Organisations

History of the Women's Auxiliary in the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica
1940-1970

The history of the Anglican Women's Auxiliary in Jamaica has its origins in the time of Bishop William Hardie, Lord Bishop of Jamaica.
During the summer of 1939, Rev. G.T. Armstrong visitor the United States with a letter from Bishop Hardie requesting him to make an appeal on behalf of the Church in Jamaica. Rev. Armstrong presented the letter to Bishop Stires, Bishop of Long Island who was unable to assist, his diocese being overwhelmed with appeals for help. He asked Rev. Armstrong if the Women's Auxiliary existed in the Church in Jamaica, and the reply was in the negative. Bishop Stires then gave him a letter to the Church House, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York, where he received a large quantity of literature and advice on how to set up a branch of the Women's Auxiliary which fostered ideals of self-reliance and self sufficiency. Rev. Armstrong returned to Jamaica and reported the matter to Bishop Hardie.
In July, 1940, a preliminary meeting was called at St. Luke's Church Hall at which the Bishop presided. Among those who attended were Rev. Armstrong, Mrs. Seddon, Archdeacon Harrison and Canon and Mrs. Lovell. Rev. Armstrong outlined the objects of the Women's Auxiliary and it was decided that the Women's Auxiliary should be established in Jamaica Canon and Mrs. Lovell spoke approvingly of it and Canon Lovell said as the men of the Church were not successful in raising funds, the women should have a try at it. Mrs. Lovell was asked to call a larger meeting and to be president. This meeting was held in October at the St. George's Church Hall, the Executive Committee appointed and the Women's Auxiliary was launched. A mandate was given to the members to undertake fund-raising in aid of the Diocesan Pastoral Aid Fund.
At Synod in February 1941, Bishop Hardie expressed pleasure at the formation of the Women's Auxiliary and said he looked forward to the organisation being of great use in the Church and he felt sure that it would play an important role in raiding funds for the Diocesan Pastoral Aid Fund.
The Churches in the Corporate Area were enthusiastic from the beginning and immediately started Branches. Among them were St. Andrew Parish Church, St. Michael's and All Angels, St. Luke's and St. George's which began in 1941.(Gradually, the rural churches started their own Branches and by 1970 there were about 20 Branches with a membership of approximately 300 women.
The Women's Auxiliary Headquarters at Tom Redcam Drive was built on land donated by the Diocese, adjacent to Church House and was dedicated in 1961 by Bishop Percival Gibson, then Lord Bishop of Jamaica. This came about mainly by the untiring efforts of Mrs. Frank Ogle, Chairman and members of the Executive Committee. The building was constructed through donations of cash and materials from the business community in the Corporate Area, members and friends, with Mr. Lloyd Hall, the Architect and Contractor donating his services.
The administrative structure of the Women's Auxiliary involves a President, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer and representatives from the branches. Meetings are held monthly on the last Thursday of each month, except August when members go on holidays.

The Women's Auxiliary of the Anglican Diocese 1970-2000

The Anglican Women's Auxiliary 'marched' into the decade of the seventies under the leadership of Mrs. Frank Ogle (President), Mrs. A. Gaynair (Chairman) and Miss Alys Sanguinetti (Secretary) with a strong faith in God for the strengthening of the organization.
The then motto: "Worship and Work" was like a light guided by the hand of God.
The Management Committee had been energized by a visit from Mrs. Evadne Hulse - Chairman of the British Honduras Women's Auxiliary (1969) who gave an insight into life in Belize. This established a link which was later reinforced by a gift which was sent by the Women's
Auxiliary to the Belize Auxiliary on the celebration of their 50th Anniversary in 1972.
The obvious changes in the Jamaican society dictated the need for a new thrust by the Women's Auxiliary to serve more effectively in the life of the Church; as well as the various relevant communication.
By 1971, there was a change in the leadership structure of the organization. Mrs. Ogle who migrated to Australia was replaced by Mrs. A Gaynair. She also assumed the post of Treasurer; while Mrs. Kathleen Thwaites became the new Chairman of the executive.
Several new branches were formed, including the following:

The Church of the Epiphany -Richmond, St. Mary, 1971
The Church of theTransfiguration Meadowbrook, St. Andrew, 1972
Trinitvville, St. Thomas, 1972
Snowdon, Manchester, 1978
Church of Reconciliation, Portmore, 1978
The Branch of Retreat, St. Mary was reactivated

Special visits were made to the churches such as St. Paul, Moore T)wIl, St. Bonifaee, Alt. Industry and Old harbour which were having difficulties.
These visits helped to solve their proI)lems and strengthened those churches that were having difficulties.
These visits helped to solve their problems and strengthened the respective Women's Auxiliaries. There were several activities initiated during this period as follows:

