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G R A C E E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H — 76 Eldredge Street, Newton Corner, Massachusetts 02458 (617) 244-3221 |
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©2009 Grace Church Newton |
by Don Kennedy, Parish Historian An interesting, yet mostly-forgotten, group at Grace Church was the "Young Married Couples Club" which began in 1937, streamlining its name to "Couples Club" by 1939. The first co-presidents were Mr. and Mrs. Lester Gee, and the group's objectives were two-fold: 1. to help newcomers to be further welcomed into Grace Church; and 2. to strengthen the fellowship within the parish. To understand the origin of this group, it helps to recall what was happening in 1937: a. it was the middle of the Depression, thus folks were looking for low-cost entertainment; and b. Grace had just experienced several years of "rotating rectors". Considerable stability in leadership had come from Dr. MacLure who lasted 22 years, retiring in 1929, the year of the stock market collapse. In April, 1930 the Rev. Richard Preston arrived with his young family, and was quickly embraced, especially by the younger generation. Yet Preston was so successful at Grace that the diocese asked him to move in 1933 to a large church in downtown Worcester that had just burned flat (and ministered to the urban poor, a passion of the Prestons). Preston was effective there as well; All Saints Worcester became the largest parish in the diocese of Western Massachusetts....continued |