Her story is My Story 2018

FRONTLINE TRAILBLAZERS

IN THE AME CHURCH

NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED

The Rev. Barbara J. Anthony At the age of twelve Rev. Anthony answered the Lord’s call to ministry by serving others in various capacities which including home visits as needed. As a young adult continuing to hear from God, Rev. Anthony trained for seven years at convent in Cincinnati OH. In May 1973 she returned to Michigan knowing that God was still speaking to her. She completed her education by obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Theology and minoring in Psychology and three Masters Degrees in Social Work, Divinity and Theology.

Under the faithful anointed leadership, guidance and mentoring of the late Rev. David Mitcham; who pastored Oak Grove Detroit, Rev. Anthony accepted her call into the preaching ministry. After completing the necessary four years of the Board of Examiners Training Rev. Anthony was ordained an Itinerant Elder. In 1987 Rev. Anthony planted the church given to her by God; Mitcham Chapel AME which is now located in Royal Oak MI. Rev. Anthony worked tirelessly and faithfully over the years to preach, teach, counsel and shepherd the flock God has given her. While pastoring she served as chairperson of the Second-Year studies of the Board of Examiners, secretary of the Michigan Annual Conference and financial secretary for the Fourth Episcopal District Women in Ministry.

Even though Rev. Anthony stepped down from pastoring in August 2015, she continues working for God by serving His people in various capacities. She is an instructor for the MCBCE Certification Program, Scholarship Committee Co-Chair and Advisor for Women in Ministry and serves as a Chaplain for the Southfield Police Dept.

The ‘Young Women Ministers in Leadership’ Certificate is named after Rev. Anthony using the scripture Luke 1:38 when Mary said to Gabrielle: “Behold I am the servant of the Lord, let it be according to your word.” This certificate acknowledges that not only does God call young women into the ministry but that they are encouraged to step out as humble leaders.

‘THOSE PREACHING WOMEN’ Award This award was named after the Rev. Dr. Mary Watson Stewart because she was a widely traveled revivalist. She was one of the first and popular Evangelist who preached revivals around the country. Dr. Stewart was a preacher and was also known for her great voice in the fact that she sang and preached wherever she preached the Word of God. Dr. Stewart was also known for her title as a Prayer Warrior. For this we here in the Michigan Conference WIM, also known as the Women’s Ministerial Council consider her a Trailblazer. She was a member of Ebenezer AME Church.

This trailblazer title was given to Dr. Stewart because she was first known as an evangelist who was not allowed to preach from the pulpit. She however opened doors for women in ministry when she was ordained as an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is said that many souls were converted under her preaching. Compliments came that she “preached like a man.” However, in her polite way she is said to have commented: “I preach like a preacher.” She has received a tribute from the State of Michigan for her lifetime commitment to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was also the first recipient of the Rev. Eleanor J. Woodcock Ward for Preaching Women given by Connectional WIM. She has also received the Trailblazer Humanitarian Award from the Notable North District of the Michigan Conference in 2007.

The women clergy now who receive this award also are known to preach around the various communities letting it be known that they are part of the AME Connection, hold positions

in either the annual conference, 4th Episcopal district or the AME connection worldwide, has a special ministry to women in or out of the church, and has a long-committed service to WIM. THOSE PREACHING WOMEN Today we honor the Rev. Twylla Lucas pastor of St. Luke AME Church in Roseville MI. She holds the position of Sunday School Superintendent for the Notable North District here in the Michigan Conference as well as serving on the Black Methodist Committee. Rev. Lucas recently opened our Michigan Annual Conference noon hour of power on August 13, 2014 with the message ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It’. Preaching from John 13:31-34 she reminded us that Love is a powerful word! There were three important points that she made. God’s greatest commandment is about Love in which we develop an intimate relationship with God for we long to be in His presence, Love is evidence of our discipleship as we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and Love is the reason for God’s greatest gift!

WOMEN IN MINISTRY (WIM) African Methodist Episcopal Church Southern California Conference, 5th District WOMEN INSPIRATIONAL, MOTIVATIONAL Rev. Annie Watson: Born to Pete and Vera L. Evans, the sixth child of seven sisters and three brothers in rural Mississippi. The family lived on a farm purchased by Grandfather Neal Oden. As a child with Mother and the other siblings, we attended Sylvester Methodist Church. At the age of ten, we moved to Parkman, an Amish Community in Eastern Ohio. The family later moved to Bedford and then to Cleveland.

School: Mississippi, Ohio/College, San Diego City, University of LaVerne, Fuller Theological Seminary, audited Classes at Point Loma Nazarene College.

Licensed to Preach 10/17/76, by Rev. E.P. Williams.

Ordained Itinerant Deacon 10/14/79.

Ordained Itinerant Elder 8/22/81.

Founder and former Pastor of The Paul E. Kidd A.M.E. Church and The First Black Woman to establish an A.M.E. Church in San Diego, CA. Rev. Watson pastored the church for 19 years.

The first woman assigned to pastor Prince Chapel AME Church, La Jolla, CA. The assignment was given at the Southern California Conference of the A.M.E. Church, July 2000. Rev. Watson pastored the church 6 years.

Community: Member of the San Diego Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (SDCIMA), Scripps Cancer Center, Prostate Cancer Advisory Board.

Ministry to the Homeless and worked with persons affected by HIV and AIDS, as well as, the Sick and Shut-In Ministry.

Awards: Women, Inc.; Woman of Distinction, 1985; National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs Inc.; Community Service Award, 1989; and Women In The AME Church, 1996.

Resolution: California Legislature, 78th Assembly District Member, The Honorable Marty Block.

Rev. Watson’s Hobbies are: Gardening, Singing and Reading. She is the mother of four: Donna Jean Alexander, Rev. Denise Lynn Jackson. Eugene E. Arrington (Deceased) and Rachel Ann Arrington. Grandmother to Gary Studwood, Eugena Ann, Melanie Marie and Great Grandmother to Ajani Wilkins.

CHURCH HISTORY ROSE OF SHARON AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH FIFTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT REVEREND CAROLYN BASKIN-BELL, FOUNDER In January of 2005 Reverend Carolyn Baskin-Bell became inspired by the Holy Spirit to plant a church in the Cerritos Norwalk, California.

A community located approximately 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles, California. After much prayer, she consulted with her pastor, Reverend Leslie R. White of Grant AME, Los Angeles. Reverend Baskin-Bell continued to pray, survey and consult until she experienced an overwhelming conviction to launch out on this divine adventure. The vision was also shared with and approved by Bishop John R. Bryant and the late Presiding Elder Howard S. Gloyd in June 2006. The church also grew under the leadership of Bishop T. Larry Kirkland and Presiding Elder Roosevelt Lindsey.

In the Fall of 2005, Reverend Bell met with Brother Merritt and Sister Billie Vincent, residents of Cerritos, California who caught the vision and assisted in surveying the area for people and places to worship. On Sunday, June 17, 2006, the first official worship was held at the Marriot Hotel in Norwalk. The church was admitted to the Southern California Conference on Sunday, October 1, 2006. The founding members are: Brother Larry Bell; Carmena and Larissa Bell; Merritt Vincent; Billie Vincent and Sister Helen Ford.

The greatest challenge of the first year involved securing space for worship. Worship services convened at the Marriott Norwalk; Cerritos Sheraton; Norwalk Inn; Saddleback Inn; Doubletree Hotel Norwalk; Kinkos Conference Center and Cerritos Park East. Rose of Sharon acknowledges that the church is not dependent upon four walls or brick and mortar but the church is wherever the people of God gather together in the Lord’s name. In November 2007 to March 2013, worship services were held at the Saints of Value Worship Center, a training institute for ministry under the direction of Dr. Victoria Johnson. Rose of Sharon collaborated with Saints of Value’s Food Ministry which launched an outreach to the homeless in the Norwalk community. The individuals were physically fed and chose to attend worship as well as Bible study on Wednesdays. After the Saints of Value building was sold, the church shared space with the Bellflower Church of God during March 2013 and remained worshipping there after Rev. Baskin-Bell was transferred.

The following ministries developed during Rev. Baskin-Bell’s leadership: Andrew Ministry-Evangelism; Men’s Ministry; Women’s Ministry; Lessie Thompson Unit and Jacqueline Cochran Unit of the Billie J. Vincent Women’s Missionary Society; Young People’s Division; Steward Ministry; Trustee Ministry; Church School; Prison Ministry; Lydia House Mission; Outreach, Dance Ministry and Mid-Week Spiritual Nourishment.

During Reverend Baskin-Bell’s tenure the membership grew from six to sixty-two.

The church acquired a building fund of $30,000 with the anticipation to purchase their own place of worship.

In November of 2015, Reverend Baskin-Bell was transferred to Second AME Church of Los Angeles and Rose of Sharon continues to “Release the Fragrance of Jesus Christ” in the Norwalk Community.” As a church planter, Reverend Baskin-Bell glorifies God for the blessed opportunity to participate in this divine encounter.

REVEREND CAROLYN BASKIN-BELL, Senior Pastor Second African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles On October 25, 2015, the Reverend Carolyn Baskin-Bell was appointed the Pastor of the 108year-old Second African Methodist Episcopal Church by the Right Reverend T. Larry Kirkland, Presiding Prelate of the Fifth Episcopal District. This historical appointment names Baskin-Bell as the first female to serve as pastor of Second. Since her arrival at this charge, the church has added classes to Church School; designated Wednesday as Day of Corporate Prayer and Fasting; hosted Leadership and Stewardship Conferences; retired $30,000 debt; revived and repaired church rental properties; repaired church property and reinstated the church’s non-profit, Second to None Community Development Corporation.

Reverend Carolyn Baskin-Bell is described as a faithful, fruitful and favored woman of God. She previously served as the Founding Pastor of the Rose of Sharon AME Church in Norwalk, California. In June of 2006, Reverend Bell pursued the call and vision to plant the Rose of Sharon African Methodist Episcopal Church which blossomed into a safe haven for individuals seeking the sweet fragrance of Jesus Christ. Prior to church planting, Reverend Baskin-Bell was a member of Grant AME in Los Angeles for 23 years. At Grant, she served as an associate minister for 10 years. Her ministry primarily focused on the spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional state of women and men. She has fostered workshops and conferences designed to empower individuals in all aspects of their lives. Reverend BaskinBell’s ministry has granted her opportunities to preach, present and participate in pulpits and venues throughout the United States and Africa. Reverend Baskin-Bell presently serves as President of Fifth District AME Women in Ministry. She is also an instructor for the Southern California Conference Board of Examiners and member of Conference Trustee Board.

She is retired from Los Angeles County of Education where she served as a Speech Language Pathologist for 30 years in the capacity of Mentor and advocate for special needs students.

Reverend Baskin-Bell holds a Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology; Master of Arts in School Management, University of LaVerne; Master of Arts, Communication Disorders, University of California at Long Beach; Bachelor of Arts in Communication Disorders, Chapman University.

Some of her honors include: 2013 Pastor of Year-Rev Sisters Gathering of LA; The Jarena Lee Sister’s Achievement Award in Ministry; Top Ladies of Distinction Woman of Excellence Award; Southern California Conference AME Women in Ministry Exceptional Leadership Award; City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Award for Service to Women in Transition; and the Los Angeles City Council Eighth District Award for Community Service. She was made a member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc. through the South Bay Alumni Chapter of Long Beach, California.

She is married to Larry Bell, her soul mate of 35 years. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Larissa and Carmena..

Reverend Baskin-Bell possesses a passion for people and desires to make a difference in the lives of those she encounters. She proclaims that all that she is and will be is according to God’s amazing grace.

WOMEN IN MINISTRY (WIM)

AFRICAN METHODIST

EPISCOPAL CHURCH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE, 5TH DISTRICT

WOMEN INSPIRATIONAL, MOTIVATIONAL

Biographical Sketch – Rev. Dr. Mary S. Minor Reverend Dr. Mary S. Minor is an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the oldest African American Christian denomination in America. ❖ Rev. Minor entered the ministry in 1989 and was ordained Deacon in 1992, Elder in 1994. She received her first pastoral appointment in 2000. ❖ Presently she serves as Pastor and Senior Minister at the historic Brookins-Kirkland Community AME Church in Los Angeles, CA., where she successfully relocated the congregation to a new edifice. Her past pastoral assignments include: Murph Chapel, St. Paul AME Church, Valinda, CA., 2006-2015; Bethel AME Church, Perris, CA., 20032006; St. Mark AME Church, Los Angeles, CA., 2000-2003. ❖ In 2017, Dr. Minor was elected Chair, Pro Tem of the Southern California Conference Trustee Board under the supervision of The Right Reverend Clement W. Fugh, Presiding Prelate of the Fifth Episcopal district. ❖ She is now serving in her thirteenth year, co-teaching the Admissions Class for the Southern California Conference (SCC) Board of Examiners. Dr. Minor also served as Assistant Secretary for the SCC. ❖ Dr. Minor served under the tutelage of Rev. Dr. Cecil L. Murray at First AME Church in Los Angeles, CA. and its affiliate corporations for fourteen years. At Fame, she served in a variety of ministerial and corporate positions, including Minister of Youth, Planning & Development Officer and Program Director.

❖ She believes in worshipping God, witnessing about Jesus Christ, equipping the people of God for service and serving humanity through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit! ❖ Professionally, Dr. Minor works as a Senior Consultant for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group at Kaiser Permanente. For eighteen years she has held various leadership positions within the company. ❖ Education……Professional and Academic: *Doctor of Ministry, United Theological Seminary, Thesis: “Equipping God’s People for Service at Murph Chapel-Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church: A Gifts Based Model” *Master of Business Administration, University of Phoenix *Master of Arts, Religion, Claremont School of Theology *Bachelor of Arts, Religion, University of Laverne ❖ Several organizations recognized and honored Dr. Minor for her outstanding accomplishments and achievements: *National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Los Angeles Youth Council Meritorious Women Awards Honoree, March 2017 * Top Ladies of Distinction, Carson Chapter “Status of Women 20015 Honoree” *Covington Who’s Who, 2013 *International Who’s Who of Professionals, 2012 * AME Church Southern California Conference Lay organization “2007 Pastor of The Year” *Top Ladies of Distinction, Ladera Heights Chapter” Woman Minister of the year, 2002 and 1997”. ❖ She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, Alpha Zeta Chapter, Los Angeles ❖ Dr. Minor is the mother of two young adult children. One daughter–inlove, and the proud grandmother of two grandsons and two granddaughters.

WOMEN IN MINISTRY (WIM) AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE, 5TH DISTRICT

WOMEN INSPIRATIONAL, MOTIVATIONAL

NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED Biographical Sketch – Marian Denise Wright Young ❖ Born March 29, 1957 to the (late) Reverend Eugene & Mrs. Ollye Wright, Marian is the eldest of six, all of whom have been called into ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Ordained an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1987, Rev. Marian has a thorough knowledge of the ministerial hierarchy and protocol of African Methodism. Educated in the Los Angeles school system, she attended California State University, Los Angeles and Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. ❖ Rev. Marian possesses over twenty years of expertise working in and with the administrative side of the non-profit sector, primarily with the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She has served in an executive administrative capacity to senior pastors, presiding elders and bishops. Her responsibilities included the oversight of all office administration, human resources and social service components within the

parameters of Ward AME’s large family congregation, as well as interaction at the conference, presiding elder district and presiding bishop levels across the denomination through the last seven of Ward’s pastoral administrations. Under Ward AME’s current pastor, the Rev. John E. Cager, III, Rev. Marian serves as the assistant pastor and minister of the youth and young adults. Rev. Marian has served in several positions of the Southern California Conference Women in Ministry, and served in the position of District Coordinator for the Los Angeles South/Las Vegas Presiding Elder District for the 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Conference years. ❖ Rev. Marian began her church administrative journey at Ward in 1988 under the leadership of the late Rev. Howard S. Gloyd. Under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Norman Copeland (now presiding elder of the Los Angeles District of the Southern California Conference) Rev. Marian wrote, and Ward received, a $500,000 grant from the state of California in 1999, leading to the development of a social service agency that addressed the needs of victims of domestic violence, which led to the development of the Ward Family Life Program. Rev. Marian served as its executive director from 2000 – 2005, for the length of the grant. She also has served on the national, regional and is a founding member of the local board of directors of One Church, One Child, Inc. (OCOC – founded by Father George Clements), including a one-year stint as the Executive Director of the National One Church One Child. One Church, One Child sought permanent homes for children in foster care across the country, and has been instrumental in the placement of over 300,000 infants, children and youth with “forever families.” ❖ Prior to moving into the non-profit sector, Marian worked in the corporate realm of Security Pacific National Bank (later acquired by Bank of America) for 13 years, where she attained her last position as that of personnel relations officer to a staff of over 300 in the SPNB Real Estate Industries Group (the first African American woman to hold that position in the Real Estate Industries Group). ❖ When it came time to transition out of the administrative realm of the local church, Marian transferred her skill set to serve as executive assistant to the President of Dickerson Employee Benefits in 2008.

She currently serves in not only that capacity, but also as the company’s Human Resources Coordinator to a staff of 70 people. One of her most satisfying accomplishments has been to assist the Chairman & Founder, Mr. Carl Dickerson navigate the AME system in getting the Captive Program (self- insurance) off the ground and back on the table of consideration, as outlined in the Discipline and Doctrine of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. ❖ Rev. Marian and her late husband, Ralph, are the parents of two beautifully accomplished daughters, Marie Ephform and Alexa Holmes. She is mother–in- love to Dennis Ephform and Calvin Holmes, and proud Grammie to Cameron (son of Marie & Dennis) and Reagan (daughter of Alexa & Calvin). ❖ When she accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior at nine years of age on a Saturday morning in her parents’ kitchen, as her mother was reviewing the Sunday School lesson with the children for the next day, Marian embarked on a journey of teaching, empowering and the enrichment of individuals across all walks of life, diverse situations, backgrounds and communities with the single-minded intention of spreading God’s Word and being of His service, in and of the precious name of Jesus Christ.

To GOD Be All the Glory!!!

7th ANNUAL ELEANOR J. WOODCOCK SCHOLARSHIP & AWARDS LUNCHEON MICHIGAN CONFERENCE AME/WOMEN IN MINISTRY Saturday September 12, 2009 – Host Church, Bethel AME – Detroit Theme: “Molded and Living as Vessels of Change” Jeremiah 18:1-6 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

It was such a pleasure to be able to come together as women in ministry to honor those Warrior Trailblazers who carved out a path for those women who would come behind them to preach, teach, evangelize and serve God by serving His people. It was through their wisdom and examples of their ministry that we now have strong shoulders to stand on. We now find ourselves standing as well for those who will come behind us.

From gathering information on our honorees, to serving as greeters, to being a prayer warrior; many of the WIM members who had not worked together before found an opportunity to come together. New bonds were formed in the preparation stage and there was great joy as honorees met their herstoriographers. No doubt this occasion is being remembered by all.

For the Commemorative Journal, Dr. Patterson our WIM coordinator inserted “memory snapshots” of the honorees to let all know the work they have done, are doing and will continue to do. She also placed memory books on each table in which one could leave messages of love, encouragement and gratitude for the work of the trailblazers.

Our honorees included: Rev. Juanita Hamilton Bowman, Evangelist Sylvia Buckles, Rev. Maude Burton, Rev. Dr. Grace Clay, Rev. Betty Middlebrook, Rev. Rebecca R. Mitchell, Rev. Zannie Mitchell, Rev. Magnolia Payne, Evangelist Emma Pulley, Rev. Doris Reedus, Rev. Nansi I. Rowe, Esq., Rev. Mozie Lee Smith and Rev. Priscilla Carey-Tucker. One sad note is that our beloved Rev. Maude Burton; one of the founding coordinators of the WIM for Michigan – passed away this year. We are however overjoyed to know that she is with our Father God smiling down on us, encouraging us to continue in the work of the Lord. We are truly glad that we could give her flowers while she was still alive!

Our speakers for the afternoon were the Revs., Lynn Jackson, Barbara Hardaway and Betty Middlebrook – one of the honorees. Each spoke from a different aspect of God molding and using one as a Living Vessel of Change. We all, clergy and lay alike had an opportunity to see how God has used others and how He can use each of us in His plan of salvation for all.

WIM Luncheon Committee Rev. Dr. Alice Patterson Michigan Conference WIM, Coordinator

CHURCH PLANTER AND FOUNDER The Reverend Barbara Anthony is the Pastor Emeritus of Mitcham Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is married to John Anthony. Together, they have two lovely daughters. Rev. Anthony is a native Detroiter from the West side of the city. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from the University of Detroit. She also holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Wayne State University and Master of Divinity degree from St. Mary’s Seminary, Orchard Lake, Michigan.

• • • • •

In September 1980, Rev. Anthony was ordained an Elder in the A.M.E. Church. She served the Oak Grove A.M.E. Church for ten years as a Pastoral Assistant. She served as Secretary to the Michigan Annual Conference for many years. Her current affiliations and active memberships include: Member of the Board of Examiners Chairperson for Second Year Studies Chairperson for Preachers to the Annual Conference for the South District Police Chaplain for the city of Southfield Member of the A.M.E. (WIM) Women in Ministry of Michigan, and holds a district office as the Financial Secretary Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Rev. Anthony initiated the new work of Mitcham Chapel A.M.E. Church.

MITCHAM CHAPEL’S MISSION STATEMENT We are called to “Journey in Faith.” God has called forth the need in Southfield and neighboring communities for the establishing of an A.M.E. Church. He has also initiated the desire to lead such an endeavor in the heart and will of His servant.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we acknowledge that we are called to be a Faith and Service Church.

It is our goal to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to life in the world around us. To reach out in loving concern for the needs of the body and soul of God’s people. To nurture the seed of autonomous growth and development of God’s Church. To locate, organize and build up the Body of Christ as the Will of God directs.

The Oak Grove A.M.E. Church is the Mother Church and is located at 19801 Cherry lawn at the corner of Pembroke in Norwest Detroit.

This “NEW WORK” was blessed by the late Rev. David E. Mitcham and the late Rt. Rev. Hubert N. Robinson, retired Bishop of the Fourth Episcopal District. Mitcham Chapel is named in honor of the Rev. David E. Mitcham, Rev. Anthony’s father in the Gospel ministry.

Mitcham Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a Bible-believing, Holy Spirit empowered congregation.

It is our desire to know God and to please Jesus Christ through our worship, prayer, tithing, study of God’s Word, and service.

It is our objective to preach and teach the truth of God and demonstrate the love of Jesus to people of every race, gender, nationality, age, social and economic status.

Our calling is to address the needs of the hungry, the naked, sick and imprisoned, whether they are troubled in body, mind, or spirit.

Our commitment is to make a difference in the cities of Southfield, Oak Park, and the neighboring communities of Wayne and Oakland counties and around the world.

To that end we will strive to identify and develop the gifts and talents of every member.

To that end we will build bridges to our sister congregations throughout the Body of Christ.

To that end we will remain determined, disciplined and dedicated to excellence.

To our God and Savior alone be the glory.

MITCHAM CHAPEL’S VISION STATEMENT Father, in the name of Jesus, we come into your presence thanking you for Mitcham Chapel. You have called us to be saints in Southfield and neighboring cities, and around the world. As we lift our voices in one accord, we recognize that you are God, and everything was made by and for you. We call into being those things that be not as though they were.

