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Overview

Biographical Note

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Preferred Citation

Restrictions on Access

Restrictions on Use

Subject Terms

Container List [ + ]

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Guide to the Washington Episcopal Area Records

Prepared by Myong Shin Jeon, Student Assistant and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist

United Methodist Archives and History Center
General Commission on Archives and History, Madison, New Jersey

11/3/2006


Overview of Records

Record Creator: United Methodist Church (U.S.). Washington Episcopal Area
Title: Washington Episcopal Area Records
Dates: 1934- 1984
Abstract: The collect has two main foci. Most of the folders document the denomination's 200th anniversary in 1984. Other records reflect the transformation of the diaconal ministry in the denomination from a step to ordination to a distinct and separate ministry
Extent: 2 cu. feet
Resource ID: gcah.rg.4717



History Note

The records of the Washington Episcopal Area reflect the administrative life of the bishop in charge. Bishops are elected to this special ministry through the Jurisdictional Conference from a pool of elders eligible for the office as determined by their respective annual conferences. Episcopal assignments are determined by the Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy in consultation with the College of Bishops. Each bishop assumes his or her post on the first day of September following the Jurisdictional meeting. A bishop, however, cannot serve in an area where his or her latest membership was held. Bishops are set apart as a separate ministry to oversee and supervise the districts and parishes within their appointed geographic area. The denomination authorizes these ministers to guard the faith, order, liturgy, doctrine and discipline of the general church. District superintendents are appointed by the bishop to help administer the denominational directives in specific geographic areas. Bishops ordain, consecrate, commission and appoint the clergy to specific churches and ministries under their immediate charge. Bishops are also expected to serve the larger church through the general agencies, boards and commissions. They are in many ways the faces of the denomination when General Conference is no longer in session.


Scope Note

The collect has two main foci. Most of the folders document the denomination's 200th anniversary in 1984. Prior the bicentennial, the 1980 General Conference assigned the Council of Bishops to create and oversee the church's celebration. Wertz became chairperson and oversaw the work from its nascent beginnings to its culmination at the 1984 General Conference. The records document the entire process. Other records reflect the transformation of the diaconal ministry in the denomination from a step to ordination to a distinct and separate ministry.


Arrangement

Materials have been arranged in the following manner.

Series: Frederick Wertz

Preferred Citation

When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Washington Episcopal Area Records, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the items' call number as that is not a stable descriptor.


Access Restrictions

Denominational agency journals, reports and committee minutes are open to the public unless they have been closed in accordance with requirements specified in the Discipline. Denominational agency staff office records are closed for twenty-five (25) years after creation. Personnel records are closed for at least 75 years. Appeals can be made to the General Commission on Archives and History, P. O. Box 127, Madison, NJ 07940.


Restrictions on Use

Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.


Subject Terms

Additonal Creators - Personal
:Wertz, D. Frederick.
Subject Topics
Anniversaries.
Subject Geographic
Washington (D.C.).
United States
Genre
Programs
Reports.
Correspondence


Container List


Series: Frederick Wertz
Call Number Folder Title Date(s)
2322-4-4: 1 Diaconal Ministry 1978 - 1980
2322-4-4: 2 Diaconal Ministry 1981
2322-4-5: 4 Diaconal Ministry: Non-Methodist Supporting Documents 1965 - 1977
2322-4-5: 5 United Methodist Church Bicentennial Committee - Folder 1 1934 - 1980
2322-4-5: 6 United Methodist Church Bicentennial Committee - Folder 2 - February - June 1981
2322-4-5: 7 United Methodist Church Bicentennial Committee - Folder 3 - July - December 1981