GAF: Discovery of EUB Union Worship Service - June 2010

Sometimes history can be found just under our noses. Sometimes in our attics. And every so often we can find it in our local church archives! Such is the discovery of a rare audio recording of the Evangelical United Brethren Declaration of Union worship service of 1946. The recording was made on two transcription disks which were found by the Rev. Ron Kite of Faith United Methodist Church in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Transcription disks are between 12 and 16 inches in diameter and so look a little like an old 78 rpm phonograph The first noticeable difference are the holes. Not only is there the center hole for the spindle, there are three additional holes forming a triangle outline around the spindle. Transcription disks were the recording medium of radio stations in the days before audio tape. Used between the 1930s and the early 1960s, the disk was plastic coating over a metal disk. During WWII the metal disk was replaced with glass, making the disk very fragile. A special stylus was used to record sound onto the transcription disk. Unlike phonograph records which played from the outside-in, the transcription disk could record and play in either direction.

Pastor Kite states the he "was looking through an old cabinet that contains the historical files from the church . . ." in order to reorganize material and save some space . He continues " I found the records and saw they were not in a format we could use. I almost threw them away thinking there would be more copies out there than was needed." But then he remembered the Rev. Mark Conard, a former member of the General Commission on Archives and History and currently on the Kansas Area Commission on Archives and History. He brought the disks to the attention of Rev. Conard who then forwarded the information, and ultimately the disks, onto us here at the General Commission on Archives and History.

The audio recording of the worship service at the creation of the Evangelical United Brethren Church was unknown to us. There is a silent film made around the same time which was composed of highlights of that General Conference. This audio recording begins with the opening hymn of the worship service and contains hymns, special music, prayers and the reading of the Declaration of Union by Bishop Clippinger. The service closes with the hymn ‘Bless Be the Tie that Binds.’

When we received the disks we had the audio migrated to a digital format. The technician handling the process said it was one of the most pristine transcription disk recordings he had ever worked with. The sound is clear and sharp. For something that is sixty-four years old, and on a medium which was never designed to be permanent, this was truly amazing.

So why did this discovery take place in Kansas? A local church in Kansas seems like an odd place to find such an historical record. But in looking at the story, it begins to make perfect sense. Pastor Kite tells us, "Faith [UMC] was organized in 1968 with two EUB congregations merging to form a new UMC congregation after the denominational merger. " It is possible that there were delegates from those churches, or that the transcription disks were sent out to local churches so they could hear the service. But what Kite told us at the beginning is the real answer, " I was looking through an old cabinet that contains the historical files from the church ..." At some point in time a local church historian preserved these records, placed them in the local church archives which made them available for today. So, what records are in your local church archives which relate to your community, your city or town, your state or region, your denomination? And what are you preserving today so that the future will have a past?

We need to give thanks to that faithful church historian, whoever she or he may have been, and to Pastors Kite and Conard. A part of our United Methodist heritage has been preserved by them for us all.

--adapted from the Gen. Commission on Archives & History website

The General Administration Fund helps maintain UM's offical documentation and historical artifacts; and designate historical shrines, landmarks and sites.  Please encourage your congregation to support the General Administration Fund apportionments at 100%.