We thank you that we all speak the same thing; there is no division among us; we are perfectly joined together in the same mind. Grant unto us, your representatives here, a boldness to speak your word which you will confirm with signs following. We thank you that we have workers in abundance and all manner of people for every manner of work.

Each department operates in the excellence of ministry and intercessions. We have in our church the ministry gifts for the edifying of this body till we all come into the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a mature person. None of our people will be children, tossed to and from, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. We speak the truth in love.

We are a growing and witnessing body of believers becoming five-hundred or more strong. We have every need met. Therefore, we meet the needs of people who come, spirit, soul, and body. We ask for the wisdom of God in meeting these needs. Father, we thank you for the ministry facilities that will more than meet the needs of the ministry you have called us to. Our church is prospering financially, and we have more than enough to meet every situation. We have everything necessary to carry out your great commission to reach the Wayne and Oakland areas for Jesus. We are a people of love as love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

We thank you that the Word of God is living big in all of us and Jesus is Lord.

We are a supernatural church, composed of supernatural people, doing supernatural things, for we are laborers together with God. We thank you for your presence among us and we lift our hands and praise your Holy name!

Scripture references: Acts 4:24; Romans 4:17; 1Corinthians 1:10; Acts 4:29; Mark 16:20b; Exodus 35:33; Ephesians 4:11-15; Philippians 4:19; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:9; Psalm 63:4.

(As a church we prayed this prayer weekly during our intercessory prayer meeting).

South Conference Women in Ministry Comprising of North, Central and South Districts Churches Birth and built by SCWIM, South Conference in 11th Episcopal District NORTH DISTRICT 1980- St. Luke- Riviera Beach, Fl. Rev. Rheba Boone Johnson Birth and Built 2009Purchased second church in West Palm Beach, Fl. She is retired and deceased. 1997-Harvest AMEC-Pahokee, Fl. Birth and built by Rev. Patricia S. Wallace- IE. (No mortgage) 2011- St. Stephens AMEC-Okeechobee Fl. Built by Rev. Pauline Gwen Livattie 2014- New Sanctuary Payne- Ministry Birth- Rev. Denise Smith Blue-ID 2014- The Shepherds Heart- Ministry Birth- Rev. Lee Michelle Sapp- IE SOUTH DISTRICT 1992 - Mt. Hermon - Naranja, Fl. Rev. Maria Poitier- Builder She is retired

GREATER FAITH AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

“The Church whose Hope, Faith, and Love Abide in Jesus”

CHURCH PLANTER AND FOUNDER The Reverend Caroline Delores Shine The Reverend Caroline Delores Shine is an itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the founding pastor of Greater Faith AME Church (August 15, 1999), located in Deltona, Florida on the Dynamic Daytona Beach District. She was the first female ordained minister and deacon to serve at Historic St. James AME, Sanford, Florida. Rev. Shine serves as the Chief Conference Secretary for the AME Central Conference, Episcopal Women in Ministry 2nd Vice President, Conference Trustee, Conference Board of Examiners member and Deaconess Chair, Daytona Beach District Secretary, and Daytona Beach District Board of Examiners Secretary. She has previously served as the Orlando District Secretary and Christian Education Director. She is currently a Bible teacher on FM Radio 97.1 on Thursday mornings at 10 am, “Walking through the Word with Greater Faith.”

Rev. Shine graduated from the University of Central Florida College of Environmental Engineering in 1986, with a Bachelor of Science degree. She studied and completed approximately two years of study at the B. F. Lee Seminary, Jacksonville, Florida. She graduated in 2010 from Asbury Theological Seminary, Orlando with a Master of Divinity degree, and is a member of Asbury’s Leitourgia et Homiletica Honor Society. By God’s grace, she is currently matriculating at Emory University, Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation, with an anticipated graduation day of ay 2018.

Rev. Shine is retired from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (33 years of service), Orlando, Florida. She served as the Environmental Administrator of Drinking Water and Environmental Resource Permitting, Underground Injection Control and Aquifer Protection Permitting, an Air Program Administrator serving Brevard, Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Marion, Lake, Volusia and Indian River Counties member of the Central Florida Air and Waste Management Association, and she served in several community organizations including the Governor’s Front Porch Initiative, Bookertown Community Association Advisory Board, Good Samaritan Friday night ministry, Central Florida Clean Air Team, and Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition.

Along with her many pastoral duties, she enjoys family activities, playing tennis, bowling, observing wildlife.

She is the mother of Gerard and Tanesha, grandmother of six, great-grandmother of one, and has two childrenin-law. She describes herself as having a quiet and committed spirit, but bold in faith for the Lord Jesus Christ.

She is a humble servant, proclaimer and friend of God. History of Greater Faith AME Church and Personal Testimony of Pastor Caroline Shine (abridged and in progress) 1/2018

This document is written to set forth a clear, chronological, and true account of the history of Greater Faith AME Church as written by Rev. Caroline Shine, the founding pastor.

On January 9, 1999, Presiding Elder Leroy Kennon held a Pastors’ Meeting at Mt. Olive AME Church, 2525 West Church Street, Orlando, Florida to plan for the upcoming District Conference. At the meeting, Presiding Elder Kennon announced new pastors for his vision for new initiatives to plant churches in the following areas, as recorded in the official minutes of the meeting:

1.

2.

3.

Rev. Raymond Stallworth: Rev. Isaac Williams: Rev. David Ferguson:

Tangelo Park Missions, Orange County May be sent to Lake Monroe, Seminole County Pine Hills, Orange County

Presiding Leroy Kennon later announced in the Pre-Planning Conference meeting held at Allen Chapel, Sanford on January 30, 1999, the initial request for a church start in Lake Monroe was open, and he needed someone to go there to start a church. No one answered the call at that time.

After the January 30, 1999 meeting, the Spirit of the Lord moved on Rev. Caroline Shine, a third-year itinerant minister serving at her home church St. James AME Church, 819 Cypress Avenue, Sanford and recently ordained a deacon in the previous 1998 Annual Conference, to accept the call. Rev. Caroline placed a call to Presiding Elder Kennon and told him that she was being led by God to accept this call to start this church. Elder Kennon acknowledged that Presiding Elder John A. Mainer had earlier spoken with him of the prospect of a church in the Lake Monroe area but had never acted on it, but he, Elder Kennon, was led to act on it. Elder Kennon stated that God showed him this church in a vision, and was being moved for a church to be planted.

Because Rev. Shine received remarks from other clergy colleagues that this would not be a good thing to attempt to start a church at this point of her ministry, she was driven to seek God’s face for reassurance that this was God’s will. Elder Kennon stated to Rev. Caroline that she would be a pioneer and urged her to go forward with the mission. She asked God to give her a sign. While in a local store, “Old Time Pottery” in Lake Mary, she asked God to reveal the answer to her in a form of an eagle. If she found crystal eagle in the store, this would be a good sign. Upon finding the eagle in the store, it was obvious that this store might have one. So, she yet asked for another sign that would be more distinctive and would leave no questions in her mind. Upon movement in the store, God gave the definite sign. A picture on an eagle was found, and under its wings was a church, with water streaming down from the altar onward through a valley of trees, and in the center of the church was Jesus Christ. This sign could not be refuted, and Rev. Shine purchased the picture as a testimony of God's unction to proceed to start the church.

After much deliberation on the part of Elder Kennon and Rev. Shine to convince other clergy colleagues that this was a movement of God, on March 11, 1999 Rev. Shine wrote to Elder Kennon outlining her understanding of the approach to her starting the church. Presiding Elder Kennon discussed the matter with Bishop Frank Curtis Cummings, Presiding Bishop at that time. At the 1999 Mid-Year Conference, held in Jacksonville Florida on March 27, 1999, Bishop Cummings signed and gave Pastor Shine a pastor’s appointment to start the new church, then referred to as Lake Monroe Mission.

Rev. Shine left the meeting with the appointment certificate, having no building and no members, but the bonafide authority to pastor a church, which had not yet come into existence, believing that God would take nothing and make something, “His Church.” Rev. Shine had no idea that at this point she would be appointed “Pastor.” She also stood in awe that God had chosen and entrusted her to start this church having no more than "faith in Him" to bring it to past. This was truly an ordained appointment from God confirmed. Pastor Shine continued her deaconate work at St. James, attending all weekly services and functions of the church just as she

had done previously, accepting the title as “Minister” to the St. James congregation knowing God had designated her “Pastor.”

Shortly thereafter, Elder Kennon accompanied Pastor Shine to an industrial park area near U.S. Interstate 4 and State Road 46, to help locate a facility to worship, but was not able to find a facility. Even though there was no success now, Pastor Shine continued to look for a place, praying that God would lead her to one.

On July 9, 1999, Rev. Shine wrote to Presiding Kennon, copying the pastor of St. James and Bishop Cummings informing them that God had blessed her to find a worship place in the Port of Sanford, and she would immediately be starting worshipping there at 5 pm on Sundays.

Following this announcement to Elder Kennon, Rev. Shine began immediately to organize an initial worship service as soon as possible. An informal service was held. Then on July 23, 1999, Elder Kennon, along with his wife Mrs. Vida Kennon, Rev. David Ferguson, First AME Pine Hills, Rev. Womack, New Bethel, Altamonte, and Sister Fannie Miller, the first lay member and former member of St. James, Sanford met at the Port location for a few songs, Scriptures, testimony, and expounding on the Word. Following Rev. Shine’s testimony of how the Lord had blessed us in obtaining a place, and acknowledging that her faith too had increased because of this, Presiding Elder Kennon declared that this Church would no longer be called Lake Monroe Mission, but Greater Faith AME. Rev. Shine knew immediately that just as God had given her the awesome assignment to start this Church, having nothing but faith in Him, the assignment would involve many struggles. The worship meetings began weekly on Sundays at 5 pm to allow Rev. Shine to continue her duties at St. James in the morning. From this point, July 23, 1999 until the 2nd Sunday in November 2000, Shine faithfully served at both locations, assisting the Pastor at St James with Worship services in the mornings and evenings, bible studies, and other functions of St. James, while carrying on the work of Greater Faith. This made for long days and long nights throughout the week for more than a year. Rev. Shine also continued her 40 hours/week job and her all-day Saturday ministerial training. She realized that God would supply her and give her strength.

Mrs. Lorraine Offer of St. Mark AME Church, Orlando was the church’s first musician, and she agreed to play the keyboard voluntarily for the afternoon services. Members of St. James began to visit and show support for the new church. Ms. Miller, the first lay member and consistent tither and some members from St. James attended on a regular basis including, but were not limited to, Sis. Sylvia Stallworth, Finnis Faine, Juanita Papino, Mildred Wilson, Herbert People, Christine Jenkins, and others.

On August 10, 1999, the church held its first Quarterly Conference just prior to its first Official Worship Service, marking the anniversary date of Greater Faith as August 15, 1999. Greater Faith AME Church's Mission Statement was formed and read as follows: THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE GREATER FAITH AME CHURCH The Mission of the Greater Faith AME Church is to minister to the spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional, and environmental needs of all people by spreading Christ's liberation gospel through word and deed. The Church mission includes building and strengthen communities by improving living conditions through continual programs of (1) preaching the gospel, (2) outreach to the needy (3) tutorial services and vocational training (4) investment in youth development.

Rev. Shine heard God’s spoken word through another one of his servants, Pastor Michael Price, Ball Chapel AME, St. Cloud two times that conference year that brought encouragement to this awesome challenge, especially as the task brought forth struggles within the new church and without the church. Rev. Price may not have even been aware of the thrust of the sermon he preached entitled, “The Mission is Not Impossible”, Numbers, Chapter 13 and “God only needs a Few Good Men”, Judges, Chapter 7.

Rev. Shine sent out announcements to the District Pastors to let them know that the church was started. The formal worship service and meeting to organize the Church were held on September 12, 1999. At that time, there were only five official members of the Church and only two were present that came forth as

members. The official first two lay members of the Church were Sister Fannie Miller and Brother Gerard Shine, son of the pastor (These joined on the same day and are both first members). The other two constituting members were Sister Tanesha Blackmon, daughter of the pastor then living in St. Petersburg, Florida and the church’s first convert Sister Faye Perkins of Sanford. Ms. Blackmon later moved to Central Florida to assist her mother “behind the scenes” and willingly became an uncelebrated laborer in the vineyard. God knew that Pastor Shine would need her strong loving arm to lean on, as the future would show how people, situations, and places would surprisingly and unexpectedly change. Sister Lucinea Walker came but withdrew before completing probation. It should be correctly written in all historical records to come that even though there were potential members on the list, these persons below along with Pastor Shine came forth in this order from the beginning, putting the hands to the plow, and had the faith in God to believe God in this vision: Persons who became the constituting members: 1. Rev. Caroline Delores Shine, Pastor 2. Fannie Miller, Steward 3. Gerard Shine, Trustee 4. Tanesha Shine Blackmon 5. Faye Perkins, Secretary (1ST CONVERT) (deceased 2011) Children of the Church 1. Trenicia Blackmon 2. Terrence Blackmon The names of the ministers that attended the organizational meeting to witness and ratify the establishment of this new church: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Presiding Elder LeRoy Kennon Presiding Elder John A. Mainer Presiding Elder James O. Williams Rev. Marvin C. Zanders Rev. Charles Cloy Rev. Willie Womack Rev. Raymond Upsom Rev. Arnold Porter Elder Hezekiah Ross Rev. Lugenia Sanchez Evangelist Betty Carlson Bro Reggie Johnson Bro. John Williams Bro. Octavius Smith Bro. John Hadley

These members of other churches also voluntarily worked with Greater Faith in the establishment of the congregation and work.

Financial Advisor: Gregory Washington, CPA Musician: Lorraine Offer Assistant Musician as needed: Sylvia Stallworth Project Assistant: Gloria Depradine Project Assistant: Betty Carlson At the September meeting and Worship Service, to Rev. Shine’s surprise and delight, Pastor Marvin C. Zanders, II, Mt. Olive AME Church, Orlando attended and preached the sermon. Our worship and meeting

place was merely a board meeting room able to hold about 30-40 persons or less, and in the middle of the floor was a large long boardroom conference table, which was used as the altar table. Our pulpit was a wooden lectern stand donated by Sister Shirley Wilson and our sign, donated by Sister Finnis Faine, was only displayed inside the building. The setting was very much rudimentary, with rough accommodation, but was gloriously transformed into an anointed sanctuary when the people of God met to worship. Pastor Shine was amazed that Rev. Zanders, the first pastor of the district, would come down to this baby church, and preach in the boardroom the same as if he was preaching to thousands, and her respect for him jumped tremendously. While in the District Institute, Pastor Shine recognized Rev. Zanders' strength and leadership as a teacher. At the service, he preached “A Strong Church in the Jungle,” Acts 2:42. He spoke of the courage of this mission, admonishing Greater Faith that being a strong church requires steadfastness of the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. At the service, Presiding Elder J. O. Williams also provided a provoking and memorable admonition to Greater Faith incorporating the words of I Chronicles 28: 9-10 in this great work of the Lord, … “Take heed now, for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.” From the meeting, Presiding Elder Kennon, Pastor Shine and members of the church, went armed to the Annual Conference to present the church for admittance to the Annual Conference held On September 16, 1999 in Lakeland, Florida.

During that 1999-2000 Church year, Pastor Shine was able to locate five acres in Lake Monroe for a possible site for the new church. She contacted the landowner in Syracuse, New York, who verbally agreed to sell the land. The land faced Oregon Avenue in Lake Monroe and the posterior faced the Bookertown (Lake Monroe) Community.

While holding services in the Port of Sanford, Greater Faith reached out to the community of Lake Monroe also named Bookertown. There was much work to be done in this community and Greater Faith joined the Bookertown Improvement Association, immediately and began steps to bring local government to come in and help this underserved community. Pastor Caroline Shine likened this effort to the parable of the good neighbor and related it to the quality of life. Even though much work was done and initiated for Bookertown, the church was unable to receive members from this community, and found much opposition from other denominations in the community that did not believe women should pastor churches. Many residents however, were grateful for the assistance. Even though evangelism and community service was heavy in the community, church membership for Greater Faith was slow, and no members joined the church from this community. Pastor Shine hoped that the erection of the church would change this outcome.

After June 30, 2000, the Senior Bishop of the AME Church, Bishop John Hurst Adams, was now the Presiding Bishop of the 11th Episcopal District. At the first convening conference, with the approval of Bishop Adams and Elder Kennon, Pastor Shine brought forth the Church Resolution authored by Pastor Shine and Tanesha Blackmon, Greater Faith Trustee Pro Tem, approved by the local church, which was a request of the Conference Trustee to authorize the Greater Faith to purchase the 5 acres in Lake Monroe and authorize the Episcopal District to guarantee the loan. Rev. Jimmie Thompson, of Bethel AME Church Lakeland, made the motion to approve the request, which was seconded, and carried by the body.

While this grand approval was given and the church had much to be happy about, problems were brewing. Pastor Shine informed the landowner that the church was ready to purchase the Lake Monroe land discussed earlier and to pursue the loan. To her dismay, she found that the landowner had transferred to land into her daughter’s name, who wanted to wait about one year before selling the land, and increased the sale amount by $15,000. According to the daughter, she was expecting the area to grow substantially and was also expecting an offer from a beer company to purchase the land. If they offered a higher amount she would sell to them. The daughter asked Pastor Shine to wait one year to see if the transaction would take place. Even though it appeared that the women had reneged on their verbal agreement, Pastor Shine did wait and continued to contact them to make good on the offer. Pastor Shine, along with Steward Pro-Tem Fannie Miller approached Sun Trust Bank, the church’s bank, in advance to request a loan approval to purchase the land. The bank rejected the request. Pastor Shine continued to wait on word from the daughter before pursuing another

loan.

The 2000 Orlando Florida Annual Conference held in Daytona was a very significant turning point in the life of Greater Faith. The Senior Bishop of the AME Church Bishop John Hurst Adams, ordained Pastor Shine as Itinerant Elder, with the laying on of his hand, Bishop William Devaux, Sr. Elder Kennon, and four other ministers of the Conference. Pastor Shine was the first Elder that Bishop Adams ordained in the Orlando Florida Conference since his assignment to the 11th Episcopal District.

After returning from the 2000 Annual Conference, even after being ordained an Elder, Pastor Shine continued to labor at both St. James in the morning and weekdays, and at Greater Faith at the Port of Sanford and inside her home. The pastor at St. James, during 1999, had asked Rev. Shine to remain at St. James and assist for a year, which she honored, but knew that God would eventually lead her away from St. James towards full ministry for Great Faith. Elder Kennon suggested to Pastor Shine that morning service would help the church attendance. Torn between the leave from St. James, Shine asked God to give a clear sign when she was to leave because she wanted to leave in a manner that God would be satisfied. That day came on the second Sunday in November 2000. The Spirit of the Lord spoke to her at that time, and said to her that He had given her a charge to keep at Great Faith, and to leave on this day and go attend the small flock that was placed under her care. The Lord told her not to worry or be afraid to go to a morning service knowing the people who normally came would no longer be able to attend, that He would provide. Even the musician and substitute musician, committed to their own churches in the morning, would no longer be able to attend. Without revealing what God had said to her, Pastor Shine as she left from the parking lot of St. James inwardly said “good-bye” to her home church. At the evening service at Greater Faith, Pastor Shine expressed that she was deeply saddened, but God would provide.

Pastor Shine changed the time of worship to morning service, and informed the members that they would have to trust God to give us our own members, rather than relying on members of other churches to hold us up. This faith move to the morning service was honored by God, as he sent Elaine Turner, a singer and musician, and her family to Greater Faith as they were looking for a church at the same time. Within two weeks, beginning the first Sunday in December 2000, Greater Faith experienced its first-morning service as God had directed. Soon thereafter, Mr. Leroy Richardson and others joined Greater Faith.

The Church began to grow after being released to morning ministry, and evangelism outside of Lake Monroe (Bookertown) began. As the Church began to grow, Pastor Shine began to feel the challenges of putting new wine in old wineskins in pastoring the church, that ultimately drove her into a deeper relationship and total dependence on God and His word. Pastor Shine would say that these things, the rejections within and without this body, the trials of her faith and love, made her live the Scriptures she preached more enthusiastically, and opened her eyes to things that she had earlier overlooked or dismissed. Pastor Shine would also say that "through it all God had been good and faithful" and joy remained in her heart because the mission and the pastoring of people of God was her calling from God. As you remember, she did not ask to be a pastor, it was divinely appointed to her.

After waiting the time period for the Lake Monroe property, the landowners failed to provide any favorable news for purchasing the land. It appeared that God was saying that Lake Monroe was not the location to build His church, but to continue to worship at the Port of Sanford until he brought us to a land that He would show. It became clear in Pastor Shine’s mind that God was going to send her to place that He would choose, and though the journey started in Lake Monroe and initiative was for Lake Monroe, this it was not the Promised Land. She recalled during the 2000 Annual Conference, Bishop John Hurst Adams stated as he looked at his map that he had thoughts of a new church in Deltona. While he was speaking God was revealing to Pastor Shine through his voice once again to explore Deltona, and she kept this close to her heart. With the endurance of recent strong feeling of rejections in Lake Monroe and hometown Sanford, God then put into Pastor Shine’s spirit a confirmation to look for other lands.

Pastor Shine moved on to look for lands in Deltona, as had been envisioned earlier. She contacted a realtor of St. Johns Realty in Sanford to help her to look for land in Volusia County. Pastor Shine took Sisters Fannie Miller and Elaine Turner with her to look at lands provided by the realtor’s list, but none was found acceptable. The trip was unfruitful, but not disappointing.

Pastor Shine later took Sister Tanesha Blackmon with her as they looked for lands on Doyle Road in Deltona. As they made a sharp and unexpected U-turn in the road to turn around, the car mysteriously stopped in front of a parcel of land with a yellow sign that said, “FOR SALE”. Pastor Shine and Sister Blackmon, immediately looked at each other and agreed that this must be a sign from God. Shine contacted the realtor and asked her to investigate this 3-acre property. The realtor did so, and contacted the owners. Pastor Shine was asked to come down to the office to sign an acceptance of the offer, but while in the office the Holy Spirit warned her not to sign this document. Shine refused to sign at that time, then later requested her co-workers to examine the property since we were in a dry season. Again, the Holy Spirit gave good warning, because the co-worker informed Pastor Shine that the property was partially wetland and less that one-acre was useable for building. “Thank you Lord for the guidance of the Holy Spirit!” Nevertheless, Shine felt a strong presence of the Lord on Doyle Road, and informed this to the realtor to keep looking for property on Doyle Road, because Pastor Shine was being led by God. The realtor, to Pastor Shine’s surprised, admitted that she too was feeling a presence of God, which she only experienced at this magnitude one other time in her life. She stated that she would follow the request.

Miraculously, within two weeks, as the realtor was on her way home, a seller was posting up a sign to sale five 10-acre lots on Doyle, northward of the other property. The realtor called Pastor Shine at work, and she immediately left work to meet the seller while he was still posting the sign and told him of her quest to find property on Doyle Road. Because she was the first to arrive, she was given the first choice of the 10 acres desired. She chose the greater than 600 ft. Doyle frontage 10-acre property, which amazingly was a hundred dollars less than the 5 acres sought in Lake Monroe. It was much more beautiful, with beautiful trees and a nature feeling. Truly, this was the land that God had chosen, and while stepping on and walking the land Pastor Shine felt the presence of the Lord.

