History of the First Baptist Church, Austin, Texas Page: 18
31 p. illus. 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
was president, and fifteen or twenty women gathered
every week in the lower room of the old church. They
were constantly working for some improvement of the
church-such as a new carpet, painting the walls, new
lights, and anything else that might be needed. They
gave the socials, as they were then called, and served
whenever needed; but churches did not eat then as
they do now. In those days it was the custom for
churches to give entertainments of various natures to
make money for their work, and the Baptist women
did their share of serving dinners at fifty cents a plate
in some vacant store during an unusual gathering of
people in Austin; or in carrying out some elaborate
form of entertainment for the whole town, as well as
in giving small ice-cream socials among the members.
They always gave of their money to missions and to
charity, as well as to church improvements.
Now the form of organization has been changed
from one society to seven neighborhood circles, all
forming the Woman's Auxiliary and meeting twice a
month as circles and twice as one aggregate body. In
1922 this Auxiliary had 194 members, and its budget
was $7,272.12. Now they hold no pay entertainments,
but serve many suppers.
The Children of the Church
The little First Baptist Church of seven members in
1847 has now become a mighty body of one thousand
members; but it has done more than grow within itself.
It has been the mother of four white and fourteen
negro Baptist Churches now working in Austin.
In 1886, largely through the efforts of Mr. E. S.
Slaughter, a mission Sunday School was started at
what is now 1100 East Second Street. In 1888, the
work in that vicinity had assumed such importance
that the Second Baptist Church was organized with
eighteen members, nine of whom came from the First
Church.
-18
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Brooks, Mrs. V. L. History of the First Baptist Church, Austin, Texas, book, 1923; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth33019/m1/19/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.