Full Description
Engendering Church explores the power, processes, and circumstances that brought about the new gender relations in the African Methodist Church—one of the largest African American denominations in the U.S. Dodson tells the heroic stories of women like Sara Hatcher who rose from behind the scenes to confront the hierarchy of male clergy. Dodson's historical account of the church and its many changes show that unless women hold church positions, they are overlooked as proactive agents of organizational power. She also links the church to broader social change. When women began to function in key leadership roles in African American churches, they also contributed to more rapid improvement in the living conditions for blacks in the United States.
Contents
Part 2 Introduction: Past Is Prologue
Chapter 3 1 Formation of a Religious Organization
Chapter 4 2 Building a Critical Mass
Chapter 5 3 Organizing for Effectiveness
Chapter 6 4 Indispensable Resources
Chapter 7 5 Using Power: Keeping Church
Chapter 8 6 Gendered Spaces: The Intentionality of Power
Chapter 9 7 A Pinnacle of Power to Close the Century: Sara Hatcher Duncan
Part 11 Bibliography
Part 12 Index
