Women's Ministries
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The history of women's organizations in the Christian Church in Illinois began in 1874. In that year Caroline Neville Pearre of Eureka prayed that God might show the Disciple women a way to unite in missionary service. Her prayers were answered by the realization that it was she who must bring this dream to fruition. With her influence, the women of Eureka organized a local missionary society on July 26, 1874. This movement gained support throughout the state of Illinois, and a state meeting was held in Eureka in August of that year. It was then that the Illinois Christian Women's Board of Missions (CWBM) was established in order to project and carry out missionary work in foreign fields. This was only about six weeks prior to the organization of the National CWBM.
The auxiliary of the Christian Women's Board of Missions in Decatur was founded in 1876 or 1877 before the division of the congregation, although it is assumed that some sort of women's group probably existed earlier. The object of the auxiliary was to cultivate a missionary spirit, encourage missionary effort in the church, disseminate missionary intelligence, and secure systematic contributions for missionary purposes. These early women believed that women must help answer the world's needs. They were very interested in the study of foreign countries, particularly the home life of the people.
In 1906, after the division, the auxiliary of the Central Church of Christ (previous name for Central Christian Church) was noted in an early church directory to be "in full fellowship with all the work of CWBM." Cooperating with state goals, Decatur's Central was one of the first auxiliaries to take a named room in the Calcutta Mission Home. A few years later, a living link in the person of Dr. E.A. Lines, sponsored by Central, was in charge of the clinics and Bible teaching at Piedras Negras, Mexico. William T. Moore in his book (A Comprehensive History of the Disciples of Christ 1909) stated, "When the Recording Angel shall make up the estimate of work accomplished among the Disciples of Christ, not the least will be ascribed to the Christian Women's Board of Missions." In 1916 the auxiliary at Central, in collaboration with the church and Bible school, had a fund which was distributed to the following diversified causes: Foreign Missions, American Missions, Christian Education, Christian Women's Board of Missions, American Temperance, National Benevolence, Church Extension, Illinois Missions, Ministerial Pensions, and Christian Unity. Nationally, after the merger of six missionary boards in 1919, the Christian Women's Board of Missions became a department of the United Christian Missionary Society and locally was called simply the Women's Missionary Society.
In 1894, before the division of the congregation, the Ladies Aid Society of the Christian Church was organized. Its stated purpose was to raise money for local church purposes and to promote fellowship among members of the congregation. The first meeting of the Willing Workers was in March 1894, but this group joined the Ladies Aid Society the following month. Then, to make it all the more confusing, the auxiliaries of the Ladies Aid Society, of which there were seven, were called the Cheerful Workers, meeting weekly.
The members of the Ladies Aid Society visited the sick, pieced quilts, made bonnets and aprons to sell, sewed carpet rags, hemmed tea towels, tacked comforters, and aided specific church members who needed help. Many times they took their work out into the churchyard under a shade tree. Monthly general meetings were held, and this quaint reference to a hailstorm in May 1894 was made in the minutes: "All washed our eyes in May hail water and felt that we would in the future have strong eyes to see to work for Christ and the church." The women had attended a funeral on the day of the meeting but did not return to work at the church because of the storm. The hail stones were reportedly five to six inches in diameter.
In 1896, after the church was divided, the Ladies Aid Society (the name, at least) stayed with the Church Street Christian Church. The Women's Missionary Society no doubt also had to be reorganized in the two individual churches.
It is not known exactly when the Social Helpers at Central was formed, but it was probably sometime between 1896 and 1906. The logical assumption would be that the Social Helpers was a refounded version of the original Ladies Aid Society. Monthly meetings were held to promote fellowship, hear reports, and plan for service. The latter purpose seemed to be to assist in any work of the church that was needed. One such opportunity presented itself in December 1911 when Rev. O.W. Lawrence, former minister at Central, died in Yakima, Washington. At that time the Social Helpers sent a $100 "purse" to Rev. Lawrence's widow. Their devotion to the Christian cause and their generosity manifested itself in many projects through the years. In 1920 they were still a very active group.
With more and more women serving in the women's organizations of the church, it was inevitable that the next generation should also became involved. Thus, Triangles and Circles were organized. At Central the first evidence of the Triangle Club and the Young Women's Mission Circle was found in the church directory of 1916.
The financial needs of these early groups were met with ingenuity and imagination. Nowhere was this more evident than at the Sock Social given as a benefit by the Social Helpers on Friday, May 1, 1903. The following is part of a poem that speaks for itself as an example (a tiny cloth sock was attached).
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The Illinois CWBM began with a state fund of $5.41 and in its early years expected five cents a month from each member for state work in addition to the national dues of ten cents a month. However, by 1912 the idea of "living link" missionaries had been widely accepted, and this meant each auxiliary gave $600 a year toward the support of one missionary or $1,000 for a man and wife. As active as Central was in the Illinois CWBM, it is probable that it, too, was following these financial goals.
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Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
(217) 428-4336
email the webmaster at gbarron@cccdisciples.org