The Episcopal Archives are located in Austin, Texas, currently housed in temporary quarters after relocating from their home of 60 years on the campus of the Seminary of the Southwest. HSEC Director of Operation Matthew P. Payne recently met with staff at the Archives to get an update.

Interim Director

Shortly after the 2021 move, Archivist Mark Duffy retired after decades of service. Whitney Hughes has been hired to serve as Interim Director. She joined the Archives in 2014 as the Archivist for Digital Content and Information Management. Holding a Masters of Science in Information Studies from the University of Texas, her focus has been on digital archives and the preservation of electronic records.

Whitney continues to manage the digital archives, oversees the systems infrastructure and in-house applications, and is instrumental in the development of a digital repository. As interim director she manages the overall operations of the Archives.

Archives Updates

The Archives continues to support the General Convention mandates, including two particularly significant resolutions passed at the 2022 Convention, A127 (Resolution for Telling the Truth about The Episcopal Church’s History with Indigenous Boarding Schools) and D026 (Create a Task Force on LGBTQ+ Inclusion).

The Archives is currently working on several significant digitization projects, including the Board of Mission and National Council minutes, the Spirit of Missions publication, and records of the Women’s Auxiliary and United Thank Offering. We’re particularly looking forward to offering a full run of The Spirit of Missions as a robust and searchable digital archive database in the near future.

The Archives will be launching a public, online catalog in the coming months as yet another window into the historical records of the Church. The catalog will include descriptive records of the collections, focusing primarily on the collections that have significant historic value for researchers and will include authority records with detailed histories of the record creators.

The Archives staff is conducting a full audit of the Diocesan Journal collection, approximately 550 cubic feet of records. This audit will help identify missing editions, address any emergent preservation issues, and better consolidate the collection to maximize shelving space. Once completed, the Archives will be reaching out to the Dioceses to request any missing diocesan journals.

You are invited to learn more at episcopalarchives.org.