March is Women's History Month, a time to look at the women who came before us and women in our midst. This month gives us time to reflect upon the struggles and tribulations of the women who fought for us to be where we are today. Also, it is a time for us to celebrate the stories of accomplishment and wonder in each woman's life.

Celebrate Women's History Month at church

Use these resources to develop a worship service, celebration service or Bible study that celebrates women's history.

Presbyterian:

• Celebrate the Gifts of Women
  Use this worship service outline to formulate a worship service celebrating the gifts of women.
• Ordination celebration worship resources
  These resources were developed to celebrate the anniversary of the recognition of women's call to ordained ministry as deacons, elders and ministers of Word and Sacraments.
• Reflections and sermons by women
  Read these recent theological reflections for inspiration.
• Voices from the Struggle
  A litany for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day that celebrates the women of the movement.
• Hymns
  
  
  • Many Names and Many Faces
    The words of this hymn may be reprinted without special permission in a worship service bulletin, provided that the following statement is included: Words by Manley Olson (c) Copyright 1989, Manley Olson, used by permission.
    
    Manley shared this about how the text for this song came to be written: In 1989, just prior to the publication of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and the Presbyterian Hymnal, our congregation was struggling with issues of inclusive language. Some members objected to using different translations of the Bible and printing words of new hymns in the bulletin when we had a hymnal, The Worship Book. At an open forum one woman declared that God could only be addressed as Father, there were no other words one could use. I responded that there were many other words, many of them Biblical. I went home and wrote the hymn text. It has had a few modifications as people have pointed out small problems or made suggestions.
  • Women's Voices, Women's Witness
    Words by: Manley Olson, 1996; copyright(c) 1997 The Pilgrim Press. Permission for one-time use granted by the copyright holders. May not be otherwise reproduced, distributed or sold. From Bring the Feast, (c) 1998 The Pilgrim Press.
    
    Manley shared this about how the text for this song came to be written: I served on the Presbyterian Committee for the Ecumenical Decade, Churches in Solidarity With Women for eight years. In 1996 our meeting in St. Paul included the Sunday designated for Celebrating the Gifts of Women. We contacted churches in the presbytery that did not have a woman as pastor and asked if they would like a guest preacher for that day. All of the committee preached and many led education as well. (I preached in a church that had a woman as pastor.) That afternoon as we debriefed I was taking notes on the conversation and later put those reflections into a hymn. It was later included in Bring the Feast published by the Pilgrim Press.
    
    I was asked by several about the reference to Noah and her sisters. I got the reference from Miriam Therese Winter. Noah was one of the five daughters of Zelophehad who convinced Moses that because their father had no sons when he died, they should have the right of inheritance. The story is in Numbers 27.
    
  • For All Things, A Season
    Written by Leigh Gillis for the eastern sector of New Hope Presbytery's Presbyterian Women's 2005 Fall Gathering to accompany the Horizons Bible study

Ecumenical:

• Theme-related Bible studies
  These Bible studies, published by the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, offer a wide variety of opportunities for women's groups to explore together what God is calling them to be and to do.
• "Remembering Her" series
  Monthly glimpses of the living legacy of women who have been an influencial presence in our lives provided by the United Church of Christ.
• A Litany of Women's Power
  This litany is provided by Women's Ministries of the Episcopal Church.

Use these activities to celebrate in your community

Everyone can participate in Women’s History Month. Here are a few suggestions on what and how by the National Women's History Project, an educational nonprofit organization recognizing and celebrating the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing information and educational materials and programs.

• Ask that your place of worship recognize women's contribution to your spiritual community either in a special celebration or through announcements at gatherings.
• Write a proclamation for National Women's History Month and ask your local city council or board of supervisors to issue a special proclamation in honor of March being National Women's History Month. Get a sample proclamation for reference.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper explaining the need to celebrate and recognize women's contributions and include information about National Women’s History Month and suggestions of women from the community to celebrate.
• Suggest to your local schools and school boards that they encourage their students' participation in the Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams Contest. The projects are designed to help students at every grade level discover, recognize and celebrate women's contributions.
• Ask your local library or bookstore what special features or programs they have scheduled for National Women's History Month.
• Ask your local paper to feature school and community programs that celebrate National Women's History Month.

Get the history behind Women's History Month

Revolution Sparked Women's History Month
WomensEnews provides this article on the history of Women's History Month.

Stories of Women in Our "Herstory"
Read stories about women's journeys toward ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Women's Ordination Timeline
This timeline, created by a NNPCW alumna, describes the history of women's ordination in the church based upon research from General Assembly minutes of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor denominations, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church of America.

Take part in the Women's Biography Project
This survey is designed to gather and make available to women of the church and to researchers the raw material of history—rich stories of women's journeys toward church leadership and ordination.

Did you know ...

There were 149.1 million females in the United States as of July 1, 2004. That exceeds the number of males (144.5 million). Males outnumber females in every five-year-age group through the 35 to 39 age group. Starting with the 40 to 44 age group, women outnumber men. At 85 and over, there are more than twice as many women as men.

There were 212,000 active duty women in the military in 2004. Of that total, 35,100 women are officers and 177,000 are enlisted.

The median annual earnings of women ages 15 and older who work full time, year-round is $31,223. After adjusting for inflation, earnings for these women declined by 1 percent between 2003 and 2004.

26 percent of women have obtained a bachelor's degree. This rate has increased nearly 7 percentage points in the past decade.

Women, who worked full time, year-round, earned 76 cents for every $1 their male counterparts earned. This amount is down from 77 cents for every dollar in 2002.

Twenty-six percent of women ages 25 and over attained a bachelor's degree or higher in 2004, this is up nearly 7 percentage points from a decade earlier. Eighty-five percent of young women and 84 percent of young men 25 and older had completed high school in 2004. The last year young women and men had equal rates of high school and college attainment was 1995.

The estimated number of mothers of all ages in the United States is 82.5 million.

There are 63 million married women (including those who are separated or have an absent spouse). There are 54 million unmarried (widowed, divorced or never married) women.

Data compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau.

— Files marked with this icon can be downloaded in printable Adobe Acrobat format. This file requires the free Acrobat Reader. For best results, right-click the link (or click and hold for Macintosh), select "save target as" and save the document to your desktop for viewing and printing.