Christian Women’s Club to fete anniversary

When Ruth Titcomb Currier was a little girl, she spent some of her summer days in vacation Bible school at the Baptist Church in Brewer. A young woman named Mary Clark ran the program and stayed with the Titcomb family.

Clark preached the gospel around the state, according to Currier, then organized and built a new church in New Gloucester. But it was a $100 donation from Mr. and Mrs. Vernon E. Titcomb, Currier’s parents, that allowed Clark to begin the work that would become her legacy. In 1949, Clark and Helen Duff Baugh started a national network of Christian women’s clubs that now dot the United States.

The Bangor-Brewer Christian Women’s Club will celebrate its 50th anniversary next month. Founded by Currier, it is the second-oldest such organization in the nation. The first was founded by Currier’s sister, Gladys Titcomb MacLeod, in Hartland, Conn.

The nondenominational Christian Women’s Clubs are part of Stonecroft Ministries, an umbrella organization based in Kansas City, Mo. Stonecroft helps support Village Missions, headquartered in Dallas, Ore., which in turn provides pastors and financial support for 11 rural churches in Maine.

“The purpose [of the women’s clubs] was and is threefold,” explained Currier during an interview at her Brewer home. “Christian fellowship, Christian message and receiving an offering to open [and support] closed churches and help pay pastors’ salaries.”

During the past 50 years, the club has met in many different locations, beginning with the first meeting at the Bangor House. The club now holds its monthly luncheon meetings at Kathy’s Catering in Bangor and each two-hour meeting includes Christian music, a special secular feature — such as a fashion show, travelogue, craft instruction — and an inspirational speaker. Child care is provided each month.

“When we first began the club, we had no idea it would last this long,” said Currier, who now attends St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bangor. “But, this is God’s work, not our work, although a lot of women dedicated themselves to it over the years. Even though I won’t be around to see it, I hope the club goes on for another 50 years.”

Bea Pressey of Old Town is president for the fourth time. The club is not a membership organization, she said, which makes it difficult to say how many people regularly attend meetings. However, recent attendance has averaged from 80 to 100, depending on time of year and program offered.

“At one point we were down to about 25, but now we are growing again. This club is just a wonderful way to meet ladies from different churches, who never would get to meet any other way,” said Pressey, who estimates that 35 area churches are represented at the monthly meetings.

Charles Seamans, chief financial officer for Village Missions, which also celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, declined to say how much money is contributed to the 11 Maine churches the organization helps support. Village Missions, Seamans said, agrees to help provide pastors and to help pay their salaries for nondenominational rural churches. The churches provide housing, utilities and medical insurance for pastors.

The Rev. Stephen Hanson has been leading the Winnecook Christian Church in Burnham for a decade. The 18-year-old church, which is an offshoot of the only other church in town, averages 35 to 45 people for Sunday services.

“Because this is such a small community, almost everybody is related to everybody else and if they aren’t, everybody knows everybody else,” Hanson said. “The way the church was founded, by splitting from another church, has created some problems for growth, but these are good people to minister to. They are laid back and easy to work with.”

Hanson meets once a month with his Village Mission colleague, the Rev. Wilton Rose, pastor of Stockton Springs Community Church, which was built in 1853. Rose has been pastor of the church for nine years. He learned of the Village Mission program 13 years ago when he met a pastor serving a church in upstate New York, where Rose was a cabinetmaker.

Although Rose’s congregation is about twice the size of Hanson’s, Rose said that many members are elderly. “My biggest challenge is keeping up with so many illnesses. Visiting them, bringing them comfort is my greatest challenge,” he said. “Having people surrender their lives to Christ, finding hope in their lives, is the most rewarding.”

Rose, who has spoken to the Bangor-Brewer Christian Women’s Club, said that the group funds his trips to annual conferences, pay for a subscription to a national publication for ministers, and takes up a special offering each Christmas that is passed to pastors in Maine.

“They treat us well,” Rose said.

The club rarely advertises and relies on members to invite new members, Pressey explained. “Word of mouth is what brings in new people,” she said. “But they stay because of the fellowhsip they find here.”

Currier credited the Lord with the club’s longevity and the fact that the women “never discuss denominations, politics or our weight.”

The 50th anniversary celebration of the Bangor-Brewer Christian Women’s Club will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 13, at Kathy’s Catering, Bangor. For reservations or infomation, call Bea Pressey at 827-2218.