PHS office at Montreat closing

After impassioned debate the 217^th General Assembly voted to close the Presbyterian Historical Society office at Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina. Joan Gray, General Assembly moderator, paused for prayer after the June 21 st vote. She also promised to write a pastoral letter to the Friends of the Montreat Historical Society.

Records from the Montreat Office will be relocated to either Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, or to the PHS site in Philadelphia, with some artifacts remaining in Montreat. Dr. Cameron Murchison has been representing CTS during the planning. He said that CTS got involved with the Committee on General Assembly task force "with hopes of finding a way of maintaining the Montreat facility." After CTS conducted a feasibility study they found it financially impossible to maintain the Montreat site. Compact shelving is being installed at the seminary to accommodate any records that will be housed there. Columbia professor Dr. Erskine Clarke will be the director of the site at the seminary.

Presbyterian Historical Society at Montreat

The materials at Montreat are mixed. Some are owned by congregations, some by the denomination and some by families. Those owned by the PC(USA) are the responsibility of the Stated Clerk, currently Clifton Kirkpatrick, and will be moved to the PHS office in Philadelphia. Those owned by congregations can be designated to be moved to either CTS or the Philadelphia office or returned to the congregation. Individual families will be contacted for a decision on those materials owned by those families.

One such family are the Walkers. Brothers Eric and John along with sister Daphne own the carvings of their father, John Mack Walker. These woodcarvings depict biblical stories represented by Appalachian mountain people. A Presbyterian minister, Mr. Walker wanted people to enjoy the carvings, using them as a means to worship God. Eric Walker said of them, "This was part of his work as a pastor and they are meant to be aids to worship and a reflection of Christ's message." Mr. Walker never sold a piece.

The Walkers are now faced with a dilemma. Where to house the carvings? The family has had a home in Montreat for many years making the Montreat site a natural place to house the carvings. For now they wait and see. They want the sculptures to stay together and be on display. They have concerns about accessibility, security and preservation. Both CTS and the town of Montreat are interested. They, like other families with articles at the Montreat site, must now wait, see what options they have, and make a difficult decision.

The Montreat office of PHS is a beloved repository of the records of the PCUS and of many overseas missions. Artifacts from churches and individuals will be moved. The CTS site offers students and scholars the rare opportunity to have access to these rich records. Cam Murchison notes that, with their move to CTS, the records will be well used. Thus closes one chapter of our Presbyterian history. The next chapter awaits its writing.