(September 28, 2011)

Contact: Dena Pruett, Centenary Marketing & Communication, 318.869.5715

Centenary Archivist Leads Session at Leadership Training

SHREVEPORT, LA — Chris Brown, Centenary Archivist, led a training session for church historians at the First United Methodist Church of Denham Springs on Saturday, Sept. 24. The Baton Rouge District of the Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church sponsored the leadership training.

leadership training group
Chris Brown with training attendees

His session "Memory and Ministry—Caring for Your Church's Heritage" was divided into five segments:

  1. Identifying Local Church Records

  2. Record Keeping Guidelines

  3. Organizing Records

  4. Preserving Records

  5. Telling Your Church's Story to the Future

"Having the United Methodist archives and Chris Brown on campus is one of the great ways that we strengthen our ties as a church-related liberal arts college," said Warren Clifton, Centenary Director of Church Relations.

Brown graduated from Centenary in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts before going to LSU Baton Rouge to earn a Master of Library and Information Science. In 2009, he returned to Centenary to become the Archivist of the College and the Louisiana Annual Conference. Brown leads seminars throughout the year for designated church historians and those interested in preservation.

The Centenary College Archives was established in order to collect, preserve, and make available to researchers rare books and manuscripts relating to the history of Centenary College, the United Methodist Church in Louisiana, and to the history of North Louisiana. The archives are supported by funds from the College and the Commission on Archives and History of the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church.

For more information on the Centenary Archives, visit www.centenary.edu/library/archives.

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and has been recognized as "One of the Best 371 Colleges" by the Princeton Review and one of "America's Best Colleges" and one of "America's Best Private Colleges" by Forbes.com. In 2008 Centenary College celebrated 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.