St. Stephen's A.C.W. Burlington. P.E.I. Parish of New London

. The first involvement of the women of St. Stephen's in the work of

; their church would probably occur on that memorable day in 1855 when their

3 husbands, sons, and brothers gathered to prepare a site and to lay the

i hand-hewn stones and timbers for the foundation of their new church. To

2 the women would fall the task of packing lunches and taking on a greater

1 share of the farm work in order to free their men for this important task.

i This new church, St. Stephen's, the second church to be built in the

: Parish of New London. would serve the areas of Sea View, Spring Valley,

a Irishtown, and Burlington. The women in this part of the parish were soon

busy and in a report by Rev. J.A. Richey in 1865, it states: "The ladies

of St. Stephen‘s have shown their zeal and activity by supplying the desk,

communion table, and pulpit,with appropriate hangings, this their free-

will offering was very suitably presented on the day of General Thanksgiving". Although the women of St. Stephen's were not organized as a group

throughout the early years, they were arranging monthly festivals and tea

parties. In 1871 a tea partyu'lasting all afternoon and evening, was held

in the home of a church member. It was attended by one hundred and forty

peOple and the amount realized from this tea (the price being only one

shillingO‘was aboutgf8. All these money-making events were held in an

effort to complete St. Stephen's Church and in the 1880's the tower and

spire were completed and the newly installed bell rang out over the country-

side. By 1896 the women were ready to look outside their own church needs

and the Gleaner's Union was organized. This was the first missionary organization in the parish, and it met with some opposition among the older members of St. Stephen's Church. The people were used to getting some financial help from the Mother Church in England and the thought of giving money to help missions in India of China was not popular. But the younger members took it up with enthusiasm and a splendid branch of the Gleaner's Union was formed. They met in the homes and had a program of Bible and _Missionary study which continued for many years.