The seller explained that sale of the land would have to close within 30 days as he was using the proceeds to purchase another area of land for expensive residential lakefront homes. This was a challenge, knowing that Greater Faith had already been turned down by its own Bank for the 5 acres, and having the evidence that the purchase could be made. However, Pastor Shine signed a contract that the church would purchase the land within 30 days, not knowing how but just having faith in God. To guarantee the sell or perhaps because of his own doubts, the seller later signed a backup contract with another prospective buyer to purchase this same property with an additional $35,000 on top of the purchase price if Greater Faith defaulted on its agreement. However, he was very supportive and expressed his faith in God to Pastor Shine. But, nevertheless he had a backup plan.

Pastor Shine began immediately contacting banks and financial institutions to get a loan for the property. Unfortunately, none of these institutions would agree to provide the loan. Pastor Shine kept Elder Kennon abreast of all the activities she was undertaking. Pastor Shine took some members of the church to the property and prayed over the land, asking God to intervene and allow the church to take the possession of the land.

Pastor Shine met with another Bank representative at the branch directly behind her place of employment in Orlando, Florida. Shine informed him that the 11th Episcopal District had agreed to guarantee the loan and she had been given permission to request the loan. When the loan officer looked up the records of Bishop Adams and the AME church on his computer, he stated that he would pursue the loan out of the Jacksonville

office, but he stated that it was very possible to get the loan. As Pastor Shine was sitting in the chair, timidly excited and hopeful, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to her once again, saying, “You think that this is all about land, but I am trying to show you a bigger picture. Look how things changed when you ask for the loan in the name of the Bishop and the Church. It shows you how the AME Church is divinely connected, even to the smallest of churches. But I am showing you the connection to the Father through Jesus Christ to the least of his saints. In the past you have called on the name of Jesus, but not with the strength and power that you should. From this point forward, I give you permission to use My name. From now on, this day forward, when you ask in My name, the name of JESUS, you will see things miraculously happen, just as you have seen today." As Pastor Shine sat in the chair, in awe of the loan, but much more in awe of the message she had just received, tremors ran through her body, knowingly that she had now been entrusted by God for greater works, and fearful to not use His name in vain. She left out of the office numb, but happy.

Thinking that everything was going along from this point, there was a long spot where she did not hear from the bank, even though she continued to call. In the meantime, the seller continued to call her asking whether the finances had been secured. Pastor Shine stated that it was in the process and would be on time, knowing that no papers had yet been executed, but just holding on to faith in God. Thinking everything was going along, Shine contacted the bank and found that nothing had been furthered, and we were less than 2 l/2 weeks from closing.

Shine contacted Bishop Adams at his residence just as he and Mrs. Adams had just returned from a Bahamas meeting and informed him of what was going on with the bank. He stated that he would contact the bank to check on it. Shine informed him that the owner had a backup contract if we defaulted on the land purchase. Bishop Adams encouraged Pastor not to be discouraged because of that. Shine later contacted the bank, who stated they needed more information from the Bishop’s office. Time continued to draw near, and by Wednesday before the Monday’s closing, there was no word.

Shine tried several times unsuccessfully to reach Bishop Adams, who was attending a week-long Connectional Lay Meeting at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. After much praying, the Lord laid it on Pastor Shine’s heart that she must go to Jacksonville to find the Bishop. She informed the church’s Steward Pro-Tem Miller and Presiding Elder Kennon that she was going to Jacksonville to see the Bishop. She also informed Trustee Pro-Tem Blackmon that she was going. Only Sister Blackmon offered to go with Pastor Shine to Jacksonville, so that she would not have to drive at night alone, but would have to bring her children along. Pastor Shine thanked her for her thoughtfulness, wishing that she did not have to go alone, but she did not want to bring the children out late at night. She knew at that point it was a journey that she would face alone. After working for eight hours, traveling for 2 hours to and from Orlando, Pastor Shine re-dressed into her clergy attire and drove to Jacksonville that Thursday night.

Arriving in Jacksonville, she was aware that the Lay Banquet was going on and the tickets were $50.00 per person. She went to the receptionist table and told the person attending the table that she really needed to speak with the Bishop. He was sitting at the head table in the front of the room, and the door entrance was at the back, and there were hundreds of people between the back door and the front table. The receptionist stated that Pastor Shine could perhaps go around to a side door, and send a message by an usher.

Pastor Shine found the side door and saw a chair next to the door. She sat in the chair and desperately began writing a note to the Bishop, saying, “Help, the bank has not proceeded,” and while she was writing the note, who would be coming from the Men’s Room with intent to re-enter the banquet room from that side door but Bishop John Hurst Adams?! Shine immediately rose to meet him, and began telling him of her situation. Bishop Adams stated that he had talked with the bank and provided all the information and was puzzled that the matter was not taken care of. He then instructed her to contact the bank and set up a teleconference for Monday morning. In Shine’s mind, she said “Monday morning, that’s the day of the closing and no papers have been signed.” How can this be, the closing is Monday morning? Then she resolved in her mind, “If the Man of God said Monday, it would have to be Monday!” Talk about the trying of one’s faith.

Shine managed to contact the bank on Friday morning to set up the teleconference, and the banker still insisted that he needed more information from the Bishop’s Office. The Bishop was still attending the Lay Meeting at this time. The banker then put Pastor Shine on a three-way call with her, the Bank’s office, and the Bishop's Office to obtain the information, speaking with Sister Mavis Bush. As they were all on the line, Sister Bush paused to take an incoming call, and to everyone amazement, it was Bishop Adam calling in to check his messages. Sister Bush said to Pastor Shine, "You are really blessed, Bishop Adams is on the line." Bishop Adams got on the line and told the banker that he had all to information needed and to proceed. “Wow!” “Praise the Lord! The banker stated that he would bring it before the committee and get back with Pastor Shine by the end of the day. Well, the end of the day came and there was no word from the bank. Upon reaching the banker, he informed Pastor Shine that the committee still needed to meet, and in Shine’s mind the question was “Does the bank work on Saturdays?” Here we go again, Pastor Shine crying out to God. Truly the words of the Scriptures from Proverbs 3:5,6 was being tried and living from the page saying “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." As Pastor Shine lived alone, she was free the cry out in the most infantile and crudest manner she could, with her face to the floor. Sister Elaine Turner called her that evening to show her concern which was very much appreciated, and Pastor Shine expressed to her that she would continue to trust God. Shine told her that she would not go to work on Monday, but be open for whatever may occur.

Monday morning came and there was no word. Pastor Shine called Bishop Adams and informed him that she was still waiting. He encouraged her to hold on. She called the banker again who was in a meeting.

Meanwhile, the closing was scheduled to occur at 10 AM that very morning. Shine then called the closing office and requested an extension of time to 12 noon. At the same time, she was continually being asked by the seller if the church she would be able to close, which she again said “yes.” Approximately 11 AM, the banker called and informed Shine to go on to the closing, and sign the papers, and monies would be wired to the account provided by the closing office. “Praise the Lord!” Pastor Shine was aware of God’s intervention and guiding hand. She rushed to the nearest South Trust branch office to withdraw $10,000 from the church’s checking account for the down payment, but was detained almost twenty minutes because the bank wanted to verify her signature from the main branch for this amount of money. Still the clock went “tick tock.” The closing was still 12 noon and it was about 11:30 at this time. The backup buyer was going to give cash to the seller if we defaulted. Upon receipt of the $10,000 certified check, Pastor Shine went to the Orange City closing office that she had been dealing with. Upon her arrival, she was told that the closing was to take place at their Deland office. She immediately left that office headed to Deland, walking in the door at 11:59 AM. One minute before closing. “Praise the Lord.” She shook the seller’s hand and the closing process began, signing the papers, and the monies arrive. Again, Pastor Shine left the building numb and in awe of God. Pastor Shine called Bishop Adams and thanked for reaching down and helping put this crawling baby church on its feet. All that can be said here is “To God be the Glory, for the great things He has done.”

On the first Sunday in January 2002, Thurman and Virginia McDonald joined the church and were faithful members since. At this point, the church had 18 adults and several other persons had accepted Christ before moving to other areas outside of Florida prior to completing the probationary period. The Church members included Pastor Caroline Shine, Fannie Miller, Tanesha Blackmon, Gerard Shine, Monique Shine, Faye Perkins, Elaine Turner, Frank Turner, Rodney Brown (Sanford), Jammie Ashley, Theresa Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Latreace Turner, Mary Bennett Perkins, John Roy Perkins, Virginia MacDonald, Thurman MacDonald, William Smith and our children Jessica, Jared, Gerard, William, Trenicia, and Terrance.

The 10-acre property was dedicated to the Lord on May 25, 2002 and a groundbreaking ceremony was held. The Worship Service was held on Saturday, May 25, 2002, at 1:30 PM at the Deltona Community Center, 980 Lakeshore Drive, Deltona followed by the Dedication Service at the property located nearby on Doyle Road. Bishop John Hurst Adams delivered the message and dedication of the property. He was also given the Keys to the City of Deltona by Deltona City Mayor John Masiarczyk. Presiding Elder Kennon and Presiding Elder Mainer participated in the dedication service, as well as other clergypersons of the District and

local area. Several other government officials came out to witness the dedication of the land for the first AME Church to be planted in Deltona. Grant Chapel, Oviedo and St. James, Sanford Choirs joined to celebrate this historic event. During his powerful message, Bishop Adams joked of the things he endured by Pastor Shine to purchase this land. He admonished her to acknowledge God always and know that God would get Glory because it is God who has divinely ordained this work.

Under the administration of Bishop John Hurst Adams, Presiding Elder Leroy Kennon, Pastor Caroline D. Shine, the church moved from the Port of Sanford and re-established to a leased building at 1290 East Normandy Blvd, Deltona, in December 2002. The small body of believers took yet another act of faith. The body of believers was leaving a place where they paid no money to a place where they would pay over one thousand dollars a month to save souls and do ministry, as God would grow the church. With this in mind, each family without the help of any outside sources collectively from their own coffers paid the first and last month lease to move into the building. The members re-constructed the inside of the building so that it would look like a sanctuary rather than a room with chairs, constructing a pulpit, office, etc. Various churches and persons throughout the period afterward donated other items. St. James donated the pulpit stand, Riverside Christian Church donated pulpit chairs and choir robes, New Bethel Altamonte donated speakers, Grant Chapel donated a copier, Elder Kennon paid for three of the eight the pews which Greater Faith purchased from a Riverside Christian Church in Debary, which they priced at $100 each as a small token type donation, Pastor Willie Hogan's church donated an organ. The church members purchased or donated all the other furniture and items in the church including the pews, keyboard, drums, office furniture, copier, computers, pictures, refrigerator, cabinets, etc. Truly this is God's doing, as he grows and blesses the church, we continue today, "To God be the Glory for the Things He Has Done!"

The church began to bloom and become a pillar in Deltona. The church, however, struggled (but joyfully and willingly) to maintain the lease on the building and make monthly mortgage payments. The Lord began to bring members from Deltona and other areas to help in the ministry. The Williams family, came boldly joined the body and later became officers of the church. Other members joined including Sister Felicia Benzo, the O’Neils, and the Zahira Family. During this transition, the church lost its musicians to other churches that were more financially able to bear the expenses of maintaining musicians. Even though this came unexpectedly, and to much dismay, the Lord showed us that He is the same God who had brought us thus far, and we were still in His hand. This was a trial as well for us, but God was yet showing us another lesson. This was that if we continued to lift up Jesus, He would draw men to Him. It was not the music, but His Word (Jesus) that draw men. Again, the Spirit, encouraged Pastor Shine, that He would make a way somehow, and don't be dismayed but continue to have faith. God continued to add members to the church, including the Lacy Family and Alder family.

After several months without a steady musician, the Spirit of the Lord moved on Sister Annie Williams who found Sister Karen Hill, a gifted musician who was not playing at any church at the time, to use the gifts that God had given her. She came accepting whatever the church could afford, and blessed the church through her music. The church continued to grow, adding the Beltons, Figueroa, Gonzales, Francis, Fryer, Meeks, Pawassee, Ross, Smiley, Samedy, Smith, St. Laurent, and Powell families. The church strength is supported by its multicultural, multinational, and diverse membership.

In 2004, the 11th Episcopal District welcomed Bishop McKinley Young as Presiding Bishop, our new Bishop.

In November 2004, Greater Faith was re-organized from the Orlando District to the Daytona Beach District, under the leadership of Presiding Elder James O. Williams, who expressed his strong commitment to the building of the Church's sanctuary. The church was accepted by this district, and committed to Elder Williams they would be a jewel in the crown of this District.

On September 16, 2005, Greater Faith paid the final payment of the mortgage note for the 10 acres of land. The first payment was made January 1, 2002, and the Lord bless the church to pay off the land before the loan maturity. The 16th was the birthday of Brother Lawrence Williams, Steward Pro-Tem2, who accompanied Pastor Shine to the bank to make the transaction. This accomplishment was announced to the

Bishop Young and 2005 Central Conference of the AME Church, 11th Episcopal District. This was a historical moment. Brother Lawrence Williams, Sister Fannie Miller, Sister Latreace Turner, and Sister Nola Francis stood with Pastor Shine as she made this announcement to the Conference. To this great thing, the Pastor Shine and the members say to "God be the Glory for the Things He Has Done!"

On Sunday, March 25, 2007, 4:00 pm, Bishop McKinley and Dr. Dorothy Young, Sister Jackson (Dr. Young's Mother) visited Deltona to celebrate the momentous occasion of conducting a Mortgage Burning Service on the property. Presiding Elders Williams, Leroy Kennon, and Hartford Lee, other Conference members, and community members participated at this moment. [within the interim of 2001-2010, Pastor Shine matriculated at Asbury's Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida and graduated in May 2010 with a Master of Divinity Degree, and inducted into Asbury's Leitourgia et Homiletica Honor Society].

(2005-2011 to be updated) On July 20, 2011, at the seat of the 11th Episcopal District Christian Education Congress, held at the Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, Florida, Rev. Shine and a few members of the church including Presiding Elder James O. Williams, Rev. Robert and Mary Patterson, R. and S. Rhodes, Barbara Powell, Betty Brown, Fannie Miller, Enid Dawes, Charles and Mae Williams, David and Diana Dawson, Vivian Coachman, Etta Christie, Enid Haywood, and Joyce Webster stood with Rev. Shine as she made her appeal to the Conference Trustee in order to secure the loan to building the church from BB&T. The Lord spoke as we shared the history the church and Jesus' answers to the woman that understood the "concept of a crumb, and the mercy of God. Even while speaking, Rev. Shine felt the Spirit of the Lord so heavily walking the aisle of the room. Bishop Young timely entered the room at the end of the presentation, and spoke the appointed words for that moment saying, " I'm all right with that." After that, Rev. Louis Latimer made a motion on our request and Rev. Valarie Houston, seconded it, and Conference Trustees approved it. With that, there were outbursts and tears of joy from the members and the trustees. God again showed Himself faithful, and we give Him the Glory! Thank you to His servant, Bishop Young! We will be forever grateful to Bishop Young for moving us to the point to build the church after so many years of waiting on the Lord!

On August 9, 2011, Pastor Shine signed the commitment letter with BB&T, Jacksonville to secure the loan for building Greater Faith's Sanctuary to be built on 2135 Doyle Road, Deltona on the 10 acres that God blessed the AME Church. This will be the first AME Church built in Deltona. With the approval and support of the church trustee board (Tanesha Blackmon, Betty Brown, Mary Patterson, David Dawson, Art Moore, Jimmie Broadhead, Etta Christie, S. Rhodes, Brenda Ellis, Gerard Shine, Roselyn Rangelin, James Webster, and Don Roy Moore who passed 2 days prior) and 11th Episcopal District, we moved forward to close the loan. On Friday, September 30, 2011 at 1 pm, Brother Lawrence Williams and Sister Tanesha Blackmon signed the closing documents at the Orange City Branch of BB & T bank. ' July 4, 2012, we welcomed Bishop Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr. and his wife Supervisor Connie Richardson. The contractors did not build the sanctuary as we hoped and this brought much agony, delays, and lengthy legalities–crushing the spirit of many the weight of the unscrupulous failure of the contractor to build the church; yet God was still faithful. With the approval of Bishop Richardson, the elder and trustees, Greater Faith made another giant step despite this vast disappointment. God intervened with another miracle by allowing us to purchase a two-story building of our own, larger than what we attended to build. Brother David Dawson located this building, and along with other men of the church brought it to the pastor's attention. Upon entry, Pastor Shine again felt God’s Spirit heavily in the place, expanding the vision and God proving Himself once again faithful. Yet, the City prevented us from occupying it for assembly building use, but the faithful members who remained through the struggle were true to the vision, and they held on in preparation for the future move. We continued to worship in the leased storefront while paying the mortgage by the grace of God and the sacrifice of these faithful members who stayed were willing to serve God, regardless. During this time, we received our new Presiding Elder, Rev. Hartford Lee and his wife Sister Bernice Lee.

On July 12, 2014, by faith and in anticipation of the move of God, the church dedicated the building to God. The formal worship and dedication were led by Bishop Richardson and Presiding Elder Lee, with Supervisor Richardson and Consultant Lee. The County named July 12 as "Greater Faith Day." The event was attended by the membership, the mayor of Deltona, city officials, and many ministers from the conference. As the congregation continued to worship in the storefront, another church moved into the unit adjacent to us, and weekly we struggled with completing sounds and general audio difficulties during our worship services, also deterring our visitors. This obstacle, the legal matters with the contractor, and the City's deterrence took a toll on the membership, and several members left amid the tensions, impatience and uncertainties of the lengthy legal outcomes. Those that stayed in faith continued to trust God through the turbulent waters, and lived out the name of “Greater Faith.�

From early December 2015 through February 26, 2016, Pastor Shine worked tirelessly with the new City Manager to agree on a code interpretation which allowed us to use portions of the building for assembly, while the remainder continued as a business. To avoid raising the membership hopes up during this interim, and for a seamless transition, Pastor decided that she would handle this project alone, with the help of God and limited knowledge of other members. The architect was hired to draw up the floor area of the existing area, and she sought and received the necessary approvals.

In February 2016, God brought yet two simultaneous miracles. First, He resolved the legal matters and the church won all of the legal battles–obtaining judgments against the contractor. Secondly, the City Manager allowed the congregation to occupy one large room in the building for church worship. They still required this congregation to install a fire sprinkling system (~100,000 expense which we did not have) throughout the entire building to allow for us to occupy the entire building for worship purpose, which is an enormous expense to the small congregation. We were praying that God will come through for us on this matter as well. (Having read our struggles, if God leads you to help us purchase or build the sprinkler system, please contact us) The Congregation moved into the building, and held its first Worship Service at 800 Deltona Boulevard on March 6, 2016. We now worship on the second level which we call "The Upper Room" and we are praying to get the sprinkling system installed so that we can worship on the first floor. We are so blessed to have our own IT person, Thor McPhoy, who not only set up the Church's Information and Technology equipment for worship and teaching, but installed our beautiful faux stained-glass windows in the sanctuary!

To God Be the Glory! (this is only a partial incomplete, work in progress of the history of the church. More history will be inputted to include individual member contributions to the establishment of this church. The church has grown since this time, and there is a lot more information that needs to be included. The new members have done many things as well. The struggles and sacrifices they contributed to the upbuilding of this church is extraordinary and blessed

by God. These will be included in the final document by Pastor Shine, and completed at a future date uncertain.)

HEALTH & WELLNESS ADVOCATE/DIRECTOR As a minister and medical doctor, Rev. Dr. Miriam J. Burnett is a strong advocate of ‘holistic health,’ a concept that embodies physical, psychological, social, economic, and spiritual health. Rev. Dr. Burnett was ordained Itinerant Elder in September 1995 in the Columbia Annual Conference of the A.M.E. Church by Bishop John Hurst Adams. Her most recent pastoral appointment came in November 2010 to New Bethel A.M.E. Church in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

Rev. Dr. Burnett points out that, “New Bethel is a ministry on the move where we minister to and meet the needs of people of all walks of Life.” Through efforts at New Bethel AMEC, there has been backpack giveaways, tutoring for youth, homework assistance, and community block parties that create an atmosphere for fun and unity while providing education on a variety of topics and health screenings.

As an active participant in the Willow Grove community, Rev. Dr. Burnett serves as the Moderator of the Willow Grove Ministerial Alliance and is a member of the Montgomery County Youth Aid Panel assigned to one of the Abington Township Police Department panels. She helped to organize the first community Gun Buyback program in cooperation with the Abington Police Department.

Rev. Dr. Burnett also serves as the Medical Director of the Connectional Health Commission of the A.M.E. Church, which, among other tasks, helps the denomination understand health as an integral part of the faith of the Christian Church, seeks to make the denomination a healing faith community, and promotes the health concerns of members of the A.M.E. Church and surrounding communities.

Rev. Dr. Burnett sees the faith-based community as a powerful emissary of this form of healing. She views faith-based organizations as specifically empowered to create this possibility and has put the power of her commitment into support their efforts. As the Chairperson of the Willow Grove Chapter of the NAACP Health Committee, she is responsible for providing health education and promotion materials to its membership.

She is a zealot in obtaining her credentials. She received a B A in Psychology from York College of the City University of New York in 1981, then undertook postgraduate studies in 1983 at Queens College of CUNY and obtained her M.D.in 1987 from the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Rev. Dr. Burnett completed her Internal Medicine internship and medical residency at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in 1990. Ten years later, she obtained a Master of Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Morehouse School of Medicine as well as an MDiv from Turner Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center both in Atlanta. She continues to seek continuing education credits in medicine, public health, and ministry. She is also Board Certified in Health Care Quality Management with subspecialty certification as a Physician Advisor.

Rev. Dr. Burnett is the recipient of many awards, including the A.M.E. Church Women in Ministry Jarena Lee Award and the Abington Township Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Award. On February 8, 2016, she was inducted into the Turner Theological Seminary Henry McNeal Turner Hall of Fame.

Above all, Dr. Miriam Burnett is a person focused upon service with compassion, work with excellence, and love without bias.

MAKING HERSTORY OUR STORY: A RESPONSE TO THE #MEETOO AND TIMESUP MOVEMENT We are providing some suggested Preaching Text, Resources for Sermons, Bible Studies, Meditations, Litanies, Workshops and a Bibliography for victims of sexual violence and survivors. In this document we are also addressing The Politics of Sexual Assault, The Silence of Violence Against women as well as Strategies for Action, Healing and Wholeness which are included in this publication for your consideration to assist more effectively and strategically with victims, abusers and survivors of sexual assault and violence.

Connectional Financial Secretary, AME WIM

Rev. Tyronda Howse Burgess, Pastor, Joshua Chapel

“Somebody Say Something” Judges 11:1-11, 29-40

Preached at Joshua Chapel AME Church, Waxahachie, Texas on April 30, 2017

Judges 11:1-11, 29-40, NKJV Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

4

It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”

So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”

7

And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

8

So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”

9

And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.” 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

10

29

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

32

So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 33 And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty cities—and to Abel Keramim,[a] with a very great slaughter. Thus, the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34

When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.”

So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.” 37 Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I.” 36

So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man.

