Saint Paul's United Methodist Church (Harahan, La.) records
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the activities of Saint Paul's United Methodist Church (Harahan, La.). It includes membership records, administrative records, committee records, historical records, electronic records, audiovisual material, and scrapbooks.
The administrative records include charge conference records, audit records, trustee records, insurance records, legal records, and property records. Administrative records from the 2010s also include material from APEX Ministries United Methodist Church (New Orleans, La.). Charge conference records from the 2010s include material from APEX Ministries United Methodist Church (New Orleans, La.) and Hartzell United Methodist Church (New Orleans, La.).
The committee records include material from the congregation’s Women’s Society of Christian Service and United Methodist Women.
The historical records include church histories, bulletins, directories, photographs, and printed items. Photographic slides (1967-1986) appear to have been compiled for a church history celebration in 1987.
The electronic records were originally stored on a Toshiba external hard drive, which is included with the collection. After surveying these records, the most useful ones created by the Saint Paul's congregation have been transferred to the archives' network-attached storage. These electronic records include membership records, administrative records, committee records, bulletins, and photographs.
The audiovisual material include compact disc recordings of worship services. Also included are videocassettes of church events.
Most scrapbooks document the general activities of the congregation. These include church bulletins, photographs, architectural drawings, and Sunday school records. The scrapbook from 1965-1991 also includes material from Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church (New Orleans, La.). Additional scrapbooks document the congregation’s United Methodist Women.
Dates
- 1941 - 2017
Creator
- Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church (Harahan, La.) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Physical rights are retained by the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.
Biographical / Historical
Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church was located at 6500 Jefferson Highway, Harahan, Louisiana.
A group of Methodists met on October 24, 1941 to form a new church. An organizational meeting was held at the Harahan City Hall. The charter for the Harahan Methodist Church was validated on November 9, 1941. Rev. Karl Tooke, pastor at Munholland, became the first pastor. Due to the war, building materials were hard to come by. The congregation met in the city hall for about 3 years. Using materials from a building damaged by fire, the first church was built and was dedicated on November 10, 1945. The first full-time pastor was Rev. Robert Jamieson.
A new sanctuary was built in 1952 and the old one was demolished. The congregation of 50 persons met at the Harahan Recreation Center during construction. An educational building was constructed in 1954. The name was changed to St. Paul's Methodist Church that year. In 1956, the parsonage was moved from 663 Grove St. to 128 Magnolia Blvd. In 1976, a new parsonage was acquired at 59 Donelon Dr. in Harahan. A new sanctuary was completed in 1961. The 1952 sanctuary is being used as the Fellowship Hall.
Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church was discontinued and abandoned in 2017.
Source: Timothy Hebert, “The Historical Register of the Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church,” (Louisiana: Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2004), page NO-65.
Extent
11 Linear Feet
1.15 Gigabytes (1.15 gigabytes = 2,264 files = 307 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged in seven series:
Series 1. Membership records, 1942-2016
Series 2. Administrative records, 1945-2017
Series 3. Committee records, 1946-2016
Series 4. Historical records, 1941-2016
Series 5. Electronic records, 2006-2017
Series 6. Audiovisual material, 1984-2015
Series 7. Scrapbooks, 1941-2013
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection was transferred to the Louisiana Conference Office (Baton Rouge, La.), then transferred to archives by Wybra Price (Shreveport District Superintendent) in February 2018 (accession number 2018-012).
A second accession was transfered by the New Orleans District Office in March 2021 (accession number 2021-007).
- APEX Ministries United Methodist Church (New Orleans, La.)
- Administrative records
- Church bulletins
- Church records and registers -- Louisiana -- Jefferson Parish
- Compact discs
- Correspondence
- Electronic records (digital records)
- Financial records
- Hartzell United Methodist Church (New Orleans, La.)
- Histories (literary works)
- Legal documents
- Methodist Church (U.S.). Louisiana Conference (South Central Jurisdiction)
- Methodist Church (U.S.). Louisiana Conference. Woman's Society of Christian Service
- Minutes (administrative records)
- Photographs
- Property records
- Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church (New Orleans, La.)
- Scrapbooks
- Slides (photographs)
- United Methodist Church (U.S.). Louisiana Conference
- United Methodist Women (U.S.). Louisiana Conference
- Videocassettes
Creator
- Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church (Harahan, La.) (Organization)
- Title
- Finding Aid to Saint Paul's United Methodist Church (Harahan, La.) records
- Author
- Beth Vogler and Chris Brown
- Date
- 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections Repository