Letter to the Editor

Historical Foundation Has Board Advocacy

It was providential that N. C. Presbyterian Historical Society was meeting at Montreat in the spring of 2004. As president of this group, it was my privilege to join more than eighty speakers who pled for COGA to preserve the Historical Foundation at Montreat. Historians, librarians and archivists, college and seminary professors, missionaries, ministers, and lay leaders from several states made a passionate defense for the Historical Foundation and the indispensable role it has played in the life of our church. Professor Erskine Clarke from Columbia Theological Seminary spoke of the danger of tampering with sacred books, sacred places, and sacred relics and his profound observation has become even more poignant since that time. Clifton Kirkpatrick was obviously moved by the deep feeling and conviction of these speakers, and as the meeting was breaking up, he asked me if I thought there would be sufficient financial support in the church to continue the operation of the Historical Foundation. I replied, “Yes, indeed!”

The Friends of the Historical Foundation was incorporated in the summer of 2004 and has been working diligently to find ways to preserve this revered institution at Montreat. With their encouragement more than 20 presbyteries have adopted overtures asking the General Assembly to explore alternative sources of funding and to keep the doors open at the Montreat historical center. All presbyteries in North Carolina have adopted such overtures.

I have read many of the editorials and correspondences relating to the Historical Foundation. Missionaries, church leaders in Brazil, Korea and the Congo, former moderators of the general assembly, and distinguished ministers and lay leaders, have urged the General Assembly to maintain the Historical Foundation at Montreat. Marj Carpenter recalls that while some things were lost during reunion, other things were saved, “One of the big saves,” she wrote, “was a promise that the Montreat Historical Center would remain open for preservation of PCUS documents....And surely the PC(USA) stands by its word.”

The Historical Foundation, founded in 1927, contains a vast collection of rare books and manuscripts, sessional records, correspondence and journals from missionaries, educators, G. A. moderators, and theologians, records of mission churches in other lands, and numerous relics and priceless artifacts. Ben Sparks calls this collection a “seamless web.” “To separate them renders them less valuable, changing forever, their unique quality,” he observes. The Historical Foundation is not only a widely used research facility, but it is a shrine for countless visitors every year. More than 30,000 people come to the Conference Center each year, and many of them enter the doors of this facility. No other site, even in Philadelphia or Louisville, draws as many visitors. Montreat College recognizes the potential value for these archives adjacent to their Campus, and even now is exploring the feasibility of developing a special study of global missions for its students.

The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly is trying to be good stewards of the united funds available through per capita assessments. Their approach, however, is lacking in creativity and vision, and they will cause much unhappiness in a church already troubled by divisive issues if they do not negotiate a way to maintain the historical center at Montreat. The Friends of the Historical Foundation have found wide support for this facility throughout the denomination, not just in the southeast. We intend to demonstrate before the June meeting of the General Assembly that Presbyterians will pledge their finical support for the continued operation of the Historical Foundation at Montreat. Even now, we have the promise of substantial gifts that will inspire further generosity from our people.

Thomas K. Spence, Jr.,
Chair of the Financial Campaign
Friends of the Historical
Foundation at Montreat
294 Fairway Lane
Sanford, North Carolina 27332
(919) 498-2159