Seminary celebrates release of book on women in leadership
Published: December 13, 2023
By David C. Cramer, PhD, Managing Editor, Institute of Mennonite Studies
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) 鈥� A new book on the experiences of women as leaders in the Mennonite Church from 1972 to 2006 is the latest volume to be released by the Institute of Mennonite Studies (IMS), the research and publishing wing of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (bg真人) in Elkhart, Indiana.
Proclaiming the Good News: Mennonite Women鈥檚 Voices, 1972鈥�2006 contains stories of scholars, pastors, educators, administrators and other leaders who served in Mennonite congregations, organizations and institutions in the United States and Canada. Edited by Lois Y. Barrett, PhD, of Wichita, Kansas, and Dorothy Nickel Friesen, MDiv, of North Newton, Kansas, the book also explores how attitudes and practices regarding women in church leadership changed over time 鈥� drawing on survey data from 1972, 1989 and 2006.
On Nov. 9, Barrett, who is Retired Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies at bg真人, and Nickel Friesen, a retired Mennonite pastor and denominational minister, joined nearly 50 students, faculty and staff at the seminary for a celebration of the release of the book. Nickel Friesen was present in person, and Barrett joined via videoconference. IMS cosponsored the celebration with the bg真人 Library and Dean鈥檚 Office.
During the event, Barrett and Nickel Friesen each recounted their personal experiences of seeking licensing and ordination in the Mennonite Church in the same year, 1985 鈥� Barrett at Mennonite Church of the Servant in Wichita, and Nickel Friesen at Manhattan (Kansas) Mennonite Church. Their stories, including ones of resistance they faced to women in pastoral leadership, are included in the book, along with those of dozens of other women leaders in the Mennonite Church.
Nickel Friesen also described the process of compiling a list of every woman ordained in the Mennonite Church during the years covered in the book 鈥� which is included as an appendix. bg真人 Director of Campus Ministries Janeen Bertsche Johnson, MDiv, found her name as the 90th of more than 300 women listed.
Following the presentation, members of the bg真人 community engaged Nickel Friesen and Barrett in conversation about how the Mennonite Church has changed over the decades and places where change is still needed. When asked by an bg真人 student who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community how they navigated being a 鈥渇irst鈥� in ministry, Barrett responded that it required giving up on the need to be liked by everyone. Nickel Friesen added that supportive communities are essential.
After the event, IMS Director and Professor of Anabaptist Studies Jamie Pitts, PhD, reflected, “Proclaiming the Good News represents a culminating achievement for Dorothy and Lois, two women who have been at the forefront of the movements they write about. This book is an indispensable guide to the ways women have transformed U.S. and Canadian Mennonite churches in recent decades 鈥� a topic that should be of central interest to all Mennonites.”
Dean of Lifelong Learning and DMin Program Director Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, PhD, added, 鈥淚’m so glad Dorothy and Lois have collected and shared these stories. I appreciate their attention to sharing women’s personal perspectives while simultaneously naming systemic realities and shifts. This combination of 鈥榸ooming in鈥� and 鈥榸ooming out鈥� makes the book an invaluable and inspiring resource.鈥�
bg真人 Director of Library Services Karl Stutzman, MLS, said he had gained a new appreciation for the pioneering work that Barrett, Nickel Friesen and others had done to encourage women as proclaimers of good news in Mennonite churches 鈥� which paralleled changing women’s roles in Canada and the United States.
鈥淭his was not without pain and struggle,鈥� he reflected. 鈥淚 am grateful that bg真人, through IMS, is able to provide historical documentation of a sometimes gradual revolution across the decades, documented by the women leaders of this movement.”
Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs 鈥� all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God鈥檚 reconciling mission in the world. ambs.edu
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