Group B

Seventy Five (75) years ago a group of young working women got together to form what became
St. John’s A.C.W. Group “B”. These ladies needed a group that would meet in the evening to accommodate their working lives. So it began and they continued meeting in evenings until the last woman, Lena, retired from her job and then they switched to afternoon meetings alternating in
members' homes.
Originally there were 11 ladies with membership fluctuating over the years and we now have 10 remaining. We’ve come full circle over ¾ of a century!!!
They were an ambitious group cheerfully contributing their time and effort to the work of the church, organizing a variety of fund raising activities ranging from bake sales, smorgasbords, dessert fashion shows and of course lets not forget the many rummage sales, as well catering luncheons for birthdays, anniversaries and funerals.
Bale packing for the North has been and continues to be a major endeavor. The money raised has been used to support our parish of St. John’s but also to other missions within the diocese i.e Bishop’s Thank Offering and to our community.
Due to the aging of the group we no longer do fund raisers but participate however we can with any and all of the church fund raisers. A couple of years ago the group shifted their focus to become a Fellowship group still meeting monthly to enjoy prayer and scripture but also each others company and with our collection have still been able to contribute to projects.
Prayer Partnership has also been a priority and over the years we have supported three clergy in outlying areas. Beginning with the Rt. Rev. Michael Gardener and family at St. Judes Cathedral, Iqaluit from 1964 to 1996. He and his wife are now retired in Ottawa.
Then we supported the Rev Jason Haggstrom and family in a Parish in the Yukon and then on to Cook’s Harbour, Newfoundland. We currently are in partnership with the newly designated suffragen Bishop in Iqaluit, Joseph Royal, who is also the director of the Arthur Turner Training
Center.
It may sound like its been all work for these ladies but they enjoyed attending Annual A.C.W. conferences; annual vestry meetings which were hosted in various parishes throughout the diocese. We have enjoyed guest speakers and last but not least potluck dinners.

Lily,Lena and Valerie have given 50 years service to St. John’s in Group “B”.