Indiana Conference South Evangelical United Brethren Church Women's Society of World Service records

Women's Society of World Service of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Among Evangelicals the first such society existed briefly in Immanuel Church, Philadelphia in 1839. Nearly forty years were to elapse before a letter, written by a lady missionary in Japan and published in the church papers, was to inspire another effort. A group of women petitioned the Board of Missions in 1878 for permission to organize missionary societies, but as one of them put it, "The wise men said 'no'." Disappointed but undaunted they continued their request. In 1884 delegates from a number of these societies met in Cleveland to draft a petition to General Conference to permit the organization of a denominational Woman's Missionary Society and at the General Conference that year, the petition was granted.

"The Sister's Missionary Society" organized by the women of the Ohio German Conference in 1869, and a similar organization by the women of the California Conference in 1872 were the beginnings of organized women's missionary activity in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. May 9, 1872 the Miami Branch Association was organized in the Euclid Avenue Church, Dayton, and the pattern devised was used for other conference branch organizations. General Conference, 1873, gave its approval to the Associations. The following year the Board of Missions heard and approved the plan for a "General Women's Missionary Society," and the General Conference in 1877 formally recognized the "Women's Missionary Association." The successor to the Women's Missionary Association and the Women's Missionary Society in the E.U.B. Church is the Women's Society of World Service.

The purpose of the society was to unite all women of The E.U.B. Church in a Christian fellowship to make Christ known throughout the world and to develop a personal responsibility for the whole task of the Church.

The scope of the work of the society was the needs and interests of women and the concerns and responsibilities of the church in today's world.

The society fostered spiritual growth, missionary outreach, and Christian service.

The Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church merged to become one church in 1968. All women's societies merged in 1971 to become The United Methodist Women.