38

And it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Somebody Say Something

Judges 11:1-11, 29-40

Jephthah is a man with two sides. He is a hero of faith that shows up in Hebrews 11, as a man who walked with God. The spirit of God was upon him. He had faith and he led the Children of Israel in battle against the Ammonites. That’s the Hebrews 11 Jephthah.

But the Judges 11 Jephthah presents to us a deeper, darker and more disturbing side of this brother. For Jephthah is not simply a man who walks by faith and leads victory for Israel, he is a man who kills his own daughter! He is a man who uses his authority and his power against a vulnerable victim, who cannot fight back!

He is a brother who says he loves someone and still hurts someone, he says he loves.

Jephthah is one of the unnumbered sons of Gilead. But unlike his other brothers, Jephthah is born and birthed from a prostitute. His brothers are the legitimate sons of Gilead, for they are birthed and born by his wife and Jephthah is the son of his father’s promiscuous behavior.

He grows up in the house with his brothers who eventually kick him out and say that he will share in none of their father’s inheritance because he is the son of a prostitute.

They kick him out. Jephthah then goes down to the land of Tob where the Bible says, he hooked up with some “worthless men.” That term for “worthless” in Hebrew literally means riffraff, men of no character, men of no integrity, no substance.

He starts hanging out with riffraff.

But Jephthah has a skill set. He turns into a mighty warrior. He knows how to battle. He knows how to kill and he becomes a mercenary with this band of riffraff, who pillage the land of Tob, taking what they want, living as they shall, selling their services to the highest bidder.

One day down the road, we find out that the Ammonites are coming to battle the Israelites and the Israelites recognize that they are ill-prepared and ill-equipped to fight the battle against the Ammonites, for they are outnumbered and out powered. And so, they call and send word to Jephthah and they say, “Jephthah will you come and lead us in the battle against the Ammonites. We can’t win without you. We need you!”

Jephthah has a strong position now, because these are people who have done him wrong in the past and now they need him. So, Jephthah says, I’ll come and fight and lead you, and if I win I want to be president of Gilead.

And the Israelite response is “whatever you desire.”

As Jephthah prepares for battle, he then makes a covenant to the Lord, that goes something like this….

Lord if you bring me victory over the Ammonites, whatever comes out of the door of my house when I come back, I will kill and offer as a sacrifice to you!

Don’t miss the vow!

Lord if you bring me victory over the Ammonites whatever comes out of the door of my house when I come back I will kill it and offer it as a sacrifice to you.

Now, what is problematic about this is that is Israelite culture, when a warrior came back successfully from battle, he was always greeted the same way. When a man was successful and he came back, he was always greeted with dancing women!

And Jephthah knows that when I come back and I am successful dancing women will meet me.

And so, here’s what Jephthah’s vow really is…

Lord if you bring me success, whatever woman comes out of my door I will kill her and offer her to you as a sacrifice! (Selah) Jephthah goes off. He is successful. He comes back and his DAUGHTER is the first one to come out and congratulate her father. And Jephthah says to her, I’ve made a vow to the Lord I can’t go back on. I’ve got to sacrifice you to the Lord.

And she says, Dad, just let me have two months with my friends out in the wilderness and when I come back do what you must.

And without great detail, we are told that Jephthah carries out his vow and kills his daughter.

Beloved, this should understandably make you uncomfortable. But I am glad this story is not taken out of Scripture because it is meant to put us face-to-face with the reality that we ignore too much and that is the prevalence of violence against women and children that still exists in our society. It reminds us that the abuse of one child is one child too many.

And that no man, no person’s good doing or gift gives them permission to be violent and abusive to those who they have been called to love and to protect.

It does not matter what your Hebrews 11 is, Judges 11 must be dealt with.

In American society, national statistics prove that 1 out of every 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Which means there is a 25% chance you are sitting next to a victim of domestic violence. That for every 4 sisters you count one of them may know what I am talking about oh too well!

And we hear about it all the time in national media exposure NFL players like Ray Rice and Greg Hardy Entertainers whose albums you buy…Chris Brown Whose gospel songs you sing…James Fortune Who you pay to watch on pay-per-view…Floyd Mayweather Who we watch on tv…Columbus Short and Terrence Howard And those are just the ones the media got…

Say nothing of the thousands of voiceless, nameless victims that you encounter everyday…

Women who are on the run; living in shelters; hiding and changing their name; afraid of men that they used to love and care for and may’ve even been married to and are now victims of fear and violence!

And somebody….has to say something!

We can’t just come into our comfortable sanctuaries every Sunday and holler and shout and clap our hands and say “amen” and “hallelujah”, send money over here, send volunteers over there and not deal with the very reality that within our own communities, within our own congregation, maybe within our own families, there are women who are being violated; there are children who are being abused.

Somebody has to say something!

Now, and Jephthah in the Bible is a mighty good place for us to start.

Jephthah, his main problem is that he makes a vow to the Lord that goes like this…Lord, if you bring me victory, I’ll kill what comes out of my house. And the reality is God never asked Jephthah to make the vow.

This isn’t what God made Jephthah do. This is what Jephthah decided to do. And the worst part is his daughter surrendered to it because she believes her father is a man of God and that what he has presented must be the will of God. And because of that I would suggest that Jephthah’s name don’t need to be in Hebrews 11; his daughter’s name does because she is the one who accepts, by faith, what somebody else told her.

But here is the message that his daughter missed, that I need to share with the one out of four here and to the other three to share and shout to the one and that is ….this is NOT the will of God! And I can definitively say, without a shadow of fear of contradiction that violence against women and children is NOT the will of God and God is NOT present in that violence! There is NO way…that’s God’s will.

I don’t know what woman needs to hear this or what one you need to share this with but God did not shape you in your mother’s womb for you to be birthed and then to be beaten on.

God did not make you in His image and say that you are fearfully and wonderfully made to allow some man to call you out of your name.

God did not die on the Cross for you to have abundant life for you to be disrespected, by anybody!

That is NOT the will of God! (Selah) God doesn’t force Jephthah to do this.

And when he comes home successfully, his daughter comes out and notice what he says to her. He says, “you have brought me low. You are troubling me.”

Listen, to the language of an abuser. “Look at what you are making me do to you.” “If you hadn’t come out that door, I wouldn’t have to do this.” “Look what you brought on yourself.” “This is your fault.”

Look at the demonic, psychosis of an abuser who does not take responsibility for his own actions; but makes it yours. That you brought this on yourself. And I want some sister in here to know and to share it with another, that you are never responsible for someone’s decision to put their hands on you!

Because not only is it NOT God’s will. It’s never your fault!

The fault lies with Jephthah.

Jephthah, like most abusers, has issues that go back to his childhood that he’s never dealt with and he takes it out on the vulnerable because he’s never dealt with it himself.

Jephthah is the son of a prostitute.

What does it do to a young man to be raised by a mother who daily is USED by men?

What does it do to a young man whose mother can never be there for him because every day she is on her back with another brother?

What does it do to a young man to grow up and to be on the playground and be scarred by kids calling his mother names that are true?

Not only is he the son of a prostitute, but he is rejected by his brothers.

There really is no hurt, like family hurt! Nothing hurts more than being rejected by the people you think ought to love you.

What does it do to a young man to always be told by his brothers “you’re not good enough?” To see them favored and treated well and him be demeaned and kicked out and all he ever did was dare to be born?

He is the son of a prostitute; rejected by his brothers. And he is the son of Gilead; but Gilead never defends him.

What does it do to a young man to be raised by a father who never acknowledges him?

How damaging is it for a young man to see you have time to deal with all your other kids, but you have no time for me?

All any man ever wants to do is to reach a place where daddy looks him in the eye and says, “I’m proud of you.”

What does it do to a young man who is raised by a father who never tells him “I’m proud of you?” Who never puts his arms around him? Who never takes him to get a haircut? Never teaches him how to tie a tie?

You know what it does, Jephthah. You may ignore it. You may not be conscience of it. You may not accept it.

It makes Jephthah angry!

It makes Jephthah cold and closed to loving!

It makes him incapable of having a happy, health, holy relationship!

It makes him distort the definition of a woman and see her as a “thing” and not as a help-mate!

It makes him a warrior! There is no wonder why Jephthah became a warrior; all he knows is hurt. All he knows is “take.” All he knows is “abuse.” And so, he gives to his daughter, the very pain he has carried from his family.

And every Jephthah needs, what this Jephthah didn’t get! COUNSELING! Therapeutic help. Psychiatric analysis.

But rather than getting help, the Bible says that Jephthah surrounds himself with riffraff, worthless men, men with no character, no integrity. Men who hear the vow he makes and say nothing!

Jephthah’s daughter is gone for two months. He’s got 60 days to be confronted and changed and nobody says anything to Jephthah.

I wonder how this would’ve gone down if there was one man in his circle who came to him and said, “What you’re doing is wrong.” Because beloved, one of the most critical components of the prevention and cessation of domestic violence and violence against children are courageous men who speak to other men about their ungodly behavior.

Because riffraff says “that ain’t none of my business.”

Riffraff says, “that’s between him and her.”

Riffraff says, “I am not getting in that.”

But godly men step up and declare that not only am I my brother’s keeper but I am my sister’s keeper too. That I cannot sit idly by and know that a woman is being abused, that a child is being abused and I sit silent and say nothing!

Every man needs another man in his life who holds him accountable to godliness; who holds him accountable to the will of God; who holds him accountable to godly behavior. You need men in your life who check you when you are out of order!

But the problem is not just with Jephthah’s friends. Let me tell you the problem with Jephthah’s daughter’s girlfriends.

Jephthah’s daughter says, “alright Dad, let me go off for two months.” And so, the Bible says that she calls her girls together and for 2 months they go in the mountain and they bewail her virginity.

She gets her girls together. Daddy’s gone kill her. And they go off for two months and bewail her virginity.

Bewail her virginity means they are sorrowful that she has not been with a man.

“He about to kill me and the only thing we are crying about is that I ain’t got no man!”

Because that’s what keeps so many women in abusive relationships. They are so desirous of the relationship that they subject themselves to an abuse because they don’t recognize that you’ve got value when you don’t have a ring on your finger.

I wish I had some sisters in here that can holler out “that if I ain’t got no man, I still got value!” I still have purpose! I still have meaning! That my life is not defined by a relationship!

She needed some sisters around her who said “Girl, look you may not like this but I’m going to give this to you from the gospel of Tyler Perry you can do bad all by yourself.” You’re better than this! He’s not worth that! It’s no loving in the world that’s worth being beat on!

She needed some friends around her who said “hold on, wait, you got two months before you got to be back here. Girl, pack your bags; change your phone number; close down your account and come over to my house and I wish he would show up over here!”

She needed some stronger women around her.

So, for the brothers, your assignment is to confront Jephthah.

For the sisters, our assignment is to be an encouraging resource to those who are going through.

In closing, we have to always consider the possibility that maybe her friends didn’t know. Maybe she didn’t say anything. Because you know abuse flourishes in secrecy.

Women who don’t want to say it for fear of being embarrassed – “how could this happen to me?”

For fear that you won’t believe them - “they will never believe that this Hebrews 11 brother has a Judges 11 side.”

That’s why somebody has got to say something.

Somewhere there has got to be a community of faith that says we are not afraid to talk about what’s really happening.

Somewhere the victims need a voice.

Somewhere the abused needs refuge.

A place where there is spiritual support.

A place where there is counseling for the Jephthah’s.

Where there is confrontation and compassion.

But most importantly where somebody stands up and says this is wrong!

It’s wrong for a man to put his hands on a woman and it’s equally wrong for a woman to put her hands on a man!

It’s wrong to ball up your fist, to throw a plate, to break a television.

It’s wrong! That’s not normal; that’s not healthy; that’s not godly; that’s not love. It’s wrong!

And just because it’s in the Bible does not mean that God is saying it’s right. He is saying that it’s real! And we have every right in our godliness to look at it in Scripture and say it’s wrong!

So, when we see it in church, it’s wrong When we see it in community, it’s wrong When we see it on the news, we train our children, it’s wrong Somebody has to say something! Amen! © Rev. Tyronda Howse Burgess, Connectional Financial Secretary, AME WIM Rev. Pamela Rivera, Presiding Elder & Connectional Worship Leader AME WIM

II Samuel 21:10 (NLT) Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night.

Lemonade on a Hot Day: Is There A Rizpah In the House?

On a hot day when you become dehydrated your body’s need for liquid can manifest as a dry mouth. Research shows that sour flavors stimulate salivation more than any other taste. Acidic drinks wet the mouth and give the impression of hydration even after a drink is finished. At the first swig of lemonade, the mouth turns on its sprinkles to wash away the citric acid and neutralizes it. And the cooling of the mouth by a cold drink quenches thirst and is perceived as refreshing. Lemonade On A Hot Day: Is There A Rizpah In the House?

On April 23, 2016 Beyoncé gave us a new perspective on lemonade. According to Queen B, Lemonade is a living, breathing love letter to women and a sweeping meditation on the emotional gauntlet black women (especially) are so often expected to run in silence: it’s about the crosses women are expected to die on daily, the betrayal women are told to unflinchingly absorb, and the song of liberation we're expected to swallow. Lemonade On A Hot Day: Is There A Rizpah In the House?

We live in a country that is governed by a democratic process. As citizens of the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave we have freedoms and rights that citizens in many other countries do not possess.

In drafting the Constitution, most of the Founding Fathers believed that the safeguards written into the Constitution would protect the rights of American citizens. However, when the Constitution was sent to the states in 1787 for ratification, a great roar of disapproval erupted. Therefore, a number of states ratified the Constitution only conditionally. They would approve the Constitution only if it were changed to include certain rights.

Two years after the new American government went into effect the Bill of Rights was added as the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The states then ratified these amendments and they became part of the Constitution in 1791. As a result American citizens enjoy great freedoms: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Freedom of Religion Freedom of Speech Freedom of The Press Freedom of Assembly Freedom of Petition The Right to Bear Arms "No-Quartering" Right The Right to Equal Justice The Right to Own Private Property The Right to Enjoy Many Other Freedoms such as: • Freedom to live or travel anywhere in the USA • Freedom to work at any job for which you can qualify • Freedom to marry and raise a family • Freedom to receive a free education in good public schools • Freedom to join a political party, union and other legal groups, and • Freedom to write songs about our perspective of Lemonade As a final guarantee of rights, the Tenth Amendment set aside many powers of government for the states.

We live in a society that gives us the right and freedom to protest publicly when we believe there is an

injustice inflicted, when we believe the governing power is making or has made a decision that conflicts with

our wellbeing emotionally, financially, mentally, physically and spiritually. We have the right and freedom to publicly protest when we believe our ability to progress and prosper is threatened. We not only have the right and freedom to publicly protest issues and beliefs that threaten the fibers of our constitutional rights, we also have a responsibility to call out ruthless, senseless behavior that too often claim the lives of the innocent because God is overlooked and left out of the problem-solving process.

In the text there is a situation where the right and freedom of public protest is not sanctioned by the governing authority and it is uncommon and risky. Nevertheless, Rizpah takes on this mammoth painful social justice issue. Rizpah is ready to act as soon as her sons’ bodies fall together with their nephews. Without explanation, this woman without a voice, without the right to protest the decision of David and the Gibeonites forces her to bring her own offering to the Lord. Rizpah wasn’t armed with a song entitled Lemonade, she was armed with sackcloth, the Israelite symbol of mourning and repentance which Rizpah stretches out “to the Rock.” According to Isaiah 30:29 and 51:1 the “Rock” is clearly a reference to Yahweh.

Rizpah stretches her sackcloth “to the Rock,” she is reaching out to Yahweh. Her gesture symbolizes grief and repentance. Rizpah realized that this is a matter for the Lord, her God, therefore, she spreads the attire of mourning and creates a platform to highlight the skewed justice that caused the undeserved execution of her two sons and the others. I can only imagine Rizpah’s mind racing with the question why! Well I have one response I’d like to share.

I.

Sometimes persecution comes because you are who you are Rizpah was a concubine of King Saul, together they had two sons, both of whom were spared when David came into power. Years later when Israel was struck by a 3-year famine David recognized the famine as divine judgment and affirms his suspension by God that it is punishment for Saul’s massacre of the Gibeonites who had been protected by a treaty since the Israelites first invaded the Promised Land (Joshua 9:1-27). The breach was so severe that God sent a famine in response. Instead of David going back to the Lord to seek a solution he goes to the Gibeonites and asks how Israel can make restitution. The Gibeonites didn’t want money, they didn’t want to be release from servitude; they wanted vengeance. Therefore, they requested the lives of Saul’s descendants; 7 to be exact. I don’t know if these young men participated in the massacre but I do know they had family ties to Saul. Sometimes persecution comes just because you are who you are.

On June 17, 2015 at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston South Carolina at Wednesday night Bible study, persecution came to the Honorable Reverend Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Reverend Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Reverend Daniel Simmons, Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, and Myra Thompson simply because of their ethnic heritage.

Yes, the assailant was identified, arrested, tried in a court of law and sentenced to die and many of us were satisfied and believe that justice had been served. The laws of the land may have spoken but what about The Church? I believe the Church is guilty of allowing this hideous (terrible) act to go unchecked

because The Church did not arrest this spirit of hatred, racism and other isms that caused Dylann Storm Roof to enter a church and take the lives of those who welcomed him because of their ethnic heritage.

What an indictment on the church: The Church cannot be satisfied and fold up its tents and go back to business as usually because the spirit of hatred, racism, bigotry, narrow-mindedness and all of their aunts, uncles and cousins are alive, well and actively operating publicly and privately across our nation, in our community, in our homes and even in our churches. Lemonade On A Hot Day: Is There A Rizpah In the House?

It’s time for The Church to come out of the comfort of air-conditioned building, padded pews and stained-glass cathedrals and build lean-tos wherever and whenever there is a call for the real church to show up and stand up.

II. It’s time to get out of your comfort zone and fight In the backdrop of the text these 7 young men were executed and their bodies hung in the open for all to see from April to October but they were not alone. Rizpah was right there with them. Rizpah made a lean-to at the execution site and stayed through the April showers, the August heat and the cool down of the October breeze. Rizpah came out of the comfort of her home; sat in a small tent of sackcloth among the rocks, jackals, hyenas, snakes, among the buzzards and the vultures. Rizpah was willing to do whatever it took to fight for the dignity of her sons. What are you willing to do?

I can only imagine that this story may never make the II Samuel Tribune or CNN news cast of that day if Rizpah had suffered in darkness and silence, and allowed Israel to forget about her sons. Rizpah took a chance and held a vigil where the bodies of her sons were made a public spectacle. Like Alicia Garza Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors, African Americans mothers whose sons were unjustly executed by officers of the law sworn to protect life, Rizpah keeps watch, public vigil, • through The Black Lives Matter’ movement • in view of reporters • in view of photographers • in view of law makers and enforcers of the law • night and day • day and night • from April until October There are some situations we, The Church cannot allow to slide by in silence: if change is to come we The Church must lock arms, bend our knees, open our mouths, speak truth to power and call upon the name of the Lord: together we must PUSH: pray until something happens.

Rizpah keeps watching until those who have the power to do something did something. If Rizpah can stand on her convictions, risk all to restore and protect the dignity of her sons, what about you?

Seven months into Rizpah’s vigil David “is told” about the woman in the lean-to; he not only acts; he also goes beyond the request of Rizpah’s vigil. David goes to Jabesh-Gilead, retrieved the bones of Saul and Jonathan then “gathers up” the bodies of the seven who have been impaled in Gibeah and provides an honorable burial for the nine in the family tomb of Saul’s father, Kish. Does nine sound familiar? Rizpah stood for the nine in II Samuel 21, and you can stand for the Emanuel Nine.

Once David acts, God answers and ends the famine. Rizpah’s vigil changes the policy of the king, the wrath of God, and the course of nature.

III.

Hold your position, help Is on the way You are: ‘Called to Make A Difference:’ Lemonade On A Hot Day: Is There A Rizpah In the

House? Rizpah: • Unlike Moses, God didn’t speak through a burning bush • Unlike Samuel, God didn’t call her name in the middle of the night • Unlike Elijah, God didn’t speak through an earthquake, wind, or fire, or through a still, small voice • Unlike like Esther, Rizpah didn’t have an uncle Mordecai to challenge her to act “for such a time as this.”

• Unlike Paul, Rizpah didn’t have a Damascus Road experience • Rizpah didn’t have a Solange to fight her battle in an elevator. But she stood: • against all odds, • against assumed roles and pre-determined expectations of others, • and against the traditions of decorum.

Rizpah stood before God in sackcloth, mourning and grief.

Lemonade On A Hot Day: Is There A Rizpah In the House? - One who will say, for God I’ll live and for God I’ll die.

Is There A Rizpah In the House? - One who is willing to take watch day and night, night and day against the injustices of a crooked judicial system?

Is There A Rizpah In the House? - One who is willing to beat the buzzards and vultures away by day and the jackals, hyenas, snakes and other predators at night?

Is There A Rizpah In the House? - Rizpah fought for justice alone, but we can stand and fight together. The rain won’t stop until The Church stands up and say enough is enough.

Rizpah’s thirst for justice wasn’t quenched by the temporary guilty conscience of the king but by the divine providence of a merciful, righteous God. Lemonade On A Hot Day: Is There A Rizpah In the House? © Rev Pamela Rivera, Connectional AME WIM, Presiding Elder

Written By: The Reverend Dr. Beletia Marvray Diamond, Author "About People: Existential Insight" "Sincere Prayer: Establishing A Personal Relationship with God" "A Survey of the History of the Black Church in America: A Curriculum Course for Students at Spelman College" LITANY

Eternal Loving God of all creation Persistent is your love for us today In Jesus Name, we bow before You Persistent is your love for us today Comforter,...O Holy Spirit...... Living........breathing within us forever Persistent is your love for us today Forgive us for our sins, our debts, our transgression Persistent is your love for us today We celebrate your love for us and with each other Persistent is your love for us today Embrace us now...as we worship together Persistent is your love for us today All Our Creator, our Redeemer, Our Comforter Three in One.....;"paths of righteousness" is the way The Women in Ministry, believe You are Righteousness Persistent is your love for us today!

Written By: The Reverend Dr. Beletia Marvray Diamond, Author "About People: Existential Insight" "Sincere Prayer: Establishing A Personal Relationship with God" "A Survey of the History of the Black Church in America: A Curriculum Course for Students at Spelman College"

___________________________________________________________________

I Samuel 1:16 [Hannah Persisted] Expectant Hope! Experiencing A Personal Relationship with God Hannah believed God. Her soul.... tempestuous as the sea She desired to present her husband with a boy child you see Viewed within her community as barren.... considered to be worthless She knew deep in her heart if she asked of God God would indeed in God's time...... bless

The time in which Hannah lived is much like it is today 2018. People are insensitive and embittered and the results usually end with utter frustration as a result, when people are facing situations and circumstance that appear mountainous, people quite often forfeit unfulfilled goals and dreams.

Married women are expected to bring forth a male child as the first-born child in the family. Sexist behaviors and thinking.... to say the least. In some circles, women unable to bear children, especially a male child, quite often result in misogynistic thinking and treatment. To bring forth a male child, during Hannah's lifetime, was a wonderful blessing. blessed.... with an especial anointing.

The male child, it was believed, was God's choice...perhaps because Adam, male-gendered... was the first human creation of God.... Another probable thought was that the male child, generationally. would carry the family name; the male child would also carry on the traditions learned from early childhood.

