Report of the
Historical Committee
Amnesia cripples people who suffer from it. They can’t remember who they are, where they have been, what they have done or what has happened to them. The role of the Historical Committee is to prevent organizational amnesia from crippling the BFC. The goal is not to keep the past alive so old timers can have nostalgic moments. Our organizational memory is important because it explains who we are, where we have been, what we have done and what has happened to us. Organizational memory is about moving forward without having to go in circles and repeat the mistakes of yesterday. Organizational memory is about figuring what works best in our “culture” in order to recognize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses.
We maintain our organizational memory in several ways. We collect documents, memorabilia and other items. We maintain an archival collection of those materials. We make a library of textual information available at our website, www.BFCHistory.org. We encourage research and support those who are doing research.
We appreciate those who have contributed materials for our historical collection and want to encourage others to do the same. You can help. Place the older minutes and records of your church in the archives to assure they do not get lost. Our church records are maintained in fire resistant cabinets where they are safer. If you as an individual have what you believe to be historically significant material, consider donating it to the archives where it will not only be preserved but become available as part of the memory that we need.
The Historical Society will meet on October 29, 2011 at Bethany BFC in Whitehall, PA. Our speaker will be Dr. Richard Gehman who will make presentations on our roots in the history of Europe and his family’s place in the history of our church.
Historical Committee: Jill Davidson, Chairperson; Richard E. Taylor, Archivist and Secretary; Carl C. Cassel, Ronald W. Hoyle, Ronald L. Kohl, Harold P. Shelly