If you’ve ventured into your church’s basement, you may know the feeling. You’re looking for a spare lightbulb, but stumble on a treasure trove: a leather-bound parish register from the 1890s, a box of faded Polaroids from a 1970s youth group fundraiser, or perhaps a mysterious box of floppy disks from the turn of the millennium. Tangible footprints of our faith communities—records of marriages, baptisms, community triumphs, and quiet moments of grace. Without a plan to protect them, these stories can easily be lost to time, humidity, or a well-meaning spring cleaning.

Fortunately, you don’t need a degree in library science to meet your parish’s archival needs. Whether you’re a lifelong history buff, a church administrator, or a volunteer who just inherited a closet full of boxes, there is an archival course waiting for you.

Produced by the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church and originally presented as a live, five-part Zoom series in 2024, Archives Basics for Churches has been curated into an on-demand, self-paced educational course. Tailored specifically for the unique canonical and historical landscape of the Episcopal Church, this free resource bridges the gap between professional preservation techniques and the practical realities of local parish life.

Instead of dry, academic lectures, the course breaks down the daunting task of historical preservation into five manageable, bite-sized sessions. The best part about this course? You won’t just watch a video and be left to figure things out on your own. Each session is packed with practical tools designed to get you moving from day one:

• Watch and learn: High-quality video recordings from the original sessions guide you through the process step-by-step.
• Skip the note-taking: Downloadable session outlines and presentation slides give you a quick-reference guide whenever you need to look something up.
• Stop guessing: You’ll gain access to real-world sample files, templates, and policy worksheets. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel—just download and customize them for your congregation.
• Keep growing: A curated list of additional resources is included to help you solve specific mysteries, from preserving delicate 19th-century paper to archiving modern digital files.

Across the five modules, the course addresses the real questions church volunteers face every day:

• The "Keep or Toss" dilemma: Learn what is historically and canonically vital to save (and what you can safely recycle).
• The Elements: Discover simple, budget-friendly ways to protect physical items from heat, light, and moisture.
• The Digital Frontier: how to organize and back up modern church records, emails, and digital photos so they don't vanish into a hard-drive abyss.
• Sharing the Story: Find out how to catalog your collection so that clergy, researchers, and future generations can actually find and enjoy it.

Ready to dive in? You don't have to tackle the whole basement this weekend. Grab a cup of coffee, watch the first session, and discover how easy—and deeply rewarding—it is to safeguard your community's legacy. Your church’s past is a gift to its future. Check out the Archives Basics for Churches resources today at hsec.us/archivesbasics , and learn how to keep your parish’s story alive for generations to come.