"What Do We Do with the Church Records?" Indiana Area United Methodist Church Records Retention and Disposal Schedule

District Offices

The following are records which are commonly found in district offices. Each record type is described and the number of years it should remain in the active files is indicated. After that time has expired, the record may either be sent to the Area Archives at DePauw (see address below) as indicated by "Yes" on the record schedule. Records marked as "No," may be destroyed after their current record status has expired. The total number of years a record should be kept, indicated by a number or the letter "P" for permanent is also noted for each record type. The code number at the far left column can be used for reference when contacting the Area Archives with questions or about a possible transfer of records.

The Area Archives at DePauw is the officially recognized repository for all United Methodist Church records in Indiana and is supported by both the North and South Indiana Conferences. This retention schedule has been approved by the General Commission on Archives and History for use by all United Methodist district offices. Please contact the Area Archives at archives@depauw.edu with any questions you might have about the schedule or to arrange a workshop or consultation with an Archives staff member.

                                                                                                                 Keep as
                                                                                                                 Current            Send to
Code               Title                      Description                                            Record            Archives                   Total

DIS.001.01    Administration    District committee and program        CY+3               Yes                     P
                                           group reports; official district
                                           conference session reports filed
                                           by superintendent

DIS.001.02    Administration    Closed church records such as            A⁽¹⁾               Yes                      P
                                 membership, histories, board
                                           minutes,directories, photographs,
                                           deeds, etc.⁽²⁾

DIS.001.03 Administration Staff meeting records CY+1 Yes P

DIS.002 Charters Charters, constitutions, by-laws A Yes P

DIS.003 Committees District committee records CY+3 Yes P

DIS.004.01 Correspondence Routine correspondence CY+1 No 2
General

DIS.004.02 Correspondence Correspondence on special or
Subject topical interests A Yes P

DIS.005.01 Employee Employment policies and A Yes P
procedures

DIS.005.02 Employee Personnel records A Yes P

DIS.006 Newsletters District newsletters CY+1 Yes P

CY - Calendar Year A - Active (ongoing activities) P - Permanent

DePauw University Archives
Roy O. West Library
400 South College Avenue
Greencastle, IN 46135
765-658-4406
fax 765-658-4423
archives@depauw.edu
Archives Homepage
Hours: M-F 8-5, Tues. eve. 6-9 (academic year)
M-F 8-4 (summer)

______________________

1. Until all legal matters are cleared and members are transferred

2. All records of closed churches should eventually be sent to the Area Archives at DePauw University for final appraisal and preservation

[ret-dis. 9/6/2002]