical Center because our Book of Church Order and Rules of Assembly Operation require the stated clerk to preserve the records of each General Assembly and to make those records accessible when needed.
In addition, by gathering our history, we have available both evidence and information. For example, over the years I have been called on to help at least a dozen men prove they were ordained. Another example: Records were preserved here that helped a local congregation prove ownership of a parcel of land, saving them a considerable sum of money.
But beyond “mere” evidence and information, the history preserved here can help us to answer bigger questions, such as “Who are we? What have we accomplished? What are our values? Where are we heading?”
Put another way, the PCA Historical Center’s mission is to gather, preserve, and make accessible the history of our denomination. That would be a big enough task if we were just talking about the PCA, but the Historical Center is also the archive of record for four Presbyterian denominations, plus we gather the publicly available records of the ARP, OPC, and RPCNA.
Tell us about your favorite artifacts.
One recent favorite is an oil portrait donated just this year, of Mary Cabell Breckinridge (1769-1858). She was the wife of U.S. Senator John Breckinridge (1760-1806) and mother of nine children, including three Presbyterian pastors, one of whom was the grandfather of B.B. Warfield.
But for some of the most special items, I’d probably turn a visitor to the missionary prayer diaries of Pauline McAlpine, or oddly enough, to the check registers preserved among the papers of Max Belz. Max was the founder of the Cono Christian School in Walker, Iowa (and father of journalist and PCA elder Joel Belz). It’s amazing, the way Max used every available space in those registers to write out prayers for his students and congregation — a neat testimony of one man’s faith as it was lived out in ministry.