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Karen Nachbar Staulters wins Ministry of Memory award

November 5, 2021 / By UNY Communications

The Ministry of Memory Award (MoM) is a national award granted by the Historical Society of The United Methodist Church, with the support of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church, to recognize and encourage excellence in archival and historical work in the local church, Annual Conference, Jurisdictional, or central Conference.

This award is intended to complement the Distinguished Service Award granted by the General Commission on Archives and History as that award recognizes national or international leadership, frequently in academia.  The Ministry of Memory Award recognizes someone who has served with distinction in the local church, Annual, Jurisdictional, or Central Conference.  

Karen Nachbar Staulters, a lay member at Ballston Spa UMC, has won this honorable award.

Karen became a member of Troy Conference Commission on Archives and History (CAH) in 2000. She officially assumed the volunteer position of Troy Conference Archivist in September 2004 at the Conference Center in Saratoga Springs, NY, as “a qualified candidate” whose “enthusiasm, knowledge, energy and personality have contributed to the smooth operation and effectiveness of the Troy Conference Archives.”

After the NY State portion of Troy Conference joined with other Conferences in 2010 to become Upper New York Conference, Karen became the Upper New York Conference Archivist and continued through September 30, 2017 when she had to resign as Archivist because of physical problems. Karen coordinated the massive project of coordinating the consolidation of materials from four conferences (North Central NY, Troy, Western NY, Wyoming) at the UNY Conference Center in Liverpool. She also trained folks in sorting records from closed churches, both individually and in a November 3, 2018  presentation (that was videotaped) to District reps for closing churches.Karen also assisted in drafting a successful Documentary Heritage Grant that funded a professional appraisal of our new combined archives and made recommendations for the archives going forward.

Karen continues to be an invaluable resource and advocate for the Upper New York Archives and is currently drafting our new archives policies and procedures.

The UNY Conference congratulates Karen for receiving the Ministry of Memory Award.