The Nation Transformed
1865-1914

“Our Sunday School sessions are held in the galleries. The arrangement is a bad one. When I address the children I cannot see their faces. They cannot be made to respond well in the service, nor to sing, nor to pray properly, nor to form any liturgical habits…If I ask them questions they answer or not as they please…We must have a Sunday School room.” While these comments may have a familiar ring, they were made in 1864 by the new rector, Rev. Weston. The key to the much-needed Sunday School room lay in the capable hands of the Christ Church ladies.

The Civil War accelerated the emancipation of women in society. It provided the opportunity to move outside the domestic sphere. 1863 marked the first time women were mentioned in our vestry minutes. They were to be the fundraisers for this addition to the recently built third church. Two years later the 140 “Sunday Scholars” were in new quarters that cost about $1600 to build. The ladies also paid the organist’s salary of $125 per year.

The next generation of women continued the work not only at Christ Church; but in the town as well. Members of the Ladies Society included Celia and Cornelia Curtis, Adelaide Curtis Gunther, Fanny Russell, and Winifred Todd. They ran the suppers and sales, collected clothing for the poor and supported mission outreach.

Celia and Cornelia Curtis generously laid the foundation for the Stratford Historical Society by leaving their historic home to the group. Miss Fanny Russell devoted much of her life to the Stratford Library. She was its heart and soul.

Other familiar aspects of Stratford life also appear. The Church not only got a coal furnace (cost about $200); but also by 1913 electric lights replaced the kerosene lamps. Complaints about people parking their automobiles on the church lawn resulted in the creation of Harvey Place with its parking area. By 1917 you could drive your car to see the moving pictures being shown in the newly built “Parish House” (now North Parish Hall).

In the midst of change, Christ Church celebrated its 200th anniversary in 1907. It was (and is) a reassuring presence in a quickly-changing world.

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