Mexican historian to speak about creating church historical archives

In January the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism (ISGA) will host a webinar on the role of historical archives for churches in Latin America. Invited guest and historian Rubí Barocio Castells will present on her experience of establishing a historical archives for the Convención Nacional Bautista de México (National Baptist Convention of Mexico), of which she is the current director. The Comunidad de Instituciones Teológicas Anabautistas (CITA) is collaborating with the ISGA to promote this webinar opportunity.

The January webinar on builds the foundation established during the 2019 “Power and Preservation” symposium, convened by the ISGA. The symposium was attended by 29 global church historians and archivists interested in source preservation and storytelling. At the conclusion of the symposium, participants drafted a statement that was later published by Mennonite World Conference. The statement included commitments to:

• Foster habits of preservation throughout the global Anabaptist-Mennonite community.
• Engage in new and continued efforts to preserve sources and to promote access.
• Nurture enthusiasm…for the tasks of collecting sources and sharing stories.

At the same time, it also named the barriers many churches face in achieving these goals, including financial constraints, external restrictions, and limited experience in the management of historical resources.

Barocio Castells’s experience gives her a unique perspective on the importance of historical archives for church history, as well as the challenges and possibilities of historic preservation in the Latin American context. Not only does she have hands-on experience in archives collection and preservation, but she has also written extensively on the history of Baptists in Mexico, using those same archival sources for her own research.

CITA invites all of its participating institutions to attend the webinar, but the invitation is open for any individual, church, or institution that wishes to attend. The webinar will be conducted in Spanish.

Church archives webinar with Rubí Barocio Castells
Date: January 28, 2024
Time: 6:30 pm CST
7:30 pm EST
Zoom Meeting ID:  943 0071 5753