Color-coded storage boxes

 

The UUCR Archives Committee collects and preserves materials of many kinds so that the church’s rich history and place in this world are documented. The collections come from church members, who are solicited to contribute items —photos, meeting minutes, program activities, etc.—as they take place. You may contact the committee via the Member Services and Volunteer Coordinator.

The committee invites questions about church history and encourages use of the collection, which includes newsletters, orders of service, annual reports, financial reports, member directories, Liberal Ladies’ history, religious education history, program activities, a list of the church’s ministers, and sermons. Holdings also include blueprints of church buildings and additions, photos of church buildings, the church’s World War II Honor Roll, and a transcript of the diary of Emily Ruggles, a notable 19th-century resident of Reading and long-time member of the church.

Our oldest and most vulnerable documents, dating from 1840 to 1930, were scanned to the Internet Archive and then donated to the Andover-Harvard Theological Library for preservation. To view this interesting portion of the congregation’s history, visit archive.org and search for Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading.

 

We’d love for you to join us at any level of involvement. Please contact the Member Services and Volunteer Coordinator for more information.