The Acts of Convention
Searching the Acts of Convention
The search box is designed for single word or multiple word searching. A search will produce an index screen that displays the total number of retrieved items and lists each resolution by resolution number in order from newest to oldest. The index screen will allow you to browse the results and to click on individual entries for the resolution text. Below are some helpful searching strategies.
Single Word (type one word, e.g.: Liturgy)
Typing a single word in the search box will return all resolutions that contain that word anywhere in the text. This approach works best for a broad, catch-all search on a topic or person.
Multiple Words (type two or more words with a space between, e.g.: Indigenous Ministry)
Use this approach to recall all the resolutions that contain both the words Indigenous and Ministry anywhere in a resolution (not necessarily next to each other). You can also type “Indigenous OR Ministry” to retrieve an index list of (1) all the resolutions that contain the word Indigenous; together with (2) all the resolutions that contain the word Ministry.
These very broad strategies locate everything that the General Convention has said in relation to both the Indigenous population and ministry -- either together or separately. This approach is good if you are unsure of exactly what you are trying to find as it allows you to browse a large list of retrieved items.
Compound Words (type the words inside quotation marks, e.g.: World Mission)
Using the quotation marks retrieves strings of words wherever they appear: precisely as you type them, and exactly next to each other. This strategy is excellent for precise searching of specific word phrases. Use it whenever you are looking for terms such as "Standing Committee on World Mission."
Topic Search
If you are having trouble beginning your search, try the Topic button. This will take you to a preselected list of resolutions that the Archives has determined are substantively related to the subject category. The mere mention of a word such as Evangelism will not qualify a resolution for entry under that category, instead, the resolution has to be specifically about evangelism. Be sure to use your own search terms if you want to rely on your own judgment of relevance.
Advanced Search
Use the Advanced Search to return results that meet multiple criteria. For example, use “unicameral” in the keyword field and “rejected” in the action taken field to find all resolution about a unicameral house that have been rejected.
Other Searching Strategies
- Using the Year drop down will display all the resolutions a particular year.
- To retrieve a specific resolution by number, enter either the resolution number, (e.g. by typing 2018-D009) or the year in quotes (e.g. “2018-D009"). The former strategy will retrieve only the requested resolution. The latter strategy will also retrieve any resolutions which reference the resolution in question.
- To retrieve several resolutions by resolution number, use either of the strategies outlined above, separating each resolution using a comma (e.g 1985-B007, 1991-D203, 1994-A046 or 1985 B007, 1991 D203, 1994 A046)
- The search tool is not case sensitive (use: Charles or charles; use 1997-A103 or 1997-a103).
- An asterisk will "truncate" your words in order to pull in more items -- a useful way of bringing up plural forms and unsure spellings (e.g.: missionar* for missionary and missionaries).
- Boolean searching is available for those who are familiar with it. You may use the conjunctions AND, OR, and parentheses (), as in (latino or minority) and evangelism.
For additional help in using this resource, please contact our staff using the Contact Form.