The Diocese of Metuchen Historic Records Commission, in conjunction with the New Jersey Catholic Historical Commission, will be presenting a one day workshop, “The Historian’s Craft: How To Research And Write Your Parish History Like A Professional Historian.”
The workshop will be held on November 16 from 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the parish center of Our Lady of Peace Church, 1730 Route 130 in North Brunswick.
The workshop is designed for parishioners interested in their parish history, especially those who are planning to write a parish history for a major anniversary celebration.
Topics will cover: “Historical Method (Not Your High School Term Paper),” “Historical Linguistics (Not as Boring as It Sounds!),” “What’s In a Diocesan Archive,” and a history of the St. Anthony Guild Press, Paterson, as well as research examples. There will be time for questions and answers, as well as networking with other parish history buffs.
Cost of the workshop is $30 and includes lunch as well as a copy of the Catholic Historian’s Handbook by member Carl Ganz of Somerville, who recently wrote histories of the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling and St. Patrick Church in Elizabeth.
The N.J. Catholic Historical Commission was established at Seton Hall University by the late Archbishop Peter Gerety in 1976 as part of the Catholic commemoration of the Bicentennial of the United States for the preservation and promotion of the Catholic history of New Jersey, and has representation from all five Roman rite dioceses in the state.
The Diocese of Metuchen Historical Records Commission was established by the late Bishop Edward T. Hughes in 1992 to encourage parishioners to preserve and promote the history of their parishes, which numerous parishes around the Diocese have done over the past 32 years. This workshop marks the first collaboration between both groups.
For more information or to register, please contact Father Michael G. Krull, chair of the Diocese of Metuchen Historical Records Commission at [email protected]. Checks may be made out to Our Lady of Peace Church, with the notation “History Workshop.”
We also invite you to save the date of Saturday, April 26, for our next Catholic History on the Road trip, “Two Deans and a Chaplain: Three Giants of N.J. Catholic History.” More details on this trip will be announced after Christmas.
Contributed by Father Michael G. Krull, chairman, Diocese of Metuchen Historical Records Commission.