It is believed that it requires the seed of the male to bring about life. The female from the time of Eve has been disenfranchised, dismissed, dogged by men as if she's responsible for being female as the first-born female in my family.

I've often thought about the thinking of my dad and my two Grandfathers. Were they disappointed because I was not male? If they were; I never felt unloved or dismissed by them...fortunately; I felt ultimately loved.

Jewish life is a communal life. In Jewish culture family is first. Within the family dwelling; traditions are taught and modeled, wholesome living is encouraged, meals are eaten together, walking to synagogue together to hear messages of hope and encouragement.

Many variables emerge within the text as Hannah, barren, sadden, oppressed, more than likely she was depressed. Hannah was even thought to be drunk.... because volume of conversation with God was absent to those who observed her. More than likely family and neighbors knew she was barren. When we're alone in our varied experiences, quite often we feel alone.

It is quite amusing to me, listening to people, born again believers in God, forget the obvious. God is ever present. We're never alone. The God of "breath" breathes continually through us as we live here on this earth. God's breath is needed to survive, to live in this earth realm. When our work is completed, transition to those celestial shores occurs and we are ushered into the presence of the God of Creation and we hear" Well done!

Revelations, the last writing in the New Testament describes...that eternal home as a place “: eyes have never seen, ears have never heard, neither has it entered hearts that which God has prepared...... for God's children" So, Hannah became pregnant.... I believe she like Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and impregnated. (my thoughts) Nonetheless God was still very present.... as only God gives life.

The Good News today! Hannah vowed that when God blessed her with a son...after weaning him; she would take him to the synagogue to be raised by the man of God. The priest.... Eli, not only did Hannah keep her promise to God...Samuel TO BE RAISED BY THE PRIEST. Hannah DEMONSTRATED THAT "BLESSED ASSURANCE" THE SONGWRITER PENNED HANNAH BELEIVED GOD offered her child back to God with gratitude carried him to the priest....

The lessons for us today......to model Hannah's persistence in going "boldly before the throne of grace to obtain God's mercy" She demonstrated to her husband that her barrenness did not deter her from loving God nor did her barrenness intimidate her going to the temple daily. Hannah exemplified 'godly content women can be persistent, should they choose in their pursuit of God and the blessings of God.

Chaste behaviors in their homes; husbands, children, family members, friends, associates, colleagues, can be won to experience the eternal love and blessings of God> The Word of God declares "the prayers of righteous people, avail much” God honors the heart...a pure heart.

As Hannah in her journey discovered the awesomeness of "mustard seed" faith that is believing that which was absent... we today are encouraged to persist in the things "old things are passed away. Behold all things are new" In Jesus Enhances the goodness of God. Imaged of God Likened of God, ultimately from God. Psalm 37 declares and encourages the woman of God...... all believers...... to every day, each day. to delight ourselves in the Lord and as Hannah in her commitment to God we become living breathing testimonials, experiencing redemption.

By saturating the heart...continual conversations with God//meditating, contemplating.... as we do with those we love or those we say we love... or even think we love...we are encouraged to "think on things that are pure, lovely, of good report."... pure, undefiled thoughts and desires, punctuating those conversations with.

Selflessness actions that the world and those around us can see, believe, that God's love is persistent and know.....never are we without God and the blessings of God. Spending time with God is vital. The enemy of each of us.... Satan. is determined to ultimately destroy us and our view of God as lovingly persistent. The Good News! Christ Jesus from the cross said, "It is finished" No weapon formed against us shall prosper! We have.... what we want...we have what we desire.... because we belong to God. Persistence coupled with patience is one of the keys to experiencing the depths of Christ. Spending time with God requires persistence......the very existence of all of God's Children.

Because of Hannah's ultimate trust in the God of her salvation.... Hannah 's ability to conceive other children became her reality. What a Mighty God we Serve. The God of creation, redemption, comforts us... God persistently models each day .... LOVE!

When It Is Hard to Forgive Yourself© The Reverend Chaplain Lonzie Symonette BCC Board Certified Chaplain, Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) It has often been statement that healing is a process. It often takes place in stages rather than all at once.

Brokenness rarely occurs with a poof, it is gone and all is well. Broken bones, burns, surgeries, cuts, animal bites—most injuries require a healing process. We may not like it at first but, when healing take place slowly, we may eventually be thankful for each stage of a deep, complete healing rather than a quick fix. Wouldn’t it be great, if we could take a pill the size of a baby aspirin, take a nap and when we woke up everything, our

physical, psychological and emotional stresses would have vanished? All our resentments, hurts, feelings of abandonment, rage, disappointments, and broken hearts would be poof—healed!

Although there are many feelings and emotions that are intertwined in the process of healing from un-forgiveness, forgiveness is a decision to trust God with the outcome of obedience to God’s Word.

The Bible says, “For if you forgive [others] their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgiv e you.” (Matt. 6:14-15 NKJV).

One of my former AMEC Church School teachers, Brother White said in S.S. class, “I try not to get ahead of Jesus! He forgave me so I must forgive others.” I have learned that this act of forgiveness includes me—forgiving me. In my opinion, it is virtually impossible to forgive others if we have never experienced God’s forgiveness. While hanging on the cross the Lord Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23: 34 NIV). When I was able to catch a glimpse of the magnitude of grace and mercy shown to me by Jesus’ substitutionary gift of His life on the cross for my sins, then I knew that I must with God ’s help, forgive—even me. The hymn writer made it personal and wrote, “…even me, even me. Let some drops now fall on [even] me” (Lord, I Hear of Showers of Blessing, AMEC Hymnal 1984, p. 310). Booker T. Washington said, “You can’t hold a [person] down without staying down with [her] or him.” Try to make selfforgiveness personal and pray, “Even me, Lord, even me. Help me forgive me.”

It is imperative that we make peace with ourselves before we can truly forgive, love or have peace with others. By releasing the resentments, we can set ourselves, our own hearts and minds free. We can be released from the grief and sadness surrounding our disobedience to God’s voice. His directions were clear and we understood them. They were like flashing lights on a dash board that God was saying, “No” but we did it anyway. The secrets, lies told out of fear, betrayals, anger, broken trust, all are forgivable because forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a decision to obey the Word of God. The simple question is, will we obe y God? It is a major decision of faith to include ourselves as beneficiaries of our Lord’s mercy. In view of God’s mercy and amazing grace toward us —we can do it. I tried self-forgiveness and I know that God’s mercy works. The hymn writer penned, “… morning by morning new mercies I see” (AMEC Hymnal 1984, Great is Thy Faithfulness p. 84).

“God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out; his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).

He’s all I’ve got left” (Lamentations 3: 22-24 The Message Bible).

Of course, there will be times of wanting to cling to old resentments; of course, this is not a baby aspirin fix. Yes, the process can be slow for some and faster f or others, but in humble, reverent fear of God and faith in His Holy Word we can make that decision to let go, trust and obey. Mary McLeod Bethune stated, “Forgiving is not forgetting, it is letting go of the hurt.”

What tangible ways can we express our confidence and dependence in God to forgive ourselves? A few suggestions: • Be real with yourself, honest • Express your feelings to a safe person or in a safe environment • Don’t expect miracles overnight • Consider Professional Counseling • Be nice to yourself How will you set into motion the fact that you are valued by the Lord Jesus? When will you set into motion God’s amazing grace and mercy by forgiving yourself? We are humans needing forgiveness too. AMEN!!

- Chaplain Lonzie Symonette

-

Itinerant Elder Payne Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Assistant Minister, 5th Episcopal District, Desert Mountain Annual Conference - Board Certified Chaplain in the Association of Professional Chaplains /Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) - Founder of Hospice church that met each Sunday; Acute 42 bed in-patient unit. Clinical pastor for patients, their families and staff of hospice agency.

- Fifteen years of service as Hospice and Palliative Care Staff Chaplain, retired.

- Preacher, teacher and published author of five books: A Brief History, Personal Perspective from Four Pioneer Members of Payne Chapel A.M.E.C.; He Calls Me by the Thunder Meditations on Freedom, endorsed by AMEC Bishop Vinton R. Anderson; Everyday Soaring Since My Emancipation, Meditations on Inspirational Living, endorsed by Bishop John R. Bryant.

- Have written for The Improved Adult Teacher Church School curriculum, Christian Recorder, and AMEC Review.

- Adjunct Faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary Fifth Episcopal District WIM Executive Committee—Chaplaincy

.

Rev. Pamela Rivera, Presiding Elder and Worship Leader Connectional AME WIM

Week 1 She Persisted ·

Luke 18:1-8 [The Persistent Widow]

·

I Samuel 1:16 [Hannah Persisted]

·

Mark 7:24-30 [The Syrophoenician Woman]

·

Mark 5:25-34 [Woman with Issue of Blood]

Week 2 #MeToo · · ·

II Samuel 13:14 – [Tamar: Sexual Assault] Judges 19:22-30 – [Sexual Assault on an Unnamed Woman] Genesis 29:16-30 – [Leah: “AKA” Human Trafficking]

· ·

Genesis 34:2, 13-26 – [Dinah: Violated] Judges 11 – Jephthah’s Daughter

Week 3 Time’s Up ·

II Samuel 21:10 – [Rizpah: Social Justice]

·

Judges 4:1-5:31 – [Deborah: Out of the Box Leader]

·

Judges 4:9/Judges 4:21 – [Jael: Uncommon Warrior/Victor]

·

Judges 20 – [Justice for Unnamed Women]

·

John 8:1-11 – [Woman Caught in Adultery: Conviction of Covert Abusers]

Week 4 Reclaiming My Time: ·

Genesis 38:1-11 – [Tamar: Reclaiming Her Rights]

·

Esther 7:3-4 [Esther: Reclaiming Her Identity]

·

Numbers 27:1-11 [The Daughters of Zelophehad: Reclaiming their Heritage]

Excerpts from Out of the Ashes 2018 Bicentennial Lenten Journal

The Journey of Lent Out of the Ashes This Lenten season we journey out of the ashes toward our own resurrection. From the ashes of the pain, disappointments, trials, and even deaths we have experienced, resurrection is still our reality. Through each meditation we walk toward Resur- rection morning, with the hope and promise of rising anew with Christ.

The process of this journey calls us to do the work, to critique, to face, to pray, to strategize, to grow, to become “new!” It is an experience that takes work, requires perseverance and necessitates partnering with the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s promise of making “all things new.”

Our supporting texts, Isaiah 61:1-4 and 1 Peter 2:5, set the platform for us to move from the grief and darkness of the ashes through several processes that take us into the light of that early Easter morn.

Isaiah 61:1-4 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for Generations.”

1 Peter 2:5 “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.

As you travel these 47 days, Release, Reimagine, Rebuild, Renew, Regenerate, Rekindle, Reclaim and Resurrect; consider what was, what is and what “newness” can be in Christ Jesus. Let’s learn from and free ourselves from the ashes, the mourning, and the despair so we can claim the beauty, joy and praise offered

by God’s favor, personally and collectively. The newness we seek plants us in the splendor and righteousness of our God, into the spiritual house needed for these times.

- Rev. Viola P. Morris-Buchanan First District WIM Herstoriorgrapher & Publications Chairperson

Week 1 Ash Wednesday

“Up From the Ashes”

Release

"to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness..." Isaiah 61:3 Life can be complicated and difficult to navigate. It’s twist and turns are enough to leave us dispirited and distressed at times. Unless we holdfast to hope in our most devastating and distressful times, we will find ourselves laying in the ashes of disappointments and downfalls, with the inability to get up.

Why? Because our ashes reflect our sorrows, our woes, our humanity, our failure, our frailty. Ashes are the wounded parts of our lives. Ashes are a reminder of what happened and what “use to be.” It’s easy to get stuck replaying the what ifs, the might have beens and should have beens; but when it is over, done, and finished, we have to let God pick us up from the ashes, dust us off, and move us forward.

God’s strength to rise from our ashes empowers us by making room for what will be because of what is no longer. Ashes are our opportunity to release the pain of what was and embrace the beauty of Gods Prom- ise that the best is yet to come. Allow yourself to release your past and rise like a Phoenix from the ashes excited about the beauty of things to come.

Lord, lift me from the ashes and loose me for the new things you are doing in this season of my life.

Rev. Dr. Ericka Crawford President, Connectional WIM Pastor New Jersey Annual Conference Week 2

“Life Reimagined”

Reimagine

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us” Ephesians 3:20 (MEV) Admittedly, with a due date looming, I struggled with writing this meditation assignment. Amid “writers block,” I got a late-night call from a Sistah friend who wanted to tell her story. My first thought: “Why now Lord?” She said she had been through a lot (sickness, depression, car accident) that caused her not to be able to work or think straight. As an artistic person, she could no longer create. Ready to give up, she lost her life momentum and saw it turning to ashes. But because of a new ministry in her life, she was now able to reimagine her life renewed in Christ. She felt her mind reclaimed, her body restored, and her spirit revived. My second thought: “Now I see why!”

Ephesians 3:20 is a familiar blessing that reminds us of God’s creativity and power to do far more than we dare ask, think or imagine. It reminds us that through the Holy Ghost power within us, God can give us our greatest prayers; and can rekindle our hopes and dreams. Coming out of the ashes is not the time or place to question your faith, to give up, or to throw in the towel. Coming out of the ashes is the time and place to reimagine all that God can and will do in your life. With our mind’s spiritual eye, we can reimag- ine all that we are in Christ Jesus with a renewed sense of purpose—believing through Him, all things are possible.

To God be the Glory for the things that He has done! Amen Reverend Dr. Iola E. Williams Pastor Delaware Conference

Week 3

“Together” Nehemiah 4:15-16 KJV

Rebuild

Just as Nehemiah was guided by the Spirit, I am convinced that the author and finisher of our faith will complete the work He began in each of us. I am reminded that whenever any heavy lifting is to be done we are always best able to accomplish the task most efficiently, safely, and demonstrating great expertise if we labor with a variety of willing workers to help share the weight.

Workers, who have professed to hold the same objectives in mind, grounded in faith in spite of the obstacles they encounter, will be plentiful due to guidance of the Holy Spirit. These workers, remnants all, traveling on the same narrow path, with a variety of specialties needed to sustain a new and thriving “church” of tomorrow, hungry for the word, and prayerful will not disappoint the chief builder, Christ Our Sovereign Lord and redeemer. The gathering will not look the same as many of our membership gatherings do today. There will be of different ethnicities and blended races. Some even speaking differ- ent languages yet each one understanding the other. There will be great numbers of children and young adults, each one anxious to sit under wise older saints eager to share their knowledge and testimonies. By faith, each one, teaching. We can rest assured that our work will be accomplished in record time like the wall Nehemiah built because working together works.

We pray the blood that stills works will bless and keep us together.

Rev. Dr. Gloria E. Jimpson Pastor Western New York Conference Week 4

“A Renewed Relationship”

Renew

“But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16, 18-19 NRSV Often, in life, there are seasons where relationships will be put to the test. Whether it is between a parent and a child, coworkers or church members; going through difficult times will have an impact on our earthly relationships.

Naomi, Orpah and Ruth suffered their season of loss. For Naomi lost her husband and sons. Orpah and Ruth lost their husbands. It caused Orpah to run back to her past life. But for Ruth in her season of loss, she moved forward into her destiny, with a renewed deeper and stronger relationship with her mother-in-law and with God. Yes, we may suffer our own personal losses, death of a loved one, job loss and health problems. We may even have nearly lost our minds. But if we allow it them, difficult times can also strengthen and renew our relationship with others and with the Lord. If we learn to trust God no matter what comes our way, out of the ashes of pain our Boaz Moment will blossom.

Lord give us the strength to make it through the test. Help us, God, to go to you in prayer, believing that Jesus’ death and res- urrection has given us the power to renew our relationships and commitment to you God as well as others. Amen.

Rev. Zina Thompkins, Minister New Jersey Annual Conference Week 5

“Two Old Bitties”

Regenerate

Scripture: It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you, he will not leave you or forsake you.

Do not fear or be dismayed. - Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV) Two “old bitties,” shopping, trying new foods, sitting on the porch drinking iced tea, giggling at the mischief we got away with (or thought we did), finally telling those “one day I’ll tell you” secrets we promised not to die with. Since childhood, married or not, that was the plan. No matter what life threw at us, we had our plan of being old bitties together. Then suddenly, Fondra died. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Death wasn’t in the plan; never in the conversation.

She loved and cared for me like a sister. Confidence was knowing there was someone proud of me no matter what; insisting the low road was not for me; encouraging me higher in my call. I felt that ultimate "OK" when she gave her approval or that childish shame when I heard disapproval in the way she could say my name, never raising her voice, or speaking long narratives. I'd never known life without her nor a day unaware that Fondra was there.

Audible chatter of life around me, doesn’t matter. The “To Do,” can stay undone. Test to take, don’t care.

Time, in freeze frame. Breathing, but feeling lifeless. Open eyes, see only darkness. Then, through the clamor of silence, through the cracks of brokenness, a voice said, I’m here. I’ll never leave you. That’s what resurrection feels like.

Prayer: “God, I know life goes on. Help me to live again, only this time, with you at the center.”

Reverend Dr. Carol Lawrence Pastor New Jersey Week 6 “Keep it Burning” Rekindle “For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” 2 Timothy 1:6 The weightiness of Ministry, family and career, if we allow it, could cause the fire of God within us to diminish to the point that our passion for the work is gone. We must fan the flames of God within us.

Keep it burning. Fire comes from the Lord but more importantly we must keep it burning.

God will send the fire but you’ve got to put wood on the fire. Proverbs 26:20- where there is no wood there is no fire. If you don’t put wood on the fire after a while, you’ll only have the left over ashes. Bible reading is the wood on the fire; prayer is wood on the fire. Praise is the wood on the fire; living holy and forgiving your enemies is the wood on the fire. Resisting temptation when nobody is looking is wood on the fire.

Keep the fire box full of wood.

You can’t neglect it.

1st Thessalonian 5;19 says- Quench not the Spirit-you can’t put fake logs in there. We need the real thing in this hour.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, help me not extinguish the Spirit’s fire in my life, in my family life and in my church.

Reverend April M. Martin

Pastor Philadelphia Annual Conference

Week 7—Holy Week

An Upside-Down Reclamation Reclaim Matthew 26-14-16 This day is known as Spy Wednesday because of a deal that was made with the high priest by Judas Iscariot.

In the Synoptic Gospels, the terror of this text is revealed in the conflicting experiences of the disciple named Judas Iscariot, and Jesus’ prophetic statements. The text teaches us that Judas Iscariot betrays his master Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver which was inadequate for the lessons learned, and the life and legacy of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Jesus gives instructions to his disciples for the Passover meal. It was during these conflicting experiences that Jesus turned this situation upside down.

Jesus was betrayed to death by one of his disciples, and in this tragic circumstance Jesus delivered Himself up as a source of life. Judas’ betrayal was about himself. Jesus, however, makes his death the source of life for everyone one, and turned the world upside down. In other words, Jesus’ sacrifice was “An Upside- Down Reclamation” for all who believe.

I pray that we will open our hearts to the generous love of Jesus Christ. I pray we reclaim every truth of Jesus’ sacrifice, and His submission to God the Father, Who led Him to this great Sacrifice. As disciples of Jesus Christ, I pray that during Holy Week we will also embrace “An Upside-Down Reclamation” for God’s glory!

Reverend Dr. Natalie P. Alford Presiding Elder, “The Historic Philadelphia Mother District Philadelphia Annual Conference

2018 Bicentennial Lenten Journal A Publication of the First Episcopal District Women in Ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal District First District Headquarters 380 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19104

Excerpts from the 2018 Publication Out of the Ashes

Reverend Dr. Emily Dill, 1st District WIM President Rev. Viola P. Morris-Buchanan, First District WIM Herstoriographer & Publications Chairperson

GIVE ME MY STUFF” © Rev. Dr. Charmayne G. Davis

(1) Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonging to the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. (2) They came forward and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, (3) “Our father died in the wilderness. He was among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sins and left no sons. (4) Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property among our father’s relatives. (5) So, Moses brought their case before the Lord, (6) and said to him, (7) What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them. (8) “Then tell the People of Israel, if a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. (9) If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. (10) If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. (11) If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of the law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

“GIVE ME MY STUFF” The children of Israel had been wondering in the wilderness for nearly 40 years. The original generation had almost all died out because of their sins against God. As they approached the Promised land the Lord ordered Moses and Eleazar, the High Priest to take a census of the males age 23 and older. The census was two-fold. Firstly, it was to determine how many abled bodied men were available to go to war as needed. And secondly, to divide up the land inheritances as promised by God once the Promised land was obtained.

Moses and Eleazar numbered every tribe and found the total number to be 600 million 730 thousand men. This total excluded the Levites because they would not receive an inheritance of land because their inheritance was to serve the Lord as priests.

Joshua 18:7a, “The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service to the Lord is their inheritance.”

During the numbering of the tribes it was noted that one of the heirs of the tribe of Manasseh, a man named Zelophehad had died leaving no sons, only daughters.

Many of us may wonder, why is this man dying son-less a problem? There are many men who have only daughters. I’m sure there may be a gentleman in this congregation today blessed with only female children. What’s the big deal, an heir is an heir, right? Everything is equally divided among heirs unless there’s a will that determines otherwise. But during the time of Moses this was not the case. All inheritances were passed down through the sons with the eldest son receiving a double portion. It was the son’s responsibility to take care of his mother and all sisters until they were married. Women and girls were not allowed to own real property.

These five sisters risked their very lives by approaching Moses with their bold to give their father’s inheritance to them instead of his male relatives. This was not the way things were done in that day.

But I am so excited that God is not a respecter of person. God loves us all equally without prejudice.

Throughout the sacred text God has used those whom the world would class as throw-aways and disposable. Untold women have been used by God, some named, most never named but their service and dedication cannot be denied. God uses both men and women for the up building of the kingdom.

Adulterers, liars, cheats, murderers, prostitutes, thieves, and the like are all apart of God’s posse. People that the world would frown upon, God can and will use. These women stood up against the status quo to claim their rightful inheritance. These sisters stood in holy boldness before Moses and the whole assembly and made their case.

Their boldness and courage are a testament to the love they received from their parents. It is apparent that as children their value and self-esteem had been nurtured into them. They believed what their parents told them about their worth and value.

If we only believed what God says about us.

If we only believed that we are more than conquers.

If we only believed that we are the head and not the tail.

If we only believed that we can do all things with Christ.

If we only believed.

These sisters were raised in a home of faith. A home that believed in God. And because of their faith the sisters did something no other women had the nerve to do. They went straight to the man of God for help. The text doesn’t tell us that they went to anyone else before going to Moses.

Why would I ask a broke person for a dollar? I wouldn’t and neither did they. They went to Moses, the man with the ear of God and the power to give them what they desired.

So, in front of everyone they went to Moses. The man their parents had told them about.

They knew the stories of the great Moses whom God called through a burning bush.

Moses, the man who stood up against Pharaoh and won.

Moses, the man who parted the Red Sea. Moses, the great deliverer.

So, they took their request to the deliverer for deliverance and said to Moses, “GIVE US OUR STUFF.” Moses could have said “NO” but he didn’t. Instead he sought God for guidance.

