The Good News • January 2009

History: A Friendly Church

In the days when most of the congregation lived nearby, St. John's provided many ways for people to get together beyond worship. The Blue History Book of St. John's (1898-1934) includes a section headed "Our Organizations," which describes several women's groups, an altar guild, boy and girl scouts, mixed groups for teens and young adults, and a men's club. One of the most active and enduring was the Girls' Friendly Society.

The Girls' Friendly Society had begun in England in 1876 and came to the US. in 1877. Its purpose was to provide fellowship and support to young women who had left home for employment.

The St. John's Church Parishioner (the newsletter) for June 1884 reports the formation of a branch of the GFS with Miss Allie Hitchcock as its Branch Secretary and goes on to describe the purposes and rules of the organization. Membership was open to "Society ladies as Associates and to working girls and young women as Members, for mutual help (religious and secular), for sympathy and prayer and the society encouraged "purity of life, dutifulness to parents, faithfulness to employers and thrift." It was for girls of "virtuous character" only, and a young woman who lost hers/this would also forfeit her GFS membership.

It seems this group lapsed, for the Blue History Book tells us that St. John's Branch of the GFS was organized in 1909. It explains the structure - a central office in New York, conventions held every two years, and the diocesan GFS which held its annual meeting at the same time as the diocesan convention. The Rector, who served as Chaplain, appointed a Branch President, and members elected the other officers.

The branch supported many missionary efforts over the years. During World War I they sent $50 a year to support a French orphan, whose father had been killed in battle in August 1914, prepared bandages and dressings for the Red Cross, knitted items for the troops and sold $26,000 worth of Liberty Bonds. For several years they provided an annual $50 scholarship for a girl in a church school in the Philippines. They sent boxes (of what is not specified, perhaps clothing?) to an Indian Mission in New Mexico where one of the members was a missionary nurse. They provided the equipment for a home economics classroom at St. Andrew's Church School in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where another St. John's member was a missionary teacher. We recently received photos of this church and school from Mrs. Marion T. Gore of Morris, Illinois. On the back of a photo of the 1925 cooking class is a note of gratitude to St. John's for providing the equipment and support for the class. There are also photos of students and the St. Andrew's GFS.

There were many fundraising activities, large and small to support these good works. They included "Musicals, concerts, card parties, County Fairs; including fish ponds, grab bags, and the time honored round, pageants and playlets, lawn fetes, candy sales, 'sunshine bags' (for each bright or happy thing), birthday bags (a cent for a year), sales of handkerchiefs of Puerto Rican work, a 'World Tour', projects great and small."

Other activities included "book reviews, mission talks, picnics, a cooking class, health and welfare talks, readings, parties, costume and otherwise" - over the years a large number of St. John's girls and women were loyal members. In the 1960's Sophie Szamrey and Emma Jones were advisors - members baked Christmas cookies at Sophie's house, made crafts and held spaghetti dinners. They put on plays (Adam and Eve and Melodrama) and held a fundraiser where members offered services such as babysitting and housework. They visited local nursing homes to sing Christmas carols and sponsored a Mitten Tree to collect hats and mittens for Indian children in South Dakota. They went to GFS Camp and to National Assemblies. Karen Szamrey served on the National Board of Directors. One common thread of all the organizations was their relationship to the life and worship of St. John's, binding the members closer together.

Liz Wrona

More about St. John's History