History of Presbyterian Women

Presbyterian Women has a mission, a voice and a place in the church.  Presbyterian Women’s predecessor organizations began more than 200 years  ago when women had no role outside the home. In the early 1800s the  first Presbyterian women’s organization defied societal and church  conventions. These courageous, dedicated women faced the biases of men  and others who felt women should remain at home. In spite of the  numerous restrictions, the women’s organization gained respect,  especially that of missionaries in the field who requested women’s  donations and prayers.

In the mid-1800s with civil strife in the nation, the church split;  it would be many years before the wounds were healed and the northern  and southern branches were reunited. The work of Presbyterian women  varied with the cultural backgrounds of North and South. Despite  regional differences, Presbyterian women have always been in the  forefront of national movements. Presbyterian women have long advocated  for women and children, and crusaded for the right to fair, paid work  for African Americans, Native Americans, people of Appalachia and  immigrants. They went into the field to actively do something about a  host of other societal problems.

In the late 1800s the mission work of Presbyterian women broadened to  include areas in Alaska and San Francisco, with a particular focus on  Asian women. By answering God’s call, women’s work in the church and in  society was validated, and the role of women in both foreign and home  missions expanded throughout the 19th century.

In 1872 the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in  North America (UPCNA) asked women members to devise some way to  systematically raise money to support women missionaries in the field.  In 1875 Sarah Foster Hanna spoke to the General Assembly and received  permission to establish the first national organization for women in a  Presbyterian denomination, the Women’s General Missionary Society.  Southern women were more hesitant about organizing a churchwide  missionary society; it took the southern women of the Presbyterian  Church in the United States (PCUS) more than 26 years to get permission  to set up a national women’s organization, Women of the Church.  Presbyterian women’s financial support of missions was phenomenal and  included the Thank Offering (first in 1888) and the Birthday Offering (first in 1922), both of which continue today.

The early 1900s were a time of upheaval and discontent; women gained  power, women lost power, but through it all, women remained dedicated to  the church. Then in 1930 the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA)  opened the office of elder to women, thereby expanding the power of  women to serve on any board of the General Assembly. The offices of  elder and minister were opened to women in the UPCNA when the PCUSA and  the UPCNA merged and to women in the PCUS in the sixties.

In the 1930s the definition of the word “missions” was expanded. It  began to mean much more than sending out missionaries, preachers and  teachers to far away lands. It meant sending workers to work in the  inner cities. It meant working to bring people together. It meant  working with former enemies after the two great wars. Peace became a  continuing emphasis of Presbyterian women as they continued their faith  journey through the 20th century and into the 21st century. They also  worked to stamp out hunger, exploitation of women and children and war.  Presbyterian women were strong women who took tough positions on racism,  freedom to choose in problem pregnancies and equal rights for women in  society and in the church.

After many years of talk about reunification, it became a reality in  1983 when the two churches rejoined, becoming the Presbyterian Church  (U.S.A.). There were many difficulties in blending two organizations of  strong women. Finally in 1988, Presbyterian Women was born,  incorporating the best in the United Presbyterian Women and the Women of  the Church.

Two centuries after the first Presbyterian Women gathered to pray and  donate their money to the church, women have voice in the church and in  the world. A legacy of devotion to the church and dedication to God are  a strong foundation for continuing mission and taking Christ into every  area of life in the third century. Presbyterian Women exists today  because women are adaptable, determined, proactive, charitable, generous  and dedicated to God. The Birthday Offering and the Thank Offering make it possible for new and existing ministry projects around the world to expand their work in new and creative ways.

For questions about Presbyterian Women, please contact church@fpcknox.org or call the church office at (865) 546-2531.