A Quiet day was held at St. Luke's Church on Ash Wednesday, 1971 and all Corporate Area branches attended.
Members contributed and donated a pew to the new St. Paul's Church in Maryland
The Women's Auxiliary with the assistance of merchants in the city provided books and o t h e r necessities for a school started by Dr. Molly Thorburn at Eventide Home.
Over one hundred (100) women at Eventide Home were treated with individual gifts and fruits. The Home also received a stove from the Women's Auxiliary. At a later date the ground floor of the Women's Ward was adopted by the Women's Auxiliary as part of its Outreach programme in 1973.
Three members : Miss Mavis Watts (Secretary -
Executive), Mrs. Tomlinson (Lacovia) and Mrs.
Atkinson (Mandeville) represented the Women's
Auxiliary at an important Conference of
Caribbean Women held in Trinidad.
Bishop Gibson Home for the Aged, brainchild of the B.S.A and supported by the Women's Auxiliary and the then Daughters of the King (D.O.K) became a reality in 1976 after much planning.
This resulted from much planning and fund-raising which started from 1972. This project was established in memory of the late Bishop Gibson -the first Jamaican Bishop of Jamaica.
Bishop's Day was held in Mandeville in 1973, the very first time it was being held outside the Corporate Area. The hard work of Mrs. McIntyre and her team was manifested in a highly successful event.
Women's Auxiliary financed the Synod in 1 9 7 3 and served lunches to the delegates.
As a result of successful representation to the Bishop and Synod, there was an amendment to Canon 4 of the Diocesan Canons to allow

representatives from Adult Organizations within the church to participate in Synod. Hence the Women's Auxiliary was able to send two representatives Miss Lottie Fyffe, Retreat, St. Mary and Mrs. Ivy Tappin, St. George's Kingston attended Synod for the first time in 1979. Mrs. Deitha Wood, Church of the Transfiguration, St. Andrew was the alternative representa-tive.

Active support was given to the National Literacy Programme throughout the country by the Women's Auxiliary.
The escalation of violence in 1977 prompted the Women's
Auxiliary to call for periods of prayer in the nation which set the wheels in motion for the
Churches to combine and take up the challenge.

In spite of hard economic times and the difficulties of fund raising, the Women's Auxiliary worked hard to raise their contribution to the Pastoral Aid Fund. Mrs. Kathleen Clarke was highly commended for getting the Women's Auxiliary reports printed over the period.
It must be noted that, although the Women's Auxiliary was in sym-pathy with the women involved, it was not able to support the 'Maternity Leave with Pay' to unmarried women Teachers' Act of
1978.
The Women's Auxiliary contin-ued to give its support to the enhancement of the lives of those in need through expanded outreach programmes.
By the year 1980, there were 38 branches throughout the island; with efforts being made to keep all active. There was a steady increase in mem-bership in most branches.
Rt. Rev. Herbert Edmundson, then Bishop of Jamaica migrated and Bishop DeSouza replaced him. Mrs. Kathleen Thwaites, Chairman was taken from us and Mrs. Lyn Knight became the new Chairman in 1980. Miss Enid Eulett was elected Treasurer.

In 1984, a new branch was formed at the Church of the Holy
Spirit, Independence City, St. Catherine with twenty - seven
new members.
New projects came on stream during this decade:

A Breakfast programme was established and five schools benefited. These were Mona Secondary, August Town Primary; All Saints Infant, St. Simon Basic and AlTman Town Infant School. The last three are still on the programme.
Financial assistance was also given to students at United Theological College and Deaconess House.
The Women's Auxiliary gave full support to the Harmony in the Homes Movement.

Our members continue to excel in services given to their communities and a number of them have received local and national awards. These include:
Mrs. Delores Henry of St. Andrew Parish Church - Order of Distinction (O.D.) for services in Special Education; Golden Hands Award by her community and an award by St. Elizabeth Homecoming Committee for her special appearance on KLAS' programme: "My Place" in 1984. The launch of the 'Decade of
Evangelism' was a reason to rejoice with the rest of the Church community as the event was aimed at bringing persons closer to God and strengthening the church.
The following developments were reasons for the Women's Auxiliary to rejoice:

The Rt. Rev. Neville DeSouza,
Bishop of Jamaica received the
national award : the Order of
Jamaica (O.J.) and Doctor of
Laws (Honorary) UWU 1991.
The Very Revd. Canon Weivel Gordon was appointed Custos of Kingston.
The Deaconess Order celebrated

100 years of its existence in Jamaica.

Mrs. Yvonne Keane-Dawes, Executive Member, was appointed to the position of Principal of Queens High School.
During the three decades, the Women's Auxiliary lost a number of stalwarts who gave of themselves unstintingly to the organization. Among them were the following:
Mrs. Jackson from the Church House staff
Mrs. Kathleen Thwaites, Past Chairman
Mrs. Lyn Knight, Past Chairman, President
Mrs. Clarice Bullock, Past Chairman
Miss Coleen Ho, Past Chairman With the advent of Chairman, Mrs. Leila Parker-Robinson and the support of President Mrs. Iona DeSouza and the Executive the work started by those of the past has continued to be maintained and new projects have been introduced.

These include the following:

The revision of the Constitution started in the late 1980s has been completed.
The complete refurbishing and refurnishing of
the Headquarters Building.
The introduction of a Quiet Day
Annual Retreats for Chairmen and other
Executive members three one-day retreats have
been held over the past three years.
Membership Drives in terms of the members and
the Branches. The thrust for encouraging
younger members to join has been put into place.
The new motto is: "Worship, Work and Witness".
The 60th Anniversary Celebrations in Jamaica
have so far been carefully planned and executed.
The three church services have been held in the
three regions of the Diocese.
The 60th Anniversary Awards Banquet was held
at Le Meridien, Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
The Annual Retreat was held at the Golf View
Hotel, Mandeville.
The Women's Auxiliary will continue to work
towards the achievement of its goals and objectives
guided by motto :'Worship, Work and Witness'.