Little is known of the activities of the Women of Trinity Church, Abbevile, prior to the beginning of the present century. From diaries of long ago members, it is learned that the women were active in many ways. They tended to altar duties, cleaned the church, cared for the linens and altar hangings and worked to accumulate funds to replace old lamps with electric lights. In 1907 this was accomplished when the handsome chandelier and side lights were installed, making Trinity Church one of the first public buildings in the area to be equipped with electricity.

As the years passed, the congregation dwindled until in the 1930s the church ceased to function as an organization and was opened only for occasional funerals or homecoming services.

In the late 1940s several of those who had left Trinity and the community to establish themselves elsewhere began to return home to Abbeville. By 1949 after holding services in homes, this determined group was able to open the church once more for services with visiting clergymen.

In 1954, the Rev. E. Cannon McCreary, just out of seminary, came to Trinity to begin holding services. It was then that the present day Women of the Church was organized. Since no minutes were kept, the pursuits of those days remain only in the memories of the women involved.

In addition to their regular duties, so familiar to Churchwomen today, these valiant women met every Thursday, bringing vacuum cleaners from home to clean the unheated building. They also polished pews as readily as altar brass. In short, they did what had to be done. From bake and rummage sales, they managed to earn enough to have kneelers made which they covered to relieve aching knees. A cookbook sale in 1955 made possible the purhcase of hangings and linens which the local group handsewed. They were also able to purchase new hymnals and prayer books to replace those from earlier days.

So much is owed to this little band of devoted and determined women. Because of their endeavors, Trinity Episcopal Church women have continued through the years to be a valuable part of the ministry of this venerable church in this historic town.

--- May Hutchinson