Some significant milestones for the Women's Missionary Society at Chalmers Church.

Dec. 2, 1912. The first meeting of the Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society is held at Chalmers Church.

1914. The name of the organization is changed to Women's Missionary Society (W.M.S.), Senior Auxiliary.

Oct. 5, 1927. The Chalmers "Mission Band" is organized under the leadership of Mrs. W. I. McLean.

1960. The W.M.S. group at Chalmers adopts the name "McLean W.M.S." as a tribute to Dr. & Mrs. W. I. McLean.

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The W.M.S. also served as the organizer and the encourager of the Canadian Girls in Training (CGIT) program.

For a number of years there was also a group for younger women at Chalmers called the McKay Young Women's Missionary Society.

"The Women's Missionary Society is a community of Christians whose purpose, in response to the love of God in Jesus Christ, is to encourage one another and all the people of the church to be involved in local and world mission through prayer, study, service and fellowship."

Though this specific statement of purpose for the Women's Missionary Society had not yet been written when the McLean W.M.S. was organized in 1912, it does very much reflect the concerns that shaped this organization right from the beginning.

For 90 years the McLean W.M.S. group represented these objectives and concerns in the Chalmers Congregation.

From its first meeting onwards the W.M.S. was an active source for information about missionary concerns. In an era when communications were sparse the women of the W.M.S. established an active network of education about the mission work of the church. Each meeting of the group included a report or letter from or about one of the mission fields or programs of the church. Through the years the group was also responsible for arranging for many missionaries to visit Chalmers. The minutes of June 13, 1913, reported on the visit to the W.M.S. meeting of the Rev. Mahaffy of Calgary who talked about mission work in the Canadian West. Many more missionary visitors to the W.M.S. group and the worship services of the Chalmers Congregation followed.

The group also gave active support to various mission needs of the church both through their financial gifts and practical projects and activities. A presentation at the W.M.S. meeting on April 14, 1913, provided information on the work of the famous Dr. William Grenfell in Labrador. That report sparked those present to agree to pack and send off a box of warm clothing in response to the immediate needs that were being expressed. That same meeting saw the group making plans to sew men's nightshirts and make pillows for the mission hospital in Kenora, Ontario.

These projects from the earliest days of the McLean W.M.S. group are representative of the support that this group has given to mission causes throughout its history.

The history of the McLean W.M.S. was also always the story of a generous financial response to the needs of Christian mission and service in the name of Christ in the world. The Chalmers Congregation and the wider church have benefited from this strong commitment.

It was therefore with a great sense of disappointment that the members of the McLean W.M.S. acknowledged that the realities of age and health had depleted their group and that it was no longer feasible for them to continue. As they concluded their business at the end of 2001 they issued the following statement: "We have been an active group in Chalmers for 90 years and are thankful for the many years during which we have had the privilege of helping our Presbyterian Church in Canada to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to many, many people in Canada and overseas. Our group will continue to pray for the work, thankful to God for having had a part in it through several generations."

They then expressed this hope. "May the motto of the W.M.S. - 'The World for Christ' - be the goal that as Christian women we press toward."

Indeed, it is our prayer that we as a congregation may maintain this zeal for Christian mission and service in the world. It is our hope that this commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ will be reflected in every facet of the life of our congregation in the years to come.

Women of the Chalmers Congregation have also played a significant role in mission work beyond the Chalmers Congregation.

In 1986 the Hamilton Presbyterial published a history entitled In His Service: 100 Years of the Hamilton Presbyterial.

Four women who had been associated with the McLean W.M.S. were singled out for recognition. Two of these women, a mother and a daughter, had served terms as President of the Presbyterial.

Mrs. W. I. (Amy) McLean was President of the Presbyterial from 1933-1936.

Mrs. W. E. (Mabel) McCutcheon was President from 1959 through 1962. Mrs. McCutcheon also had the distinction of being the first woman and lay person of the Presbyterian Church in Canada to serve as Chairman of the Board of World Mission of our denomination.

The 1986 history of the Presbyterial also noted two other members of the McLean W.M.S. who had "made a significant contribution to the work of the Presbyterial." They were:

Further information about the ongoing work of the W.M.S. within the Presbyterian Church in Canada may be secured by contacting them by phone at 1-800-619-7301 or by e-mail at: wms@presbyterian.ca

You may also visit their website at: www.presbyterian.ca/wms