The Lord told Moses, these daughters are right, and they were given their father’s inheritance. Furthermore, God created a new law for Israel, allowing other son-less families the right to inherit their father’s property. These sisters demonstrated their strong faith in the power and promises of God. They had faith that the God of their father was indeed a just God.

What then is this text saying to us today?

This text proves that God is no respecter of person.

That each of us both male and female are entitled to the inheritance of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Basically, this text is saying, “What God has for me if for me.”

I don’t have to be jealous of you and you don’t have to be jealous of me.

There’s enough God to go around for everyone. No one has a monopoly on God’s grace, God’s anointing, God’s blessing, and God’s love.

When we operate in a spirit of lack we believe there just isn’t enough to go around.

We don’t believe there’s enough money, enough power, enough anointing, enough Holy Ghost or enough Gospel for us all.

Who are we to determine who God can and cannot use for the up building of the kingdom?

Who are we to determine who is too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too old or too young to be used by God? For far too long, we have allowed Satan to use us (the church) to put down, push down, beat down, and smash down the call of God upon the lives of others because they did not fit into our idea of what a preacher, pastor, or prophet should look or act like.

When Saul was knocked from his horse by Jesus, he became a changed man. At first, the disciples did not believe he was a changed. But Saul now Paul, did not let that to stop him as he continued to press on with his Gospel message. He did not allow the fears of the disciples to cripple his ministry.

When Jesus put down his carpenter’s hammer and began his ministry the powers that be could not and would not believe.

They said, nothing good can come out of Nazareth.

Jesus did not allow their fears to cripple his ministry and we are all glad today that he didn’t.

Since the beginning of time God has called women into godly service but because of tradition and denominational policies their gifts were rejected. Women have been labeled crazy, insane and demon possessed because they believed God called them to preach.

I think about my own calling and how I had to fight the demons of tradition before I could answer the Lord.

The thought of not being able to acknowledge the call on my life and having to remain forever pregnant with it. Oh My God! That truly would run anyone insane.

So, God, I say today, “Give me my stuff.” “I want all you have in store for me.”

This word isn’t just for women. This revelation is for anyone and everyone who has had their hopes and dreams dashed against the rocks of injustice by those who thought they knew what was best for God. Woe unto those dream killers.

Those spiritual abortionists who have sought to derail God’s plan. One day they will have to give an account for their deeds.

For those of you who may have allowed the system to steal your dreams – Go get your stuff.

For those who may be operating in half of your ministry because God’s call looks to big – Step beyond your fear and Go get your stuff.

What God has for you is for you.

No one else can claim it and no one else can use it.

It’s Yours – Go get it.

Has God called you to a task?

Is there a dream in your heart? Stop running – Stop listening to the nay-sayers.

Claim your inheritance and Go get your stuff.

Whatever you do, don’t die pregnant.

Don’t allow fear (yours and others) to rob you of your blessing.

Don’t die pregnant with God possibilities and God’s promises.

Whose blessings are you blocking anyway?

Whose blessings are being postponed because you won’t go and claim your stuff.

Because you won’t get in line.

People are hurting and lost waiting for us to claim our stuff.

How many people are dying in their sin every day because we won’t step up and walk in the fullness of our anointing?

How many is too many?

Jesus said the one is as important as the ninety-nine.

We must all give an account one day.

These sisters of faith are trying to teach us a lesson. The lesson is: “Don’t take no for an answer, even if the voice of denial is our own.

If someone closes a door. Jump through the window. Or tear the roof off the house.

Whatever you must do – do it.

Be determined in your faith and push forward in-spite of what you see or hear.

Do it “in-spite” of the situation.

The bible is full of people with “In Spite of Faith.”

People moving against all odds.

People trusting God “In Spite of their circumstances.”

Jarena Lee was such a person.

Jarena Lee had “In Spite of Faith.”

In-Spite of her woman-ness. She preached even when she was met with hostility and when the church overlooked her.

In-Spite of her nay-sayers.

She walked thousands of miles to preach the gospel anyhow.

In-Spite of denominational policies and practices she answered God call on her life.

And because of her faithfulness and perseverance, the AME Church, Her Church, the church she loved and dedicated her life FINALLY corrected a terrible wrong, a historical injustice and GAVE HER, HER STUFF. In July 2016, during the Bicentennial General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church held in Philadelphia, the birthplace of our great Zion, Mrs. Jarena Lee was officially ordained an Itinerant Elder some 170 years after her death.

Rev. Jarena Lee take thy authority. Preach the word of God in season and out of season.

What God had for her was for her. The world didn’t give it to her and the world couldn’t take it away.

Please do not be afraid to walk in the fullest of your anointing – Take thy authority and go get you stuff.

Give Me My Stuff – Numbers 27:1-11 © Rev. Dr. Charmayne G. Davis

THE ABC’S OF MENTAL HEALTH My life has been enriched by a book gifted to me by a fellow classmate at Argosy University. I want to encourage every woman to include in your Library a copy of “Saving Our Last Nerve, The Black Woman’s Path to Mental Health . By Dr. Marilyn Martin, M.D., M.P.H. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Able: We need to claim our power and skills, offering them to ourselves and to the people we love.

Affirming: Declaring positively who we are and who we shall be is th e first step in getting there Birthing: Each day we are born anew. If we are willing to let go of what we were yesterday and embrace new possibilities, we will always be able to have new dreams and relationships.

Caring: We must be invested in looking after ourselves and the people we love.

Doing: While there is a time to rest, there is a time for doing, taking action to reach our goals.

Empowered: It was the Isley Brothers who sang, “You’ve Got the power” Sisters use it.

Forgiving: Forgiveness just may be the best thought of an ongoing journey to wholeness and healing.

Growing: As Black American women, we want to be able to move past survival and thrive.

Hoping: Mental Health allows us to desire and expect a positive outcome.

Involved: get involved in your own rescue of being creative, playful, love, live and laugh.

Joyful: We can choose it to be otherwise, but only if we feel we are worthy of joy.

Kind: Be kind and gentle toward others.

Laughing: The ability to laugh at ourselves promotes health.

Moving: Travel through life without dwelling on past hurts and disappointments.

Nurturing: It’s time to nurture ourselves and other people.

Overcoming: We shall overcome.

Persistent, prayerful, praiseworthy and powerful. We really are powerful Quiet: Be still.

Rest: Allows us to rest ourselves.

Sistering: We celebrate our relationships with our sisters.

Test: Our test come only to make us stronger and wiser.

Unstoppable: We are on the move, get out of our way.

Victorious: we are victorious-we are more than conquerors.

Willing: Be willing to take the next step to participate in your own rescue.

XX: Women have two chromosomes essential to being female. Celebrate who you are and who you are becoming.

26.

Yes: Just say yes to your dreams and redefine the impossible.

27.

Zeal: This is not a dress rehearsal. Live with intense zeal.

Adapted from “Saving Our Last Nerve: The Black Woman’s Path to Mental Health,” Dr. Marilyn Martin, M.D. M.P.H.

THE EMANCIPATION OF ME-ME: My Response to the #MeToo/TimesUP Movement Dr. Janie Dowdy-Dandridge Connectional Herstoriographer, AME WIM

Sexual Violence is everywhere. In the wake of the (hashtag) #MeeToo Movement and the #Times Up Movement, finally, the “Silence” has been broken. Tara Burke, activist who started the #MeeToo campaign has ignited conversations all around the world breaking the conspiracy of silence on sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual violence against women violence in the work place. The #Meetoo movement changed the trajectory of how sexual assault and sexual violence is addressed globally. Simply put, we are being called one by one as well as collectively to address the systemic issue of silence that feeds sexual violence in both society and in the church. Clearly, where there is an abuse of power which in many cases is described as misogyny a prejudice, hatred, dislike or mistrust against women, fear plays a major role in the victim’s collusion to keep silent. On the one hand, breaking the silence is a significant piece of the puzzle that helps to survivor to heal. For many, dealing with sexual violence against women has been difficult to talk about particularly from the Christian community. As we look at today’s cultural shift towards sexual abuse, sexual harassment and violence against women in various venues, such as politics, business, sports, education, entertainment and the church, collectively we have participated in the conspiracy of silence and have passed by on the other side. If ever there was a time to consider the possibilities for engaging conversations in providing intentional healing and wholeness, that time is now.

Why has silence persisted for so long as it relates to sexual violence in the church? Is it because of the prolonged and unpleasant painful history of the patriarchal oppression of women? What I do know about the unsettling slur of silence is the persistence of silence can be painful. In addition to the moral injuries that are alive and present with traumatic wounds no one can see or feel touch. The victimization of women and girls has been sustained for quite some time, lost in silence and regarded as not worth mentioning; especially when the victim knows the perpetrator.

Clearly, the conspiracy of silence has served to perpetuate the existing in relations to the shame, embarrassment, disbelief, discouragement, grief, and how seriously blurred one can become by the systemic mistreatment of violence against women.

Over the course of 25 years in ministry, I have heard from victims who felt obligated to keep quiet about their overwhelming experiences. Several years ago, a dear colleague of mine was told in a clear, concise, resolute voice, “Hush, keep quiet, you should have never said anything.”

She was torn between her strong commitment to self, other women and what had been done to her, her love for the advocacy and empowerment of women, and, she held onto hope that oneday justice would be served. Victimized, riled, ruffled and disheveled by what happened to her.

To make matters worse, she felt powerless, vulnerable and knew she dare not say anything about sexual violence, especially in the church.

This position was inconsistent with her theology of justice and how she should live out her core values, morally, ethically and spiritually. Throughout my work as a pastor, advocate for women, on many occasions, I thought to my-self, what is the church’s role, do I say something or do I carry on business as usual? Dr. Janie Dowdy-Dandridge © 2018

#Meetoo/#TimesUp: LITANY FOR SPEAKING UP AND OUT AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN For the victims, powerless and vulnerable, we pray for all women and girls who are survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment. There is vindication through God. We boldly proclaim our voices against misogyny, hatred and mistrust. We did nothing wrong and we are not ashamed. Shame never won and never will.

God is love, justice and our present help in the time of trouble, hear our prayer.

For the survivors, we pause and pray for you as your sacred space has been violated. You have been wounded in spirit, body and soul and mind.

God of love, justice and grace in the time of trouble, hear our prayer.

For the victims, powerless and broken, may the painful emotions and memories be eradicated from the recesses of your mind. May God grant you healing, wisdom and comfort through anointed and listening ears.

For the Sisterhood who has experienced trauma and suffered in silence, we pray for a releasing, renewal, refreshing, restoring, rejuvenation, replenishing, reigniting, revitalizing, re-gifting, re-discovery, re-thinking, re-connecting you to your core values. Your story and your voice matters. God knows, it’s not too late. #TimesUp. God of Justice, the suffering and the grieving, hear our prayer. Amen. Š Dr. Janie Dowdy-Dandridge

THE RAPE OF DINAH In case you have not heard by now sexual violence is rarely discussed in church, despite the rising incidents of rape, sexual assault, molestation and incest. In Genesis 34 Dinah is the victim of rape and incest. The rape of Dinah, Jacob’s daughter provides the community of faith an opportunity to look for strategies, educational workshops, support groups and therapeutic conversations to beginning one’s journey to wholeness. What does her story mean to us today? One may blame Dinah for placing herself in a dangerous situation (by visiting the “daughters of the land”). Some may see that evil acts typically lead to untimely ends. Some may find that retribution precedes repercussions. Some may think Jacob’s uncaring response is an affront while others may recognize that Jacob is still growing in God. Ultimately, the story is a historical account of God’s people with a variety of lessons all tightly intertwined. Certainly, the reaction of Jacob’s sons was unacceptable but the choices and acts of all participants left something to be desired.

Dinah’s visit to the “daughters of the land” – who’s to blame?

It is unclear why Dinah chose to venture beyond the safety of her land to see the “daughters of the city”. The historian Josephus says she had gone into the city to attend a festival. Others believe, being an only daughter, she wanted to witness how other women behaved. The excursion should

have been recognized as a dangerous journey which would place her in the presence of women not bound to God’s covenant. However, we must not forget that Dinah was a young girl at the time – likely only 13-15 years of age.

Many tend to blame victims such as Dinah for placing themselves in a dangerous situation.

It’s all too common to blame the victim when their imprudent decisions result in undesirable outcomes. This is a dangerous mindset. Hurt, pain, and disappointment can easily be masked by blameful anger towards the victim. We must never fail to recognize that a victim ultimately becomes of victim because of someone else’s wrongful actions.

Reflections from Dinah’s Story: ➢ Recovery from sexual abuse does not follow a precise path. The victim is willing to face he abuse and acknowledge the hurt and the pain. ➢ What is your personal style of relating to a victim of abuse who has experience sexual trauma? ➢ Imagine Dinah as a symbol of An African American Queen held captive as an enslaved woman in Wakanda, what are thoughts about gender parity, equality, and the empowerment of women. ➢ Was Dinah raped or defiled? ➢ The scriptures tell us that as the event unwound, Dinah stayed with Shechem in the city.

In fact, when Shechem and the men of the city were slaughtered by Jacob’s sons, the Bible says the sons “took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.” Why did Dinah stay behind after the assault? Was she captured by Shechem or did she choose to stay on her own? ➢ The question leads some to wonder if Dinah was aggressively “raped” or merely defiled by a disgraceful act of premarital sex. The verses indicate she was sexually assaulted.

However, customs differed greatly in those times. It is likely Dinah stayed until the “problem” was resolved by the families. Her “defilement” would have left her undesirable for marriage to others. Considering her situation, she may have recognized that she had nowhere else to go. ➢ What is your next step for you in your healing healing process?

Dr. Janie Dowdy-Dandridge, D Min. © 2018

RESOURCE LIBRARY

Books: Anthologies Listed in alphabetical order by editor.

Primary Sources Gabriela Arredondo. Chicana Feminisms: A Critical Reader. Duke University Press, 2003.

Toni Cade Bambara and Eleanor W. Traylor. The Black Woman: An Anthology.

Washington Square Press, 1970.

Leslie Bow. Asian American Feminisms. Routledge, 2012.

Mari Jo Buhle and Paul Buhle. The Concise History of Woman Suffrage. University of Illinois Press, 1978.

Elly Bulkin, Minnie Bruce Pratt, and Barbara Smith. Yours in Struggle: Three Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Semitism and Racism. Firebrand Books, 1984.

Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Ann Snitow. The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women's Liberation. Three Rivers Press, 1998.

Jeffrey Escoffier. Sexual Revolution. Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2003.

Barbara Findlen. Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation. Seal Press, 2001.

Alma M. Garcia. Chicana Feminist Thought: The Basic Historical Writings. Routledge, 1997.

Lynn Gilbert and Gaylen Moore. Particular Passions: Talks With Women Who Shaped Our Times. Clarkson Potter, 1981.

Linda Gordon and Rosalyn Baxandell. Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women’s Liberation Movement. Basic Books, 2000.

Beverly Guy-Sheftall. Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought. The New Press, 1995.

Daisy Hernandez and S. Bushra Rehman. Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism. Seal Press, 2002.

Leslie Heywood and Jennifer Drake. Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminism. University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

Nancy Hogshead-Makar and Andrew Zimbalist. Equal Play: Title IX and Social Change. Temple University Press, 2007.

Faith S. Holsaert, Martha P. Norman Noonan, et al. Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC. University of Illinois Press, 2010.

Gloria Hull, Patricia Bell Scott and Barbara Smith. But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men. The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1982.

Alexis Jetter, Annelise Orleck, and Diana Taylor. The Politics of Motherhood: Activist Voices from Left to Right. University Press of New England, 1997.

Dawn Keetley and John Pettegrew. Public Women, Public Words: A Documentary History of American Feminism. Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.

Elaine Kim, Lilia V. Villanueva, et al. Making More Waves: New Writing by Asian American Women. Beacon Press, 1998.

Anne Koedt, Ellen Levine, and Anita Rapone. Radical Feminism. Quadrangle Books, 1973.

Latina Feminist Group. Telling To Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios. Duke University Press, 2001.

Gerda Lerner. Black Women in White America: A Documentary History. Vintage Books, 1972.

Huping Ling. Voices of the Heart: Asian American Women on Immigration, Work, and Family. Truman State University Press, 2007.

Nancy MacLean. The American Women’s Movement, 1945 - 2000: A Brief History with Documents. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.

Courtney E. Martin and J. Courtney Sullivan. Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists. Seal Press, 2010.

Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua. This Bridge Called My Back: Radical Writings by Women of Color. Persephone Press, 1981.

Robin Morgan. Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women’s Liberation Movement. Vintage Books, 1970.

Robin Morgan. Sisterhood is Global. Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1996.

Vickie Nam. YELL-Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American. HarperCollins, 2001.

Tey Diana Rebolledo and Eliana S. Rivero. Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature. University of Arizona Press, 1993.

Alice S. Rossi. The Feminist Papers: From Adams to de Beauvoir. Columbia University Press, 1973.

Miriam Schneir. Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings. Vintage Books, 1994.

Barbara Seaman and Laura Eldridge. Voices of the Women’s Health Movement. Seven Stories Press, 2012.

Sonia Shah. Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire. South End Press, 1999.

Barbara Smith. Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983.

Ali Smith. Laws of the Bandit Queens: Words to Live by from 35 of Today’s Most Revolutionary Women. Crown Publishing Group, 2002.

Leslie Morgan Steiner. Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families. Random House, 2006.

Nancy A. Walker. Women’s Magazines, 1940 - 1960: Gender roles and the Popular Press. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1998.

Rebecca Walker. To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism.

Anchor Books, 1995.

Diane Yen-Mei Wong and Asian Women United of California. Making Waves: An Anthology of Writings By and About Asian American Women. Beacon Press, 1989.

Go backTo Top

Secondary Sources Elizabeth Abel and Emily K. Abel. The Signs Reader: Women, Gender, and Scholarship.

University of Chicago Press, 1983.

Norma Alarcón. Chicana Critical Issues. Third Woman Press, 1983.

M. Jacqui Alexander and Chandra Talpade Mohanty. Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures. Routledge, 1997.

Kathleen M. Blee. No Middle Ground: Women and Radical Protest. New York University Press, 1998.

Judith Butler and Joan W. Scott. Feminists Theorize the Political. Routledge, 1992.

Crista DeLuzio. Women’s Rights: People and Perspectives. ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Hasia Diner, Shira Kohn and Rachel Kranson. A Jewish Feminine Mystique? Jewish Women in Postwar America. Rutgers University Press, 2010.

Joyce D. Duncan. Shapers of the Great Debate on Women’s Rights: a Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, 2008.

Stephanie Gilmore. Feminist Coalitions: Historical Perspectives on Second-Wave Feminism in the United States. University of Illinois Press, 2008.

Nancy Hewitt, Jean O’Barr, and Nancy Rosenbaugh. Talking Gender: Public Images, Personal Journeys and Political Critiques. University of North Carolina Press, 1996.

Nancy Hewitt. No Permanent Waves: Recasting Histories of U.S. Feminisms. Rutgers University Press, 2010.

Linda K. Kerber, Alice Kessler-Harris and Kathryn Kish Sklar. U.S. History as Women’s History: New Feminist Essays. University of North Carolina Press, 1995.

Kathleen A. Laughlin and Jacqueline L. Castledine. Breaking the Wave: Women, Their Organizations, and Feminism, 1945 - 1985. Routledge, 2011.

Barbara J. Love. Feminists Who Changed America, 1963 - 1975. University of Illinois Press, 2006.

Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, et al. The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

Joanne Meyerowitz. Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945 1960. Temple University Press, 1994.

Sonya Michel and Seth Koven. Mothers of a New World: Maternalist Politics and the Origins of Welfare States. Routledge, 1993.

Toni Morrison. Race-ing Justice, En-gendering Power: Essays on Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, and the Construction of Social Reality. Pantheon Books, 1992.

Toni Morrison and Claudia Brodsky Lacour. Birth of a Nation’hood: Gaze, Script, and Spectacle in the O. J. Simpson Case. Pantheon Books, 1997.

Tuyen D. Nguyen. Domestic Violence in Asian-American Communities: A Cultural Overview. Lexington Books, 2005.

Jean O’Reilly and Susan Cahn. Women and Sports in the United States: A Documentary Reader. Northeastern University Press, 2007.

Vicki Ruiz and Ellen Carol. Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women’s History. Routledge, 2000.

Vicki Ruiz. Las Obreras: Chicana Politics of Work and Family. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Publications, 2000.

Vicki Ruiz and Virginia Sanchez Korrol. Latina Legacies: Identity, Biography and Community. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Vicki Ruiz and Virginia S. Korrol. Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press, 2006.

Rickie Solinger. Abortion Wars: A Half-Century of Struggle, 1950 - 2000. University of California Press, 1998.

Robyn R. Warhol and Diane Price Herndl. Feminisms: An Anthology of Literary Theory and Criticism. Rutgers University Press, 1997.

RESOURCE LIBRARY

Books: Body and Health Listed in alphabetical order by author.

A Margaret Abraham. Speaking the Unspeakable: Marital Violence among South Asian Immigrants in the United States. Rutgers University Press, 2000.

Dorothy Allison. Skin: Talking about Sex, Class, and Literature. Firebrand Books, 1994.

Owanah Anderson. Ohoyo One Thousand: A Resource Guide of American Indian/Alaska Native Women. Ohoyo Resource Center, 1982.

Charon Asetoyer, Katherine Cronk and Samanthi Kewakapuge. Indigenous Women’s Health Book, Within the Sacred Circle: Reproductive Rights, Environmental Health, Traditional Herbs and Remedies. Pine Hill Press, 2003.

Margaret Atwood. The Edible Woman. McClelland and Stewart, 1969.

B Beth Bailey. Sex in the Heartland. Harvard University Press, 1999.

Carrie N. Baker. The Women’s Movement Against Sexual Harassment. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Ann Bannon. Odd Girl Out. Gold Medal Books, 1957.

Maria Bevacqua. Rape On The Public Agenda: Feminism and the Politics of Sexual Assault. Northeastern University Press, 2000.

Judy Blume. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Bradbury Press, 1970.

The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Our Bodies, Ourselves. Simon & Schuster, 1973.

Mary Boutilier and Lucinda SanGiovanni. The Sporting Woman. Human Kinetics Publishers, 1983.

Carolyn Bronstein. Battling Pornography: The American Feminist Anti-Pornography Movement, 1976 - 1986. Cambridge University Press, 2011 Helen Gurley Brown. Sex and the Single Girl. Bernard Geis, 1962.

Lester Brown. Two Spirit People: American Indian Lesbian Women and Gay Men. Harrington Park Press, 1997.

Rita Mae Brown. Rubyfruit Jungle. Daughters, Inc. 1973.

Susan Brownmiller. Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. Simon and Schuster, 1975.

Susan Brownmiller. Femininity. Linden Books, Simon & Schuster, 1984.

Joan Jacobs Brumberg. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls.

Vintage Books, 1997.

C Susan K. Cahn. Coming On Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth Century Women’s Sports. Harvard University Press, 1994.

Susan E. Cayleff. Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias. University of

Illinois Press, 1996.

Nancy Chodorow. The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender. University of California Press, 1999.

Alex Comfort. The Joy of Sex. Crown Publishers, 1972.

Noreen Connell and Cassandra Wilson. Rape: The First Sourcebook for Women. New York Radical Feminists, 1971.

Go backTo Top

D John D’Emilio and Estelle Freedman. Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America. Harper & Row, 1988.

Susan Douglas. Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media. Three Rivers Press, 1994.

