Founder, Church Periodical Club (1858 – 1892)
Near the end of the 19th century Mary Ann Drake Fargo, a member of the Church of the Holy Communion in New York City, founded the Church Periodical Club (CPC). After returning from a trip to the far west she shared— first with her rector and then her bishop—her vision of sending to the missionaries in remote locations in our country used church periodicals, that otherwise were unavailable to them. Upon receiving the blessing of her rector, she called a meeting at her home to interest the women of her parish in her plans for collecting and sending reading materials to aid ministers and lay workers out west. The women at that gathering became the eight charter members of the Periodical Club, January 10th, 1888. After the first Club was established in New York Diocese, branches were created soon in other dioceses.
Until her untimely death—four years after CPC’s founding—Mary Ann guided the Club with a deep sense of responsibility and passion. In particular, she stressed the value of personal service in the wrapping, addressing, and forwarding with a prayer each package of reading material. She sought to imbue the spirit of friendship by her encouragement of a letter-writing exchange between the senders and recipients. By 1892 there were a total of 42 diocesan and 409 parish branches; and more than 4,000 magazines sent regularly.
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The work of CPC in its earliest years was fostered by the Women’s Auxiliary (now the Episcopal Church Women) which at that time was the strongest missionary agency in the Church. Today CPC conducts a world-wide ministry of the printed word. Its long affiliation with the Episcopal Church Women continues to be maintained in large part by the CPC directors who serve on ECW Boards at the parish, diocesan, and provincial levels.