The United Boys Brigade of America
The King's Messengers
The Queens of Avalon

The United Boys Brigade of America was first founded in Scotland in 1883. It was introduced to the United States and spread to many churches. Our Church received a Charter on June 10, 1897. The table of organization mimicked that of a military regiment with all of the corresponding officers and non-coms, somewhat similar to that of the Salvation Army. The object of the Boys Brigade was, "to advance Christ's kingdom among boys, and the promotion of habits of obedience, reverence, discipline, and self respect". Boys aged 12 to 21 were eligible to join. They pledged not to use tobacco or intoxicating liquors. Meetings were held weekly, generally on Saturday morning, and consisted of Bible readings, questions and answers (Bible study was called Bible drill), and a prayer. This was followed by military close order drill for an hour. Inspections were conducted by Regimental Commanders, and parent's nights were held. The 22 boys who were mustered in belonged to Company K, First Regiment. A report of the Brigade in 1900, stated, "What the future of the Brigade is to be no one can tell, but if any are led to a true Christian manliness it will not have existed in vain". Another interesting comment stated, "call these Boys which they are, and ask them to sit up quietly in a Sunday School class, and no power on earth will make them do it, but put a fine military cap on their heads, and call them soldiers, which they are not, and you can order them about until midnight". Company K, First Regiment disbanded in 1902, apparently without ceremony, since there were no records found after June 1902.

The King's Messengers was organized in 1908, and consisted of boys and girls aged 7 to 12. It began with 25 members, and by 1912 there were 51 members. Its purpose was for the children to learn about giving to missions. Examples of their experiences were to listen to stories about children in foreign lands, and to become acquainted with how gifts are sent to countries like India and China. Monthly meetings were on Saturday, and conducted by Mrs. Frederick Page, the Pastor's wife. When Dr. Page resigned in 1925, the King's Messengers was left without a leader and thus disbanded.

The Queens of Avalon was an organization of teen aged girls, founded in 1917. It was self governed, and described as "The Kingdom of Ideal Womanhood to be entered into without reserve in the fullest measure of Christian Chivalry". There were three degrees of membership in "Court Astalot", named Pilgrim, Lady, and Queen. The officers were: Queen Regent, Royal Scribe, and Keeper of the Royal Purse. It stated that the object of the group was "to help the Church, to help others, and to have a good time amongst ourselves". In 1918 it had 23 members, and its Annual Report recorded that it had made afghans for the soldiers, gave $50.00 to the Red Cross, and $2.00 toward a church flag. There are no records, of its existence after 1924.

As can be seen, many of the organizations previously described were short-lived, and were disbanded during the 1920's. There are possibly several reasons for this. Foreign missionaries were no longer deemed necessary, isolation of the United States in world affairs as set forth in the Monroe Doctrine was in evidence, and WWII was on the horizon. In any event, in 1931 a new set of Church By-Laws was written which provided for the election of a "Church Missionary Committee. It directed that all monies given to benevolences be handled through the Church Treasurer. Thus was instituted the method we use today, included as a line item in our Annual Budget. For the year 1932, a Benevolent Fund of $974.00 was voted at the Annual Meeting.

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Trinity Church
(First Congregational Church of Waltham)
730 Main Street
Waltham, MA 02451
Copyright 2002-2006

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