Lisa Duggan and Nan Hunter. Sex Wars: Sexual Dissent & Political Culture. Routledge, 1995.

Shari Dworkin and Faye Linda Wachs. Body Panic: Gender, Health, and the Selling of Fitness. New York University Press, 2009.

E Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English. Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers. The Feminist Press, 1973.

Barbara Ehrenreich. The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the Flight from Commitment. Anchor Books, 1983.

Jonathan Eig. The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution. W. W. Norton, 2014.

Nora Ephron. I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman.

Vintage Books, 2008.

Eve Ensler. The Vagina Monologues. Villard Books, 2007.

Catriรณna Rueda Esquibel. With Her Machete in Her Hand: Reading Chicana Lesbians.

University of Texas Press, 2006.

Laurie Essig. American Plastic: Boob Jobs, Credit Cards, and Our Quest for Perfection.

Beacon Press, 2010.

F Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons. Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians. Basic Books, 2006.

Ann Fessler. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade. Penguin Press, 2006.

G Marcia M. Gallo. Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement. Seal Press, 2007.

David J. Garrow. Liberty and Sexuality: The Right to Privacy and the Making of Roe v.

Wade. University of California Press, 1994.

Ina May Gaskin. Birth Matters: A Midwife’s Manifesta. Seven Stories Press, 2011.

Faye Ginsburg. Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community.

University of California Press, 1989.

Linda Gordon. Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right: A Social History of Birth Control in America. Grossman, 1976.

Linda Gordon. The Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America. University of Illinois Press, 2002.

Julia Grant. Raising Baby By the Book: The Education of American Mothers. Yale University Press, 1998.

Linda Greenhouse and Reva Siegel. Before Roe v. Wade: Voices that Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court’s Ruling. Kaplan Publishing, 2010.

Germaine Greer. The Female Eunuch. Paladin, 1970.

Barbara Gurr. Reproductive Justice: The Politics of Health Care for Native American Women. Rutgers University Press, 2015.

Elena R. Gutierrez. Fertile Matters: The Politics of Mexican-Origin Women's Reproduction. University of Texas Press, 2008.

Allen Guttmann. Women’s Sports: A History. Columbia University Press, 1991.

H

Shere Hite. The Hite Report on Female Sexuality. Macmillan, 1976.

Johnette Howard. The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova, Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship. Broadway Books, 2005.

N.E.H. Hull and Peter Charles Hoffer. Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History. University Press of Kansas, 2010.

Go backTo Top

J Karla Jay. Tales of the Lavender Menace: A Memoir of Liberation. Basic Books, 2000.

James H. Jones. Alfred C. Kinsey: A Public/Private Life. W. W. Norton, 1997.

Erica Jong. Fear of Flying. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.

Christine Jorgensen. Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography. Paul S. Eriksson, 1967. (Reissued by Cleis Press, 2000.)

K Laura Kaplan. The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service. Pantheon Books, 1995.

Elizabeth Kennedy and Madeline Davis. Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History

of a Lesbian Community. Routledge, 1993.

Alfred Kinsey et al. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. W. B. Saunders, 1948.

Alfred Kinsey et al. Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. W. B. Saunders, 1953.

Wendy Kline. Bodies of Knowledge: Sexuality, Reproduction, and Women's Health in the Second Wave. University of Chicago Press, 2010.

Rebecca M. Kluchin. Fit To Be Tied: Sterilization and Reproductive Rights in America, 1950 - 1980. Rutgers University Press, 2009.

Rose Kushner. If You’ve Thought About Breast Cancer. The National Cancer Institute, 1979.

Rose Kushner. Alternatives. Kensington Press, 1984.

L Shirley Jennifer Lim. A Feeling of Belonging: Asian American Women’s Public Culture, 1930 - 1960. New York University Press, 2005.

Amanda Littauer. Bad Girls: Young Women, Sex, and Rebellion before the Sixties.

University of North Carolina Press, 2015.

Elisabeth Lloyd. The Case of the Female Orgasm: Bias in the Science of Evolution.

Harvard University Press, 2005.

Rachel Lloyd. Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale.

HarperCollins, 2011.

Iris Ofelia Lopez. Matters of Choice: Puerto Rican Women’s Struggle for Reproductive Freedom. Rutgers University Press, 2008.

Audre Lorde. The Cancer Journals. Aunt Lute Books, 1980.

Audre Lorde. Sister Outsider. Crossing Press, 1984.

Kristen Luker. Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. University of California Press, 1984.

M Catharine A. MacKinnon. Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law. Harvard University Press, 1987.

Catharine A. MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin. In Harm’s Way: the Pornography Civil Rights Hearings. Harvard University Press, 1998.

Sue Macy. Winning Ways: A Photohistory of American Women in Sports. Henry Holt, 1996.

Thomas Maier. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.

Emily Martin. The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction. Beacon Press, 1987.

Elaine Tyler May. America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation.

Basic Books, 2010.

Margaret Mead. Male and Female: A Study of the Sexes in a Changing World. W. Morrow, 1949.

William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Human Sexual Response. Bantam Books, 1966.

Joanne Meyerowitz. How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Harvard University Press, 2002.

Kate Millett. Sexual Politics. Granada Publishing, 1969.

Sandra Morgen. Into Our Own Hands: The Women’s Health Movement in the United States, 1969 - 1990. Rutgers University Press, 2002.

Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway. What to Expect When You're Expecting. Workman Publishing, 1984.

N Jennifer Nelson. Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement. New York University Press, 2003.

Jennifer Nelson. More Than Medicine: A History of the Feminist Women’s Health Movement. New York University Press, 2015.

Go backTo Top

P James T. Patterson. Freedom Is Not Enough: The Moynihan Report and America’s Struggle over Black Family Life from LBJ to Obama. Basic Books, 2010.

Sylvia Plath. The Bell Jar. Heinemann, 1963.

Heather Munro Prescott. The Morning After: A History of Emergency Contraception in the United States. Rutgers University Press, 2011.

R Leslie J. Reagan. Dangerous Pregnancies: Mothers, Disabilities, and Abortion in Modern America. University of California Press, 2010.

Elizabeth Reis. Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex. John Hopkins University Press, 2009.

Adrienne Rich. Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution. W.W. Norton, 1976.

Dorothy Roberts. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. Pantheon Books, 1997.

Esther Rothblum and Kathleen Brehony. Boston Marriages. University of Massachusetts Press, 1993.

Lori Rotskoff and Laura L. Lovett. When We Were Free to Be: Looking Back at a Children’s Classic and the Difference It Made. University of North Carolina Press, 2012.

S Elizabeth M. Schneider. Battered Women and Feminist Lawmaking. Yale University Press, 2000.

Johanna Schoen. Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in Public Health and Welfare. University of North Carolina Press, 2005.

Wendy Shalit. A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue. Free Press, 1999.

Celine Parrenas Shimizu. The Hypersexuality of Race: Performing Asian/American Women on Screen and Scene. Duke University Press, 2007.

Jael M. Silliman and Anannya Bhattacharjee. Policing the National Body: Race, Gender and Criminalization. South End Press, 2002.

Jael Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried, Loretta Ross, and Elena R. Gutierrez. Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice. South End Press, 2004.

Dr. Benjamin Spock. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946.

Marc Stein. Sexual Injustice: Supreme Court Decisions from Griswold to Roe. University of North Carolina Press, 2010.

Nadine Strossen. Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women’s Rights. New York University Press, 2000.

T Andrea Tone. Devices and Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America. Macmillan, 2002.

W Susan Ware. Title IX: A Brief History with Documents. Waveland Press, 2007.

Susan Ware. Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports. University of North Carolina Press, 2011.

Elizabeth Siegel Watkins. On the Pill: A Social History of Contraceptives, 1950 - 1970.

Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.

George Weinberg. Society and the Healthy Homosexual. Macmillan, 1972.

Leigh Ann Wheeler. How Sex Became a Civil Liberty. Oxford University Press, 2013.

Evelyn C. White. The Black Women’s Health Book: Speaking For Ourselves. Seal Press, 1994.

Naomi Wolf. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women.

William Morrow, 1991.

RESOURCE LIBRARY

Books: Politics and Social Movements Listed in alphabetical order by author.

A Bella Abzug. Gender Gap: Bella Abzug’s Guide to Political Power for American Women.

Houghton Mifflin, 1984.

Karen Anderson. Changing Woman: A History of Racial Ethnic Women in Modern America. Oxford University Press, 1996.

Maya Angelou. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House,1969.

Peggy Antrobus. The Global Women’s Movement. Palgrave, St. Martin’s Press, 2004.

Gloria Anzaldua. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, 1987.

Nona Willis Aronowitz and Emma Bee Bernstein. Girldrive: Criss-crossing America, Redefining Feminism. Seal Press, 2009.

Sarah Azaransky. The Dream is Freedom: Pauli Murray and American Democratic Faith. Oxford University Press, 2011.

B Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. Manifesta:Young Women, Feminism, and the Future. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2000.

Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2005.

Jennifer Baumgardner. F’em!: Goo Goo, Gaga, and Some Thoughts on Balls. Seal Press,

2011.

Simone de Beauvoir. The Second Sex. Vintage Press, Reissue 1989.

June M. Benowitz. Challenge and Change: Right Wing Women, Grassroots Activism, and the Baby Boom Generation. University of Florida, 2015.

Mary Francis Berry. Why ERA Failed: Politics, Women’s Rights, and the Amending Process of the Constitution. Indiana University Press, 1986.

Maylei Blackwell. Chicana Power!: Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement. University of Texas Press, 2011.

Diane Kincaid Blair. Silent Hattie Speaks: The Personal Journal of Senator Hattie Caraway. Greenwood Press, 1979.

Irene Blea. La Chicana and the Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender. Praeger Publishers, 1992.

Irene Blea. U.S. Chicanas and Latinas Within a Global Context. Praeger Publishers, 1997.

Janet Boles. The Politics of the Equal Rights Amendment: Conflict and the Decision Process. Addison-Wesley Longman, 1979.

Christine Bolt. The Women’s Movements in the United States and Britain from the 1790s to the 1920s. University of Massachusetts Press, 1993.

Anne M. Boylan. Women’s Rights in the United States: A History in Documents. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Winifred Breines. The Trouble Between Us: An Uneasy History of White and Black Women in the Feminist Movement. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Winifred Breines. Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties.

University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Victoria Bromley. Feminisms Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism. University of Toronto Press, 2012.

Anita Bryant. The Anita Bryant Story: The Survival of our Nation’s Families and the Threat of Militant Homosexuality. F. H. Revell, 1977.

Charlotte Bunch. Passionate Politics: Feminist Theory in Action. Macmillan, 1987.

Elinor Burkett. The Right Women: A Journey Through the Heart of Conservative America. Scribner, 1998.

C Alicia Schmidt Camacho. Migrant Imaginaries: Latino Cultural Politics in the U.S.Mexico Borderlands. New York University Press, 2008.

Amy Leigh Campbell. Raising the Bar: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project. Xlibris, 2004.

Tamar W. Carroll. Antipoverty and Feminist Activism. University of North Carolina Press, 2015.

Rachel Carson. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin, 1962.

Katherine Mellen Charron. Freedom's Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark. University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

Shirley Chisholm. Unbought and Unbossed. Houghton Mifflin, 1970.

Dorothy Sue Cobble, Linda Gordon and Astrid Henry. Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements. Liveright, 2014.

Gail Collins. When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. 2009.

Patricia Hill Collins. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge, 2008.

Chris Corrin. Feminist Perspectives on Politics. Longman, 1999.

Martha Cotera. Diosa y Hembra: The History and Heritage of Chicanas in the U.S. Information Systems Development, 1976.

Martha Cotera. Chicana Feminist. Information Systems Development, 1977.

Nancy Cott. The Grounding of Modern Feminism. Yale University Press, 1987.

Donald Critchlow. Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade.

Princeton University Press, 2005.

Go backTo Top

D Mary Daly. Gyn/ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. Beacon Press, 1990.

Mary Daly. Beyond God the Father. Beacon Press, 1985.

Angela Davis. Women, Race, and Class. Vintage Books, 1983.

Angela Davis. Women, Culture, and Politics. Random House, 1989.

Angela Davis. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. Pantheon Books, 1998.

Flora Davis. Moving the Mountain: The Women’s Movement in America Since 1960.

University of Illinois Press, 1999.

Jane Sherron De Hart and Donald Mathews. Sex, Gender, and the Politics of ERA: A State and the Nation. Oxford University Press, 1990.

Angela Dillard. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Now: Multicultural Conservatism in America. New York University Press, 2001.

Bonnie J. Dow. Watching Women’s Liberation, 1970: Feminism’s Pivotal Year on the Network News. University of Illinois Press, 2014.

Andrea Dyrness. Mothers United: An Immigrant Struggle for Socially Just Education.

University of Minnesota Press, 2011.

E Alice Echols. Daring to be Bad: Radical Feminism in America 1967 - 1975. University of Minnesota Press,1989.

Anne Enke. Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space, and Feminist Activism.

Duke University Press, 2007.

Nora Ephron. Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women. A. A. Knopf, 1975.

Dionne Espinoza. Revolutionary Sisters: Women’s Solidarity and Collective Identification among Chicana Brown Berets in East Los Angeles, 1967 - 1970. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, 2001.

Sara Evans. Personal Politics: The Roots of Women’s Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement & The New Left. Vintage Books, 1980.

Sara Evans. Tidal Wave: How Women Changed America at Century's End. Simon & Schuster Free Press, 2003.

Judith Ezekiel. Feminism in the Heartland. Ohio State University, 2002.

F Susan Faludi. Backlash: The Undeclared War against American Women. Anchor Books, 1991.

Amy Erdman Farrell. Yours in Sisterhood: Ms. Magazine and the Promise of Popular

Feminism. University of North Carolina Press, 1998.

Myra Marx Ferree and Aili Mari Tripp. Global Feminism: Transnational Women’s Activism, Organizing, and Human Rights. New York University Press, 2006.

Shulamith Firestone. The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution.

Macmillan, 1970.

Cynthia Griggs Fleming. Soon We Will Not Cry: The Liberation of Ruby Doris Smith Robinson. New York University Press, 2000.

Eleanor Flexner. Century of Struggle. Harvard University Press, 1959.

Estelle Freedman. No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women. Ballantine Books, 2002.

Jo Freeman. The Politics of Women’s Liberation. University of Chicago (Ph.D. dissertation), 1973.

Betty Friedan. The Feminine Mystique. W.W. Norton, 1963.

Natalie Fousekis. Demanding Child Care: Women’s Activism and the Politics of Welfare, 1940 - 1971. University of Illinois Press, 2011.

G Paula Giddings. When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. William Morrow, 1984.

Tiffany M. Gill. Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women’s Activism in the Beauty Industry. University of Illinois Press, 2010.

Carole Gilligan. In a Different Voice. Harvard University Press, 1993.

Stephanie Gilmore. Groundswell: Grassroots Feminist Activism in Postwar America.

Routledge, 2012.

Mary Ann Glendon. A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Random House, 2001.

Dayo F. Gore, Jeanne Theoharis, Komozi Woodard, eds. Want to Start a Revolution?

Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle. NYU Press, 2009.

Dayo F. Gore. Radicalism at the Crossroads: African American Women Activists in the Cold War. NYU Press, 2011.

Joanne Grant. Ella Baker: Freedom Bound. Wiley, 1998.

Laurie B. Green. Battling the Plantation Mentality: Memphis and the Black Freedom Struggle. University of North Carolina Press, 2007.

Christina Greene. Our Separate Ways: Women and the Black Freedom Movement in Durham, North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, 2005.

Susan Griffin. Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her. Harper & Row, 1978.

Go backTo Top

H Cynthia Harrison. On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women’s Issues, 1945 - 1968.

University of California Press, 1988.

Susan M. Hartmann. The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment. Yale University Press, 1998.

Lisa Gayle Hazirijian. The War on Poverty: A New Grassroots History, 1964 - 1980.

University of Georgia Press, 2011.

Anita Hill. Speaking Truth To Power. Doubleday, 1997.

Julia Butterfly Hill. The Legacy of Luna: The Story of A Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods. HarperCollins, 2000. bell hooks. Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. South End Press, 1981.

Daniel Horowitz. Betty Friedan and the Making of the Feminine Mystique: The American Left, the Cold War, and Modern Feminism. University of Massachusetts Press, 1998.

Davis Houck. Women and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954 - 1965. University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

Patricia Huckle. Tish Sommers, Activist, and the Founding of the Older Women's League. University of Tennessee Press, 1991.

J Joy James. Race, Women, and Revolution: Black Female Militancy and the Praxis of Ella Baker. Harvard University Press, 1999.

Joy James. Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics. St. Martin’s Press, 1999.

Elizabeth Janeway. Man’s World, Woman’s Place: A Study in Social Mythology.

Morrow, 1971.

Karla Jay. Tales of the Lavender Menace: A Memoir of Liberation. Basic Books, 1999.

Kumari Jayawardena. Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World. Zed Books Ltd., 1986.

Glen Jeansonne. Women of the Far Right: The Mother’s Movement and World War II. University of Chicago Press, 1996.

K Mary King. Freedom Song: A Personal Story of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.

Morrow, 1987.

Rebecca Klatch. Women of the New Right. Temple University Press, 1998.

Felicia Kornbluh. The Battle for Welfare Rights: Politics and Poverty in Modern America. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.

L Robin Tolmach Lakoff. The Language War. University of California Press, 2000.

Chana Kai Lee. For Freedom’s Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer. University of Illinois Press, 1999.

Gerda Lerner. The Majority Finds Its Past: Placing Women in History. Oxford University Press, 1979.

Joan Steinau Lester. Fire in My Soul: The Life of Eleanor Holmes Norton. Atria Books, 2004.

Lisa Levenstein. A Movement Without Marches: African American Women and the Politics of Poverty in Postwar Philadelphia. University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

Audre Lorde. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Crossing Press, 1984.

Go backTo Top

M Catharine A. MacKinnon. Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law. Harvard University Press, 1987.

Catharine A. MacKinnon. Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991.

Jane Mansbridge. Why We Lost the ERA. University of Chicago Press, 1986.

Eric Marcus. Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945 1990: An Oral History. HarperCollins, 1992.

George Whitney Martin. Madam Secretary, Frances Perkins. Houghton Mifflin, 1983.

Mari J. Matsuda. Where is Your Body and Other Essays on Race, Gender, and the Law. Beacon Press, 1996.

Serena Mayeri. Reasoning from Race: Feminism, Law, and the Civil Rights Revolution.

Harvard University Press, 2011.

Erik S. McDuffie. Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism. Duke University Press, 2011.

Lisa McGirr. Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right. Princeton University Press, 2001.

Lara Medina. Las Hermanas: Chicana/Latina Religious-Political Activism in the U.S. Catholic Church. Temple University Press, 2005.

Alfredo Mirande and Evangelina Enriquez. La Chicana: The Mexican-American Woman. University of Illinois, 1979.

Anne Moody. Coming of Age in Mississippi. Dial Press, 1968.

Robin Morgan. Saturday’s Child: A Memoir. W.W. Norton, 2001.

Pauli Murray. Pauli Murray: The Autobiography of a Black Activist, Feminist, Lawyer, Priest, and Poet. University of Tennessee Press, 1989.

N Nadine Naber. Arab America: Gender, Cultural Politics, and Activism. New York University Press, 2012.

Premilla Nadasen. Welfare Warriors: The Welfare Rights Movement in the United States. Psychology Press, 2005.

O Lynne Olson. Freedom’s Daughters: Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 - 1970. Scribner, 2001 Jane O’Reilly. The Girl I Left Behind: The Housewife’s Moment of Truth and Other Feminist Ravings. Macmillan Publishing, 1980.

Annelise Orleck. Storming Caesar’s Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own

War on Poverty. Beacon Press, 2005.

Cynthia E Orozco. No Mexicans, Women, or Dogs Allowed: The Rise of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. University of Texas Press, 2009.

P Miriam Pawel. The Union of Their Dreams: Power, Hope, and Struggle in Cesar Chavez’s Farm Worker Movement. Bloomsbury Press, 2009.

Emma PĂŠrez. The Decolonial Imaginary: Writing Chicanas into History. Indiana University Press, 1999.

Katha Pollitt. Subject to Debate: Sense and Dissents on Women, Politics, and Culture.

Random House Modern Library, 2001.

Q Alvina E Quintana. Home Girls: Chicana Literary Voices. Temple University Press, 1996.

Go backTo Top

R Barbara Ransby. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision. The University of North Carolina Press, 2003.

Belinda Robnett. How Long? How Long? African-American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights. Oxford University Press, 1997.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. Ladies of Courage. G.P. Putnam, 1954.

Ruth Rosen. The World Split Open: How the Modern Women’s Movement Changed America. Viking, 2000.

Benita Roth. Separate Roads to Feminism: Black, Chicana, and White Feminist Movements in America’s Second Wave. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Paula Rothenberg. Race, Class and Gender in the United States. Worth Publishers, 2004.

Vicki L. Ruiz and John R. Chavez. Memories and Migrations: Mapping Boricua and Chicana Histories. University of Illinois Press, 2008.

Catherine E Rymph. Republican Women: Feminism and Conservatism from Suffrage through the Rise of the New Right. University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

S Phyllis Schlafly. The Power of the Positive Woman. Arlington House, 1977.

Debra L. Schultz. Going South: Jewish Women in the Civil Rights Movement. New York University Press, 2001.

Mab Segrest. Memoir of a Race Traitor. South End Press, 1994.

Laurie Shields. Displaced Homemakers: Organizing for a New Life. McGraw-Hill, 1981.

Janann Sherman. No Place for a Woman: A Life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith.

Rutgers University Press, 1999.

Megan Taylor Shockley. We, Too, Are Americans: African American Women in Detroit and Richmond, 1940 - 1954. University of Illinois Press, 2004.

Deborah Siegel. Sisterhood Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild.

Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Christina Hoff Sommers. Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women.

Touchstone, 1994.

Kimberly Springer. Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968 1980. Duke University Press, 2005.

Marjorie J. Spruill. Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values that Polarized American Politics. Bloomsbury, 2017.

Christine Stansell. The Feminist Promise, 1792 to the Present. Random House, 2010.

Gloria Steinem. Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983 Gloria Steinem. Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem. Little, Brown and Co., 1992.

Amy Swerdlow. Women Strike for Peace: Traditional Motherhood and Radical Politics in the 1960s. University of Chicago Press, 1993.

T Mary Thom. Inside Ms: 25 Years of the Magazine and the Feminist Movement. Henry Holt, 1997.

Sheila Tobias. Faces of Feminism: An Activist’s Reflections on the Women’s Movement.

Westview Press, 1997.

V Anne Valk. Radical Sisters: Second-Wave Feminism and Black Liberation in Washington, D.C. University of Illinois Press, 2008.

W Alice Walker. The Color Purple. Harcourt, 1982.

Alice Walker. In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983.

Michele Wallace. Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman. Dial Press, 1978.

Kathleen Anne Weigand. Red Feminism: American Communism and the Making of Women’s Liberation. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

Patricia S. Williams. The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Harvard University Press, 1991.

Rhonda Y. Williams. The Politics of Public Housing: Black Women’s Struggles Against Urban Inequality. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Linda Witt, Karen M. Paget and Glenna Matthews. Running As A Woman: Gender and Power in American Politics. The Free Press, Simon & Schuster Inc., 1995.

