Donations of historical record expand GBC archives

Photo by Joe Westbury / Graphic composite by kelly DurhamIndex

Donors, left to right, Robbin Canup of Eastside in Winder, Ann Etheridge of First Baptist Winder, Dean and Beatrice Rockmore of Eastside in Winder, Vickie Skelton of Union Baptist in Winder, and GBC archivist Rebecca Morris of Concord Baptist in Gainesville admire the handwriting of a civil war soldier. A civil war mailbag full of letters from that era was given to the Historical Commission by the Rockmore family.
A seal press originally from the Baptist Tabernacle was donated, along with other memorabilia, by the historic Atlanta church.

DULUTH — Georgia Baptist Convention Vice President for Operations Michael Williams introduced Rebecca E. Morris as the GBC archivist at the April 25 meeting of the Convention’s Historical Commission.

Jeff Daniels, chairman of the Commission and pastor of South Rossville Baptist Church in Walker County, presided over the Commission’s spring meeting and the luncheon that followed where Morris was introduced at the Inaugural Presentations Ceremony.

Joe WestburyIndex

Left to right, Clif and Beverly Lawrence, Greta Barrett, J. Robert White, and Ray and Mike Sorratt review memorabilia donated to the GBC museum by Atlanta's historic Baptist Tabernacle. The Lawrences, Barrett, and Sorratts were all once members of the Baptist Tabernacle.

“The Historical Commission has always maintained documents of historical significance to the work of Georgia Baptists dating back as early as 1822,” Williams stated. “We now have in our archives the hand-written record of the constituting service at the Powellton Church dated June 27, 1822.”

Historical background

“Up until now,” added Williams, “the many volumes of associational minutes, copies of The Christian Index dating from as early as 1829, and many other significant volumes lacked the experience and expertise of a person trained in the preservation of such rare and irreplaceable documents to oversee the collection. This is no longer true.

“We are very pleased to have as a part of the Georgia Baptist Convention staff Mrs. Rebecca Morris, who will be leading our work in collecting and preserving documents, autographs, and artifacts important to the history of this great Convention.”

Morris is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Piedmont College in Demorest with an Interdisciplinary Studies Degree in History and Anthropology. Her capstone paper for this degree was “Religion and Liberty: How the Inseparable Union of Religion and Liberty in the Mind of the Founding Fathers Influenced the Ideologies of Democracy in the Constitution of the United States.”

The new GBC archivist also has a Master of Arts degree in Archaeology and Heritage from the University of Leicester in Leicester, United Kingdom.

Morris has extensive organizational and museum management experience. She was instrumental in the preparation and construction of the Hall of Fame exhibit at the Northeast Georgia History Center in Gainesville. She has assisted in the design and construction of museum exhibits, assisted with the writing and editing of written materials for museum exhibits, and performed duties related to the registration and conservating of museum exhibits.

Morris has participated in three separate archaeological digs. One occurred in the Oconee National Forest in search of an old plantation and cemetery. On another dig she helped to uncover some significant lithic (stone) tools and weapons fashioned by Indians in the Uwharrie Mountains of North Carolina.

In Rebecca’s third dig she joined the Allendale Archaeological Expedition in an endeavor to uncover artifacts at the Topper Site along the Savannah River near Barnwell, S.C.

Kelly DurhamIndex

A sampling of the Civil War letters given to the museum by the Rockmore family of Eastside Baptist in Winder now inhabits the archives at the GBC Missions and Ministry Center.

During the course of her formal education and in her work as an archivist Morris has had to stand up against the current of conventional wisdom as a creationist. “Being a creationist in the field of archeology is not an easy thing,” stated Morris, “but I have found nothing that challenges my view of God creating the world in six days.

“I discovered through my education that evolution is a religion rather than a science; and those who promote evolution are just as fanatical in defending their view as anyone who promotes a false religion,” she explained.

Morris, a woman of conviction, is a devoted follower of Christ and will bring a new dimension of excellence to the GBC staff. “I want to help the Historical Commission promote a greater appreciation for our heritage as Georgia Baptists,” she said. “If we lose our history we lose our experiences. We need to see the vision of our forefathers in order to be inspired and in some cases to keep us from making the same mistakes they made.”

Morris continued, “When you have documents in a church or an association the influence is limited, but if we can properly display them in our museum they will be available to all Georgia Baptists.”

GBC Executive Director J. Robert White expressed his delight over the Historical Commission’s recent announcement, stating, “Georgia Baptists took a great step on Friday, April 25 as the employment of Rebecca Morris, archivist, was announced. Having been established in 1822, the Georgia Baptist Convention has an amazing history of God’s work among His people in Georgia. Our new building was planned in such a way as to provide for the preservation and display of our history as a convention of churches.

“With an archivist in place to collect and care for our historical documents and items, we are well on our way to preserving the history of Georgia Baptists for future generations.

“Why is this important? It is important because we both learn from and are inspired by the work and ministry of Georgia Baptists in days gone by,” White added. “I am very grateful for the vision of the Historical Commission that has led to the employment of Mrs. Rebecca Morris and the development of our museum.”

Morris grew up in Smyrna where she accepted Christ as a teenager and joined First Baptist Church. She attended Truett-McConnell College and Mercer University in Atlanta before completing her undergraduate degree at Piedmont College.

Rebecca is the wife of Alan Morris, pastor of Concord Baptist Church in Clermont. Alan and Rebecca served in Indonesia with the International Mission Board from 1993 - 1996. Rebecca’s communication skills have been developed through frequently speaking in churches on behalf of the IMB and through years of experience in the field of communications and public relations.

Rebecca Morris, left, newly selected GBC archivist admires nearly 200-year-old documents from the Chattahoochee Association. The historical records were presented to the GBC museum by Debbie and Jojo Thomas, center. Mike Williams, right, examines the 1826 books of minutes from the donation.

The Morris’ have five grown children: Hannah, 27, a third grade teacher at a Christian school in Anchorage, Alaska; Mary, 26, married to Nathan Robertson, who has just completed four years with the United States Air Force; Hope, 25, who is finishing a master’s degree at Southeastern Seminary; Jacob, 23, who is the children’s’ director at Concord Baptist Church; and Andrew, 20, who is attending the University of Alaska in Anchorage.

The Historical Commission luncheon was also highlighted by the presentation and reception of some significant gifts to the GBC. Mr. and Mrs. Dean Rockmore, Robbin Rockmore Canup, Ann Rockmore Etheridge, and Vickie Rockmore Skelton presented the GBC and the Commission a mailbag used in the Civil War and a collection of Civil War letters.

Jojo and Debbie Thomas, representing Chattahoochee Association, presented some documents and minutes of the association dating back to 1826.

Greta Barrett, representing Atlanta’s historic Tabernacle Baptist Church, presented the Commission with some pictures, books, and memorabilia from the great years of what may have once been the most influential church in Georgia.

Morris will begin her duties as the GBC archivist in June. She will spend much of her time during the first months of her service organizing, categorizing, cataloguing, and displaying important documents and historical objects. If you, your church, or your association has something you would like to contribute to the GBC Museum please contact Morris at (800) GBC-RING or at rmorris@gabaptist.org after June 1.