The Archives has prepared a set of recommendations for local churches in developing a policy on making name and gender changes to Episcopal Church records.  These guidelines for policy development accommodate individuals’ requests to align name and gender entries with usage they have legally adopted in civil jurisdictions.  Name and gender identity in records is particularly sensitive in instances where individuals seek to safeguard their privacy, protect themselves from harm, or simply to revise records that do not accurately represent their identity. 

The guidelines were prepared at the request of General Convention (2018-A088) and approved for distribution by Executive Council at its October 9–11, 2020 meeting.  The Executive Council’s resolution and an additional bibliography of resources are available under the website’s “Text Center” tab above.  The Guidelines for Policy on Amending Church Records for Name and Gender Changes are available in Spanish.  The Church archivists welcome questions and comments on the guidelines.