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Mennonite women share their vision

Ruth Derksen Siemens

She Has Done A Good Thing: Mennonite Women Tell Their Stories

Mary Swartley and Rhoda Keener, eds. Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1999. 272 pp. $22.29

The main title of the anthology, She Has Done a Good Thing provides a description of the subject matter and forms the locus of the book. But as these Mennonite women tell their stories of how God has called them to leadership roles in their churches, a distancing effect immediately occurs. The first phrase in the “Foreword” begins, “The week I was to be ordained . . . ” Some women may be tempted to dismiss the book at this point.

However, the anecdotes that follow are a gift to Mennonite Brethren women in that they provide a vision that extends to the future, a pathway that these pioneering women have prepared, and a hope that someday this too will be our story.

The contributors to this anthology include women born before 1950 in North America (both Canada and the United States). They address a variety of issues: challenges and obstacles they have confronted; inspiration they have received; encouragement they are able to offer; and thoughts on their role in facilitating change. Particularly poignant is Gayle Gerber Koontz’s contribution. She compares her experience to viewing a painting: too often at close range and seeing only “random dots and swirls . . . flowing into one another, lacking pattern and direction”. But as she views the metaphorical canvas from a distance, she sees the myriad of people and events that have shaped her church and seminary role.

This book promises to be an important addition to the ongoing dialogue on how Mennonite women construct their identities in the church and seminary.

Ruth Derksen Siemens is pursuing a Ph.D. at the Bakhtin Centre, Department of Humanities, University of Sheffield, England. Her other home is in British Columbia where she teaches a variety of undergraduate courses and tries to maintain her sanity as she juggles a diversity of roles. She is a member of South Langley MB Church.

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Last modified October 20, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
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