Archief - Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.), St. Matthew’s (Trouty) fonds

The Church of England Women’s Association (C.E.W.A.) was founded in 1876 at Heart’s Content by the Rev. George Gardiner. The C.E.W.A. endeavoured to promote and extend Christian unity and fellowship at home and overseas by attending to the spiritual, educational and physical needs of its followers.

The C.E.W.A. also assisted in missionary enterprises, orphanages, senior citizen’s homes, medical clinics and the erection of churches and schools in the Province.

St. Matthew’s branch of the C.E.W.A. was founded on December 7, 1932 (before that there existed a ‘sewing circle’) when a delegation of sisters from St. John the Evangelist C.E.W.A. from New Bonaventure came along to assist the Spiritual Director, the late Rev. (later Canon) Harvey Torraville in setting up the new Association.

In 1967 the C.E.W.A. became the Anglican Women’s Association (A.W.A.) with approximately 200 branches and 7000 members in the Province. In 1969 the A.W.A., the Women’s Association (W.A.) Parish Guilds and Alter Guilds merged to become the Anglican Church Women’s Association (A.C.W.A.).

After the restructuring of the Anglican Church in Newfoundland in 1976 the word “association” was dropped by the three new Dioceses. The A.C.W., corresponding to the Diocesan boundaries of the Anglican Church in Newfoundland, is divided into three sectors.

St. Matthew’s Branch of the A. C. W. closed in January of 2003 because of a lack of members.