Do you have faith in your family tree?

A new Methodist family history website - the second in a trio ofonline community archives - has been launched by Methodist Heritagewith the aim of encouraging people to share information related toevery aspect of Methodist history. My Methodist History is inviting people all over the world tocontribute and help document Methodism's early development,nineteenth century splits and sub-denominations, overseas missionsand life post the 1932 re-union.

People can use the site to share their stories and photos aswell as add comments to other people's posts. Anyone can upload material on to the site, which is free to use, after registering. A message board enables people to ask for help andshare research interests.

Jo Hibbard, Methodist Church Heritage Officer, said: "We areparticularly keen to hear from people whose Methodist history hasinfluenced their family or church community in more recent times.The website is designed to provide a space for communities with ashared history. We have already had former missionaries uploadingtheir stories of serving the Church overseas in the 50s and 60s. Ihope we will also have former members of MAYC (the MethodistAssociation of Youth Clubs) recalling the Church's legendary'London Weekend' youth rallies at the Albert Hall in the 70s and80s." 

The My Methodist History website is linked to the, alreadypopular, My Primitive Methodist Ancestors launched in June 2012. It willalso be linked to the forthcoming My Wesleyan Methodist Ancestorswebsite, with a search facility enabled to scan thenetwork. 

All three online community archives will be exhibited at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live Exhibition, which takes place atLondon Olympia, 22-24 February 2013. Thirteen thousand familyhistory enthusiasts are expected to visit the stands of over 160exhibitors, including - for the first time - Methodist Heritage.Experts on Methodist history and records will be on hand tointroduce researchers to the My Methodist History network.