Nellie Wong, Merle Woo and Mitsuye Yamada. Three Asian American Writers Speak Out on Feminism. Red Letter Press, 2003.

Black Women’s History 40 Question Challenge Created by Margaret Zierdt, National Women’s History Project Board Member 1. Who was head of National Council of Negro Women for 40 years and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal for her work for social equality?

2. Who was an advocate for civil rights, a fund raiser for NAACP, and the first black person to sign a long-term Hollywood contract in 1942?

3. Who was member of Harlem Renaissance, an anthropologist, and author of many books, including “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?

4. Who was the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field – in the 1960 Olympics for the 100 and 200 meters and the 400 meter relay?

5. Who was denied permission to sing in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) auditorium because of her race in 1939, but later became the first black person to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955?

6. Who is the dancer, singer, actor, fund raiser, author, and poet who read a speciallycomposed poem at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993?

7. Who was a nightclub and cabaret idol of Paris in the 1920’s and a freedom fighter during World War II? 8. What black woman chemist developed an extract from the Awa Root which relieved leprosy symptoms when injected and which was widely used until sulfa drugs were invented in the 1940’s?

9. Who was a civil rights activist and President of the Arkansas NAACP who advised the nine high school students who integrated the Little Rock public schools in 1957?

10. Who founded the college that became the Bethune-Cookman University in Florida and founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935?

11. Who was the first black female newspaper publisher and editor in North America (in Ontario, Canada), and the first black woman to enroll in law school (Howard University)?

12. Who was the first black woman in the world to earn a pilot’s license, and was a barnstorming aviator who performed daredevil tricks?

13. Who was the first black Congresswoman, beginning in 1968; and who in 1972 ran for President and won 151 delegates at the Democratic Convention?

14. Who was America’s first great black choreographer, dancer, and teacher who formed the first black dance troupe in the 1940’s?

15. Who founded the Children’s Defense Fund in 1973, a group focusing on helping millions of children living in poverty?

16. Who was first black woman to win a tennis championship at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open?

17. Who was the first black woman to write a Broadway play (1959) which was made into a movie (1961), “A Raisin in the Sun”?

18. Who was the first black concert pianist to play with a European orchestra in 1904?

19. Who was first woman of color to go into space on the shuttle Endeavor in 1992?

20. Who was the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Cabinet – as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Carter in 1977, and then served as Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1979?

21. Who was the first woman bank president in America?

22. What slave named Isabella became a fiery orator supporting anit-slavery and woman suffrage after gaining her freedom?

23. Who is considered the first black woman journalist who advocated for women’s rights and the abolition of slavery?

24. Who was an award-winning poet who penned “For My People” in 1942, and a novelist who wrote “Jubilee” in 1966?

25. Who was the black educator who founded the National Training School for Girls about 1909 in Washington, D.C. which was re-named in her honor after her death?

26. What woman was the first African-American in New England to serve as Master of a public high school which position she held for 40 years?

27. Who was the first black woman lawyer in the U.S. and the first woman admitted to the District of Columbia bar (1872)?

28. Who won the 2-day, seven-event heptathlon competition at the Goodwill Games in July, 1986 and won a gold medal in the heptathlon at the Olympics in 1988 and 1992?

29. What educator was the fourth African American woman to earn a doctoral degree (from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1924)?

30. Who was first African-American woman to earn a BA degree in United States – from Oberlin College in 1862?

31. Who was the first black president of an Ivy League University and the first female president of Brown University?

32. What abstract painter was the first fine arts student to graduate from Howard University, and the first woman to have a solo exhibit at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City?

33. What female athlete is considered “the fastest woman of all time” and set the record for the 100 and 200 meters in 1988?

34. Who was a conductor on the Underground Railroad and secured the freedom of at least 300 enslaved people, making 19 trips into the South over 10 years, and served as a spy and scout for the Union Army?

35. Who helped black artists and disadvantaged children while winning 13 Grammys and being honored as the “First Lady of Song”?

36. What anthropology professor became the first African-American woman president of Spelman College in 1987?

37. What actress appeared in “Gone With the Wind,” received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1975, and won an Emmy for her role on television in 1979?

38. Who became a self-made millionaire philanthropist after creating a hair product sold house-to-house, and later held what may be the first national meeting of businesswomen in the U.S. in 1917?

39. Who was the first African-American woman to become an ordained minister, a lawyer who helped found the first legal periodical about women’s rights, and co-founded the National Organization of Women?

40. What African-American woman was born enslaved, gained her freedom in 1856, became an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and co-founded the first black church in Los Angles?

ANSWERS: 1. Dorothy Height (1912 – 2010) 2. Lena Horne (1917 – 2010) 3. Zora Neale Hurston (1891 – 1960) 4. Wilma Glodean Rudolph (1940 – 1994) 5. Marian Anderson (1897 – 1993) 6. Maya Angelou (1928) 7. Josephine Baker (1906-1975) 8. Alice Ball (1892- 1916) 9. Daisy Lee May Bates (1914 – 1999) 10. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune (1875 – 1955) 11. Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823 – 1893) 12. Bessie Coleman (1892 – 1926) 13. Shirley Chisholm 1924 – 2005) 14. Katherine Dunham (1909 – 2006) 15. Marian Wright Edelman (1939) 16. Althea Gibson (1927 – 2003) 17. Lorraine Hansberry (1930 – 1965) 18. Hazel Harrison (1883 – 1969) 19. Dr. Mae Jemison (1956) 20. Patricia Roberts Harris (1924 – 1985) 21. Maggie Lena Walker (1867- 1934) 22. Sojourner Truth (c. 1797 – 1883) 23. Maria Stewart (1803 – 1879) 24. Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander (1915 – 1998) 25. Nannie Burroughs (1879 – 1961) 26. Maria Louise Baldwin (1856 – 1922) 27. Charlotte Ray (1850 – 1911) 28. Jacqueline “Jackie” Joyner Kersee (1962) 29. Anna Cooper (1858 or 59 – 1964) 30. Mary Jane Patterson (1840 – 1894) 31. Ruth Jean Simmons (1945) 32. Alma Thomas (1891 – 1978) 33. Delorez Florence “Flo-Jo” Griffith Joyner (1959 – 1998) 34. Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, c.1822 – 1913) 35. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996) 36. Johnnetta Cole (1936) 37. The lma “Butterfly” McQueen (1911 – 1995) 38. Madam C.J. Walker (1867 – 1919) 39. Pauli Murray (1910 – 1985) 40. Biddy Mason (1818 – 1891)

Men Who Supported Women’s Rights Quiz 1. In 1775, this Revolutionary-era patriot published wrote an essay supporting women’s rights. In An Occasional Letter on the Female Sex, he wrote “[T]he women, almost — without exception — at all times and in all places, adored and oppressed. Man, who has never neglected an opportunity of exerting his power…”

2. At a time when married women did not have any property rights, he introduced a bill to grant married women the right “to hold and control property” in the New York State Legislature in 1837.

3. This Quaker father was an important role-model for his famous daughter, and provided her with financial and moral support in her work for abolitionism and women’s rights.

4. A Unitarian minister, he was one of the most a well-known abolitionist and reformers on the national scene. He preached the first women’s rights sermon in 1845.

5. As early as 1847, as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, he supported women’s right to vote; and in 1868 as a member of U.S. House of Representatives, he introduced a constitutional amendment conferring the right to vote on women.

6. The patriarch of one the wealthiest and most prominent Black families in Philadelphia, this 19th century activist used his considerable wealth to support progressive causes including abolitionism and women’s rights.

7. One of the strongest voices for abolitionism, this free Black man attended the first women’s rights conference in 1848 and supported the controversial issue of woman suffrage. He continued working for woman’s suffrage throughout his life, including a speech at a women’s rights conference on the day he died in 1895.

8. In 1850, as a member of the Indiana Constitutional Convention he was instrumental in securing to widows and married women control of their property, and later succeeded in passing a state law giving greater freedom to women in divorce.

9. He preached a sermon, Women’s Right to Preach the Gospel, in 1853 at the ordination of Antoinette Brown, the first woman to be ordained a minister in the United States.

10. On February 26, 1861, this self-made man presented a college board with half of his fortune and a deed for 200 acres of land to be used to build one of the first women’s colleges in the United States.

11. A Cayuga chief, while addressing the New York Historical Society in 1866, he encouraged white men to use the occasion of Southern reconstruction to establish universal suffrage, “even of the women, as in his nation.”

12. He helped draft the constitution of the feminist American Equal Rights Association in 1865, and served as vice-president of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association. In 1868, he was co-editor with Elizabeth Cady Stanton of The Revolution, published by Susan B. Anthony.

13. This man, who represented California in the U.S. Senate, introduced a joint resolution proposing an amendment that would enfranchise women on January 10, 1878. He was good friends with both Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

14. A Native American who served as director of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Science, he gave a brief argument for modern American women to consider in 1909: “…that the red woman that lived in New York state five hundred years ago had far more political rights and enjoyed a much wider liberty than the twentieth century woman of civilization. . .”

15. He helped found the Men’s Equal Suffrage League in 1910 and was President of the Men’s Equal Suffrage League of New York State when he delivered his famous commencement address at Bryn Mawr in 1913, titled Woman Suffrage and Why I Believe in It. 16. To help women in California win the right to vote in 1911, this wealthy Pasadena banker founded the Political Equality League. He was very successful in recruiting prominent business men to join the California Woman Suffrage campaign which mobilized thousands of local supporters.

17. In the 1920 U.S. presidential campaign leaflets addressed “To the Woman Voter” were distributed that praised this imprisoned Socialist Party presidential candidate for his longtime commitment to women’s rights including his support of votes for women, equal pay in the workplace, and a stance against the criminalization of prostitution.

18. In 1972, this world-famous singer-songwriter recorded a song with his wife that includes these lyrics: “We insult her every day on TV And wonder why she has no guts or confidence When she’s young we kill her will to be free We put her down for begin dumb . . . “ 19. A famous sport journalist, he wrote an article, “Why I Support the ERA” that appeared in the October 1975 issue of Ms. Magazine.

20. A poet and community organizer, he has been credited with creating the foundation for Chicano letters and literature. He wrote An Open Letter to Carolina, in which he reflected on relations between women and men from his perspective as a Chicano.

21. At the Equal Rights Amendment rally in Washington, DC in 1981, this award- winning actor gave an impassioned speech calling on the American people to take action to protect the rights of their daughters, wives, sisters and mothers by working to make the ERA the 27th Amendment to the US Constitution.

22. A gender equity specialist since 1985, he has hosted a national anti-sexist men’s conference, served on the board of the National Organization for Men Against Sexism, and served as a volunteer at the Tucson Rape Crisis Center.

23. Founder of the Woman Suffrage Media Project in 1993, he spent nearly 20 years researching and writing about the drive for equal rights, resulting in his landmark book, Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement.

24. A contemporary American sociologist, he is editor of Men and Masculinities, spokesperson for the National Organization for Men Against Sexism, and the co-author of Against the Tide: Pro-Feminist Men in the U.S., 1776–1990.

25. This award-winning documentary film maker combines the art of the visual medium with an investigation of social issues. He received an Academy Award nomination for Documentary Short Subject for his first film, Sewing Women, an oral history of his mother testifying to her extraordinary tenacity, inner strength, and courage.

Answers 26. Thomas Paine (February 9, 1737– June 8, 1809) 27. Thomas Herttell (1771-1849) 28. Daniel Anthony (1794-1862) 29. Samuel Joseph May (September 12, 1797-July 1, 1871) 30. George Washington Julian (May 5, 1817–July 7, 1899)

31. Robert Purvis (August 4, 1810–April 15, 1898) 32. Frederick Douglass (February 1818–February 20, 1895) 33. Robert Dale Owen (1801-1877) 34. Reverend Luther Lee (November 30, 1800-1889) 35. Matthew Vassar (April 29, 1792–June 23, 1868) 36. Dr. Peter Wilson, (1761-1837) 37. Parker Pillsbury (September 22, 1809–July 7, 1898) 38. Aaron A. Sargent (September 28, 1827-August 14, 1887) 39. Arthur Caswell Parker (April 5, 1881–January 1, 1955) 40. Max Eastman (J anuary 4, 1883–March 25, 1969) 41. John Hyde Braly (1839? – ?)

42. Eugene Victor Debs (1855-1926) 43. John Lennon (October 9, 1940-December 8, 1980) 44. Howard Cosell (March 25, 1918-April 23, 1995) 45. Abelardo Delgado (1947- ) 46. Alan Alda (January 28, 1936) 47. Timothy Wernette (1947-) 48. Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. (November 27, 1950-) 49. Michael Scott Kimmel(1951-) 50. Arthur Dong (October 30, 1953-)

Learn about some amazing women who helped shape the history of the church.

Predecessor denominations 1784 Methodist Episcopal Church is established at the Christmas Conference in Baltimore.

1800 Philip Otterbein and Martin Boehm found the Church of the United Brethren in Christ.

1807 Evangelical Association is organized. Jacob Albright is elected bishop.

1830 A group from the Methodist Episcopal Church organizes the Methodist Protestant Church as the result of differences about the role of bishops, the desire to elect presiding elders (district superintendents) and the desire for voting lay members of the annual conference.

1844 Methodist Episcopal Church, South separates from The Methodist Episcopal Church over the issues of slavery and episcopacy.

1922 Evangelical Church is formed, reuniting the Evangelical Association and a splinter group, the United Evangelical Church.

1939 The Methodist Church is formed through the union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Methodist Protestant Church.

1946 Evangelical United Brethren Church is created by merger of the Evangelical Church and the United Brethren Church.

1968 The United Methodist Church is formed by the union of The Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church. c. 1770 Mary Evans Thorne is appointed class leader by Joseph Pilmore in Philadelphia; she is probably the first woman in America so appointed.

1768 Barbara Heck, known as the mother of American Methodism, urges Philip Embury to start preaching in New York and designs John Street Chapel in New York City.

1787 Despite objections of some male preachers, John Wesley authorizes Sarah Mallet to preach as long as “she proclaimed the doctrines and adhered to the disciplines that all Methodist preachers were expected to accept.�

1827 Isabella Bomefree, a slave who later changes her name to Sojourner Truth, is emancipated when slavery is abolished in New York State. That same year, she co-founds Kingston Methodist Church. In 1843, she feels "called in the spirit" and begins to travel and preach. She becomes involved in the abolitionist movement, and her public speaking combines her religious faith with her experiences as a slave.

1834 Sophronia Farrington, the first single missionary, arrives in Liberia.

1835 Phoebe Palmer, evangelist and mother of the American holiness movement, conducts weekly prayer meetings in her home.

1837 Ann Wilkins is appointed missionary to Liberia by the Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society.

1849 Charity Opheral is granted a preacher's license by the United Brethren Church.

1851 Lydia Sexton is recommended as a "pulpit speaker" by the United Brethren General Conference.

1856 Clementina Rowe Butler and her husband William arrive as the first Methodist Episcopal Church missionaries to India. In 1872, they establish a Methodist Episcopal mission in Mexico.

Sojourner Truth 1857 The United Brethren General Conference passes a resolution that no woman should be allowed to preach.

1862 Amanda Hanby Billhelimer becomes the first United Brethren in Christ woman to serve as a missionary when she begins service in Sierra Leone with her husband.

1863 Fannie Crosby, a lifelong Methodist blind from infancy, writes her first hymn. She writes more than 9,000 hymns, many of which remain perennial favorites (for example, "Blessed Assurance," "To God Be the Glory" and "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior."

1866 Helenor M. Davisson is ordained deacon by the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church, making her the first ordained woman in the Methodist tradition.

1869 Margaret Newton Van Cott is the first woman in the Methodist Episcopal Church to receive a local preacher's license.

Isabella Thoburn and Clara Swain leave for India where Thoburn launches a college in Lucknow that bears her name. Dr. Swain begins medical work in Bareli, and a hospital is later named in her honor.

Anna Howard Shaw 1873 Anna Howard Shaw acquires a local preacher's license in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

1875 Pauline Williams Martindale is ordained an elder in the Methodist Protestant Church.

1876 Anna Oliver, the first woman to graduate from an American seminary, receives a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology.

1878 Lochie Rankin goes to China as the first missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

1880 Anna Howard Shaw and Anna Oliver are refused ordination rights by the Methodist Episcopal

General Conference. Shaw joins the Methodist Protestant Church and is ordained in the New York Annual Conference.

1884 The Methodist Protestant Church rules Anna Howard Shaw's ordination out of order.

Frances Willard 1888 Five women, including Frances Willard who is the president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, are elected lay delegates to the Methodist Episcopal General Conference.

Male reserves later replace them.

The denomination establishes a deaconess program for laywomen. Deaconesses serve the church in any capacity not requiring full clergy rights in ministries of love, justice and service.

1889 Ella Niswonger is the first woman to be ordained by the United Brethren Church.

1892 Anna Oliver and Amanda Berry Smith share a pulpit in a New Jersey church. The Methodist Protestant Church is the first to seat women as General Conference delegates.

1894 Sarah Dickey is ordained by the United Brethren Church.

1904 Minnie Jackson Goins of Kansas becomes the first African-American woman to be ordained elder in the United Brethren Church.

1906 Martha Drummer, a black deaconess, is sent to Angola by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Anna Hall, a black deaconess, goes to Liberia.

Timeline of Women’s Mission Organizations 1856 Methodist Mission in India is established.

1869 Eight women form the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society during a meeting at Tremont Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston.

1875 Woman’s Missionary Association of the United Brethren Church is created.

1878 Women in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South organize the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society.

1879 Meeting in Pittsburgh, women of the Methodist Protestant Church organize the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society.

1880 Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church is established.

1884 Woman’s Missionary Society of the Evangelical Association is created.

1890 The Methodist Episcopal General Conference recognizes the Woman’s Home Missionary Society.

1891 Woman’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the United Evangelical Church is established.

1893 The Woman’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Protestant Church is organized.

1904 Ladies Aid Societies are officially recognized in the 1903 Methodist Episcopal Discipline.

1910 The Woman’s Home Missionary Society and the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South are joined under one Woman’s Missionary Council and made part of the general missionary organization of the church.

1921 Wesleyan Service Guild is organized for Methodist Episcopal women employed outside the home.

1939 The various women’s home and foreign missionary societies of the uniting churches become the Woman’s Society of Christian Service. The Wesleyan Service Guild remains a separate organization.

1946 Women’s Society of World Service of the Evangelical United Brethren Church is created.

1949 Ellen Barnette and Pearl Bellinger become the first African-American women missionaries sent to India.

1968 The women’s organizations are merged as the Women’s Society of Christian Service and the Wesleyan Service Guild.

1972 The Women’s Society of Christian Service and the Wesleyan Service Guild are united to form United Methodist Women.

General Conference established the Commission on the Status and Role of Women.

1920 The Methodist Episcopal Church grants women the right to be licensed as local preachers.

1922 Eighteen women are seated as the first female lay delegates to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

1924 The Methodist Episcopal Church grants women limited clergy rights as local elders or deacons, without conference membership.

1930 The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South rejects full clergy rights for women.

1932 Mildred Moody Eakin is made a full professor at Drew Theological Seminary.

1944, 1948, 1952 The Woman's Society of Christian Service of The Methodist Church Petitions General Conference for full clergy rights for women, but is rejected each time.

1946 Women are denied ordination in the newly formed Evangelical United Brethren Church.

1955 The Philippines Central Conference receives permission from the Methodist Judicial Council to ordain a woman as a local deacon.

Paula Mojzes is appointed acting superintendent in Serbia-Montenegro/Macedonia Provisional Conference of the Methodist Church two years before she is ordained deacon.

1956 The Methodist Church grants full clergy rights to women. Maud Keister Jensen is the first to receive such rights.

1958 Antonia Wladar is the first woman to be ordained in the Central European Conference.

1959 The Rev. Gusta A. Robinette, a missionary in the Sumatra (Indonesia) Conference, is ordained and appointed superintendent of the Medan Chinese District, the first Methodist woman to hold that position.

1961 Julia Torres Fernandez becomes the first Hispanic woman to be ordained elder with the Methodist Church.

1967 Margaret Henrichsen is the first American woman to be appointed district superintendent.

1968 The Methodist and the Evangelical United Brethren churches unite to form The United Methodist Church. The merged church affirms full clergy rights for women.

The Women’s Division successfully petitions General Conference to create a study commission to document the extent to which women are involved in all structural levels of the denomination.

Kathryn Mowrey Grove becomes the first laywoman elected to the United Methodist Judicial Council.

1971 Cornelia Mauyao is the first woman ordained an elder in the Philippines Central Conference.

1972 General Conference creates the Commission on the Status and Role of Women as a four-year agency. Barbara Ricks Thompson is elected president.

1973 The new commission elects the Rev. Nancy (Nan) Grissom Self and Judith Leaming Elmer as executive secretariat, the first two-person secretariat in the denomination.

1976 General Conference makes the commission a standing (ongoing) agency. Clergywomen delegates are elected for the first time.

1979 Mutombo Ilunga Kimba is the first woman ordained elder in the Congo, the Africa Central Conference.

1980 Marjorie Matthews is the first woman to be elected bishop of The United Methodist Church.

Three women (Anita Araya, Donna Morissette and Hazel Decker) and three men deliver the first laity address to General Conference.

1982 Mamie Ming Yan Ko, California-Pacific Conference, and Mochie Lam, California-Nevada Conference, become the first Chinese American women to be ordained elder.

1983 Colleen Kyung Seen Chun of the California-Pacific Conference becomes the first Korean American woman to be ordained elder.

1984 Leontine T.C. Kelly is the first African-American woman to be elected bishop.

Bishop Minerva CarcaĂąo 1985 Barbara Ricks Thompson is elected top staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.

1989 Lois V. Glory-Neal of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference becomes the first Native

American woman to be ordained elder. She became the first Native American district superintendent in 1992.

1992 Ana Moala Tiueti was the first native Tongan woman ordained as a Methodist elder in the US (and in the world).

1994 Barbara Boigegrain is elected top staff executive of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.

Judith Weidman is the first woman elected top staff executive of United Methodist Communications.

1995 Sandra Lackore becomes the first woman elected top staff executive and treasurer of the United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration.

1996 First Lady Hillary Clinton speaks to General Conference in Denver.

Bishop Judith Craig becomes the first woman to deliver the episcopal address to General Conference.

2001 Karen A. Greenwaldt becomes the first woman elected to serve as chief executive for the General Board of Discipleship.

2002 Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher becomes the first woman to serve as president of the Council of Bishops.

Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala 2003 Linita Uluave Moa becomes the first Tongan woman to be ordained elder.

2004 Minerva G. CarcaĂąo becomes the first Hispanic woman bishop.

2005 Rosemarie J. Wenner becomes the first European woman bishop.

2007 Erin Hawkins is elected top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.

2008 Joaquina Filipe Nhanala becomes the first African woman bishop, the 19th woman elected to the episcopacy.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf speaks to General Conference in Fort Worth.

According to a 2008 survey, female clergy lead only 94 of the 1,200 United Methodist churches in the U.S. with 1,000 or more members. The survey also reports 27 percent of United Methodist clergy are female.

2011 Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and two other women were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for their work on women’s rights.

Johnson Sirleaf was elected to a second term as president of Liberia.

WHO IS SHE?

WHO IS

SHE