The Church's Other Half

by Beeson, Trevor

• ISBN13: 9780334043829
• ISBN10: 0334043824
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-05-30
• Publisher: Scm Pr

Summary

Women have always constituted at least half of the church's membership, but for almost 2,000 years were excluded from any significant part in its leadership. After the example of Jesus, the earliest Christian communities were wholly inclusive in their organisation, but a patriarchal model derived from the pattern of the secular Greco-Roman societies was soon adopted. This restricted women to subordinate roles from which the struggle to escape continues. However, there were always some courageous and often highly-talented women who sought to exercise a Christian ministry within, but usually outside, the church's structures. Focusing on the Church in England, Trevor Beeson provides short lives of some of these. Among them are several well-known historical figures such as Hilda of Whitby, but the majority of the book celebrates the accomplishments of women in the last two hundred years in religious life, social reform, literature and theology, and above all in the ordained ministry. More than 5000 women have been ordained to the priesthood so far, and in 2012 the consecration of women as bishops is likely to be authorised. Trevor Beeson reflects on the long-term consequences of a momentous change in the church's life which should result in the release all its members from the restrictions of a still largely male-orientated faith community.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
The First Millennium	p. 1
Glimmers of Light in Dark Places	p. 13
The Slow Awakening	p. 22
On the Move - At Last	p. 29
The Religious Life Restored: Priscilla Lydia Sellon	p. 38
'The Lady with the Lamp' and Medical Reform: Florence Nightingale	p. 49
Rediscovering the Deaconess: Elizabeth Ferard and Isabella Gilmore	p. 60
Clearing the Urban Slums: Octavia Hill and Henrietta Barnett	p. 69
Mothers of the World Unite: Mary Sumner	p. 81
Church Songs and Stories: C. F. (Fanny) Alexander, Frances R. Havergal, Catherine Winkworth and Charlotte M. Yonge	p. 95
Rescuing the Prostitutes: Josephine Butler	p. 109
Marching as to War: Marie Louise Carlile	p. 120
A Prophet in a Pulpit: Maude Royden	p. 129
The Power of the Spirit and of the Pen: Evelyn Underhill and Dorothy L. Sayers	p. 142
A Sign of Hope from the Orient: Florence Li Tim-Oi	p. 158
Mission and Unity: Florence Allshorn and Kathleen Bliss	p. 169
Radical Social Action: Janet Lacey, Diana Collins and Margaret Kane	p. 182
Synodical Stateswomen: Betty Ridley and Christian Howard	p. 195
Impatient Feminists: Una Kroll, Monica Furlong and Bridget Rees	p. 204
Transatlantic Explorers: Elizabeth Canham, Kathleen Burn and Susan Cole-King	p. 217
Guiding the Campaign to Success: Margaret Webster	p. 230
First-Fruits of the New Order	p. 235
Women in the New Theology	p. 248
The End of the Beginning	p. 263
Further Reading	p. 268
Index	p. 271
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