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V
ARTICLE X WOMEN'S WORK AT MAIN STREET CHURCH
One of the strong parts of Main Street Church has always been the women's work. When the writer first came to Bay St. Louis to live around 1920, a group including Mrs. W. L. Bourgeois, Mrs. E. Steele Drake, Mrs. A. L. Stokoe, Mrs. W. A. McDonald, Mrs. John Osoinach, Mrs. Paul Delcuze, Mrs. James A. Evans and many others provided strong support for the minister and the official board, and were responsible for the furnishings and maintenance of the parsonage until recent years.
First known as Woman's Missionary Society (1912-1940), their group moved through changes in structure and title (as did the church) and became Woman's Society of Christian Service in 1940 and United Methodist Women in 1968.
On the conference level, a number of women from Bay St. Louis served over the years, Mrs. W. W. James probably serving the longest.
At Main Street it became evident in the late 1940's after World War
II	that there were a number of young women who would enjoy the fellow ship of an evening circle.
Mrs. Abby Bourgeois Rogers served as the first Chairman, and Mrs. Alice Evans Pitcairn succeeded her.
In 1957 this circle divided to accomodate the young matrons with children in school, and a morning circle was formed with Mrs. Margaret Shattuck as its first Chairman.
These active, hard working young women were responsible in 1954 for providing for the church a beautiful new pulpit, altar and lectern. Other items were added by individual donors.
In 1959 a long-time wish was realized when a Book of Remembrance was dedicated and presented to the church in memory of George Shadoin to provide a permanent record of memorial and honor gifts and to mark special occasions.
The funds which have been given over the years were used to make substantial additions to the sanctuary, the church property and the worship service.
One of the first purchases were choir pews from memorials given in the name of Dr. J. A. Evans who had served so faithfully in many cajpa cities and had been a choir member for 26 years.
In more recent years, gifts provided equipment for the hand bell and tone bell choirs, a ramp for wheel chairs and the handicapped, a wrought iron fence on the east to enclose the property in memory of Mr. Sam Whitfield, a substantial gift toward the new organ and other f ur n i shing s .
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