Corporate body

United Church Women, Saskatchewan Conference

• Saskatchewan Conference U.C.W.

1961–2012

The United Church Women (U.C.W.) was formed in 1962, from an amalgamation of United Church Woman's Missionary Society (W.M.S.) and Woman's Association (W.A.) organizations, across the country. Existing Women's Federation (W.F.) groups were also incorporated into the UCW. Local and Presbytery-level groups developed along similar lines to national bodies, becoming local and presbyterial U.C.W. units in January 1962.

In October 2012, Saskatchewan’s U.C.W. Conference Coordinating Committee voted to disband and be replaced by the Women of the United Church of Canada Network. The mandate of the new network included communicating and supporting U.C.W. activities.

Saskatchewan

The U.C.W. operated at congregational, Presbyterial and Conference levels, with membership open to any women in sympathy with the aims of the organization. These aims were broadly defined as the promotion of the mission of the Church. The organization enjoyed a special relationship with the Board of Women, which acted in the capacity of an intiating and defining body to the United Church Women. The U.C.W. were to make annual reports to the Board, and the Conference bodies were to carry out recommendations and policies as determined by the Board of Women. Following the dissolution of the Board of Women on the establishment of the Division of Mission in Canada, the U.C.W. became a more independent body.

All levels of the U.C.W. had an Executive composed of the Past President, the President and Vice Presidents, and Secretaries of portfolios. The organization at each level was represented by members of other levels; for instance, the presbyterial United Church Women sent representatives to its Conference Branch. Each level sent representatives to the next superior level in the organization. After 1973 it was responsible for overall planning at its appropriate level, in consultation with the other levels. The annual meeting of the organization was to have representatives from the appropriate lower level, the Executive, and representatives of the successor bodies to presbyterial organizations which had ceased to exist.

The creation of the U.C.W. was part of the general reformation of the Church's structure which also saw the creation of the national Board of Women and the demise of the Woman's Missionary Society and of the Woman's Association. The Board of Women was made up of representatives of several United Church Boards but a significant part of its membership came from the United Church Women.

United Church Woman's Missionary Society, Saskatchewan Branch (1926–1962)

United Church Woman’s Association, Saskatchewan Conference (ca.1950–1962)

SCAA-UCCS-0142

United Church of Canada Living Skies Region Archives

SCNUCSC

Revised

2018-February: drafted for SAIN
2021-2022: revised in MemorySask.

• English

C.T. McIntyre, "Unity Among Many: The Formation of the United Church of Canada, 1899-1930", in "The United Church of Canada: A History" (edited by Don Schweitzer), 2012; United Church of Canada Archives (Toronto) entry "United Church Women," in Archeion database (Archives Association of Ontario), as of March 2018; "UCW Handbook", United Church of Canada, March 2018.