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The Mothers’ Union was founded in England in 1876 by Mary Sumner, who wanted to create an organization for women that built a network of rich and poor to support mothers to raise their children in Christian faith. By 1909, the Mothers’ Union had become the largest voluntary women’s organization in Britain. In 1952, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II granted her royal patronage to the Mothers’ Union. In 1996, some 125 members of the Mothers’ Union became priests in the Church of England, following the Synod’s approval of the ordination of women.

The Prince Edward Island chapter of the Mothers’ Union was formed in March 1982. Among the activities undertaken by the local group included: hosting pancake breakfasts on the first day of Sunday School in early September; baking simnel cakes (a form of fruitcake) as part of Mothering Sunday; participating in the annual Christmas pageant; stitching needlepoint covers for church kneelers; organizing “Winter Games” events (evening gatherings of parishioners and others to play card games and board games in the church hall in winter); and holdings prayer sessions and meetings for members. The Mothers’ Union also provided support for refugees and newcomers to the Island and created a “link letters” activity comparable to “pen pals”. An Island-wide renewal meeting was held in November 1988. A major project for the Prince Edward Island chapter was the creation of a Mothers’ Union banner, which was unveiled on 24 May 1992. The banner still hangs in the church, as of 2020. Mothers’ Union activities began to decline as the Binney Group and Inglis Group became more active, eventually ceasing operations around 1995.

H. M. Peter Westin is the second born son of the Reverend Canon H. M. D. Westin, who served as Rector of St. Peter's Cathedral from 1974-1990, and his wife Margaret. Peter completed high school in Amherst, Nova Scotia and received a B.A. in history and B. Ed degree from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. He later earned an M.A. in history and an M.Ed degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and worked as a school teacher for many years, including in Manitoba and Zimbabwe.

Peter Westin is the author of An Act of Faith: The First Fifty Years of St. Peter's Cathedral (Charlottetown: St. Peter Publications, 1994). Westin and St. Peter's Cathedral received federal funding to support the research and writing of this book in 1984 and again in 1985.

The Rural Deanery was formed in 1909 after the dissolution of the Clerical Association of P.E.I. The Clerical Association had been formed in Crapaud, Prince Edward Island, in 1887 to provide licensed Anglican clergy with the opportunity to meet to pray, socialize, and plan church and community events. The Rural Deanery continued the same general activities. The closure of the Rural Deanery is still to be confirmed.