Doreen Jones was only a young girl when she was first dragged along to a Girls’ Friendly Society meeting by her older sisters. She had no idea this would lead to a lifetime of service and leadership with the organisation.
At 95, her love for the society and its service has not diminished even slightly, and she is affectionately known as the GFS “Grandma”.
Founded in London in 1875, GFS has long been a place of friendship and service for girls and women. Branches are active in many Anglican dioceses around the world, upholding a motto taken from Galatians 6 to “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ”. The first Sydney meeting of the Girls’ Friendly Society was held in 1880.
This year marks 150 years of friendship and service worldwide for GFS. Members travelled from around Australia to participate in celebrations earlier this year in Sydney, and brought items that expressed the impact the fellowship had on their lives.
Some members brought old uniforms from their days as teenagers in the society, while others brought photos of past outings and services. Mrs Jones was unique in bringing a single blackened cross, a small item with a big story.
A scarred cross and a steadfast faith
“On the 28th November, 1968, we lost our church, St David’s, Blaxland, in horrific bushfires,” Mrs Jones recalls.
“When the church went, I thought ‘Oh no! Our GFS banner!’ I had a cross at the top of the banner – my brother-in-law formed and chromed it. Whenever we went to anything, we took our GFS banner and other branches would admire the chrome cross.”
Mrs Jones and her husband went to the remains of the burned-down church and searched that afternoon. With the help of a stranger, they miraculously found the cross among the debris. Her brother-in-law offered to have it rechromed.
“I decided, no, leave it as it is: scarred,” she says. “It’s been through hard times… Like Jesus, he was scarred and went through hard times for us. That was a teaching point for my GFS branch.”
When Mrs Jones was first taken along to GFS by her sisters, she had no idea it would still have such a profound impact almost 85 years later.
“GFS became my life,” she says. “The experiences I had helped me to face what comes before me, and handle it and do the best I can. It gave me confidence. It seems strange but put a GFS uniform on me and I have all the confidence in the world.”
