Circles of Sisterhood: A History of Mission, Service, and Fellowship in Mennonite Women's Organizations

by Anita Hooley Yoder

Overview

The saga of Mennonite women’s organizations is a story of struggle and triumph, productivity and misgivings, questions and celebrations. During the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, women’s groups have offered Mennonite women a means of serving others by sewing clothing, laboring over quilts, rolling bandages, and packing school kits. Women’s groups have also provided Mennonite women the opportunity to test their skills as leaders and give voice to callings they felt in a church that has not always valued their gifts for ministry. In this vibrant portrait of Mennonite Women USA, Anita Hooley Yoder paints with both broad and subtle strokes the one-hundred-year history of an organization that nurtures local church women’s groups and connects Mennonite women across the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513803067
Publisher:	MennoMedia
Publication date:	06/27/2017
Series:	Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Anita Hooley Yoder is a writer and editor and graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary and Goshen College. Her work has appeared in the Center for Mennonite Writing journal, The Mennonite, and other venues. She and her husband live in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Glossary/Acronym List
• Timeline
• Introduction
• Section 1: 1917–1960s
• 1. Beginnings
• 2. Development
• Interlude: “More than sewing”
• Section 2: 1970s–1997
• 3. Women Liberated
• Women’s Missionary and Service Commission
• Interlude: “Are Mennonite women’s groups feminist?”
• 5. Hispanic Mennonite Women’s Conferences and Black Mennonite Women’s Retreats
• 6. Women in Mission
• Interlude: “A mission to themselves”
• 7. Decline and New Vision
• Interlude: “We moved our two tables into one”
• Section 3: 1997–2017
• 8. Mennonite Women
• 9. Mennonite Women USA
• 10. Sister Care
• Interlude: “A wind underneath my wings”
• 11. Local and Regional Activities
• 12. Thoughts toward the Future
• Epilogue
• Notes
• Photo Credits
• Index