Episcopal Churchwomen, Diocese of Minnesota.

In June 1882 representatives of various Episcopal women's groups met and organized a branch of the Minnesota Auxiliary to the Board of Missions, to unite all parishes of the Diocese to "...raise funds, circulate missionary publications...and to clothe and educate missionaries and their families." The first meeting included Episcopal women from St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, and other cities in the Diocese. From 1882 to 1892 the organization collected considerable funds, clothing, and other items. Later scholarships were added, along with study classes, a junior auxiliary, and an infant aid group.

From 1900 to 1982 the organization expanded its activities, responding to the many social changes during that period, incorporating work in prisons, lumber camps, mining locations, and ranches; charitable and other work during the two world wars and the great depression; and missionary work to Japan and Alaska, and among American Indians. In May 1956 the name of the organization was changed to its present title.

Folder one of box one contains "Episcopal Churchwomen of Minnesota, The First One Hundred Years, 1882-1992," by Catherine Gaines Boehlke (1981), from which the information in this sketch was taken.

From the guide to the Episcopal Churchwomen records., 1882-1992., (Minnesota Historical Society)