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The Women's World Day of Prayer originated in the US after the Civil War, starting in 1887 as a day of prayer for home missions and taking its approximate modern form in 1920. Traditionally held on the first Friday in March, the Day proper consists of a worldwide day of ecumenical affirmation and prayer along with the conduction of specially prepared services (these services were often developed by a single national committee for use worldwide).
National and regional committees were responsible for the preparation and distribution of WWDoP materials. Mary Andrews served as National Liaison Officer from 1978 to 1984(approx.) and was designated as Regional Representative on the International Executive from 1982. She was a member of the NSW state committee from 1977 (or earlier) untill her death. She was also Secretary of the National Executive Committee circa 1985. The 1986 World Day of Prayer was held in Australia, and this series includes some preparatory materials.

The National Council of Women of New South Wales was established at a meeting held on 26 June 1896. The objects of the Council were to promote:

• Sympathy of thought and purpose among the people of New South Wales
• The social, civil, moral and religious welfare of the community
• such conditions of life as will assure to every child an opportunity for full and free development; and to form a link with National Councils of Women in other countries through the National Council of Women of Australia and the International Council of Women.
  Members of the Council included both organisations committed to improving the status of women and their families and individual members.
  Both at the state and federal levels there were standing Committee for many issues relating to women including the arts, children and families, education, environment, health, housing, international relations and peace, laws and suffrage, the media, migration, social welfare and employment
  Councils were established in other states of Australia and in 1931 the National Council of Women of Australia was established and the state organisations were affiliated with it. The NCWA is affiliated with the International Council of Women. The National Council of Women of Australia was incorporated on 28 November 1988. Triennial Conferences were held for some years. There are full records of the Conference for 1973-76.
  The Deaconess Institute was a member of the Council and Mary Andrews was associated with the Council since 1976 And served on the Executive at least in the following years 1976-7, 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1991.

The series consists primarily of private letters written to Dss Andrews by current and former students, and others in Christian work. The letters from former students detail their work in parishes and other fields of service, and share problems and troubles that they are experiencing, and decisions to move on or to seek other opportunities. They also cover personal interests and updates concerning their families. The letters are evidence of the nurturing relationship the Dss developed with her students, who continued to seek her guidance throughout their careers. The personal nature of Dss Andrews’ relationships with her former students is further evidenced in that many letters are signed with Christian names only (in retrospect, this often causes problems in the identification of the correspondents).
The series also contains invitations to and acknowledgements of the Deaconess' speaking at conferences, parish activities and similar engagements, and discussions of her travels. It appears that the Deaconess’ own return letters have not survived, though in some cases early drafts have been preserved among her writings (see Series 3).
The following material has been destroyed: Duplicates Receipts
*Routine mail-outs and other unsolicited mail

• Routine travel documentation
  *Greeting cards except for those that contain further information about the sender and their relationship with the Dss
  Envelopes have been discarded except for when they contain contextual information not duplicated in the body of the letter
  Some material found with this series has been made into separate series, including:
• Newsletters received (except for instances where a personal letter was appended to the newsletter)
• Writings of Mary Andrews
• Official Records of Deaconess House
• Official records of the Head Deaconess
• Publications received
• News clippings
• Official letters (including letters pertaining to various organisations of which she was a member or interested party)
• Letters addressed to persons other than Mary Andrews
  A note on arrangement:
  The series was amongst several transferred from the Deaconess Institute to the Samuel Marsden Library. It is understood that some of the papers were re-arranged by the Andrews family prior to transfer to the Institute. They were reboxed by Debra Leigo (Archives Consultant) in 2011, and this series was spread over several boxes. The Archivists in 2014 made the decision that the most likely original intended arrangement was chronological (indeed fragments of this arrangement survive), and they were subsequently re-sorted by decade. Many are undated or partially dated. Approximate dates were estimated based on stationery, writing implements, physical context and the identity of the author.

Blue suitcase with red plastic QANTAS tag. Used by Mary Andrews on her travels.

Correspondence, drafts, reviews and papers relating to the launch of Margaret Lamb's 1995 biography 'Going it alone : Mary Andrews - missionary to China 1938-1951' published by Aquila Press.

Posters collected by Mary Andrews throughout her life. Some relate to Deaconess House, and some are in Chinese.

Correspondence, news clippings, photographs and 1 bound volume.

Dark red silk stole with hand embroidered crosses in silk and goldwork.
Black cotton stole with hand embroidered crosses in cotton thread.