by Donna Merow
When I saw the announcement about the Women in Ministry presentation at the Mosaic Conference-Related Ministry Mennonite Heritage Center (Harleysville, PA), I rearranged my schedule to be there.
Mary Nitzsche introduced the oral history project she and Beth Yoder began in 2022. As their ministerial careers were winding down, they had the time and recognized the need to gather and preserve the stories of women in the former Franconia and Eastern District Conferences, now in their 70s and 80s, who “plowed the ground” for women in leadership. Several of these trailblazing women had already passed, so they wasted no time in formulating questions, scheduling visits, and conducting interviews.
During the event, Yoder and Charlotte Rosenberger shared the history of what became the Franconia Women’s Council on Leadership. The movement began in April 1987, when a group of women began gathering monthly on Saturday mornings at Souderton (PA) Mennonite to share their stories and gifts, to support one another, and to challenge existing limits. They were mothers, teachers, professors, social workers, students, writers, counselors and those in ministry. Together, they wrestled with finding a name, claiming an identity and defining their purpose.
Drawing from meeting minutes, journal entries, and sermons, Yoder and Rosenberger captured the spirit of that era, when issues such as the head covering were debated in various venues.
Following their presentation, three women in leadership offered first person accounts: Marty Kolb-Wyckoff (the first women ordained by Franconia Conference); Donella Clemens (who moved from local church ministry to positions in the conference and denomination); and Charlene Smalls (the first African American woman ordained by Mosaic Conference who serves at Ripple Church [Allentown, PA] and Alpha [NJ] Mennonite). Each woman brought a distinct voice to the morning.
After two painful failed candidacy experiences, Kolb-Wyckoff was called as pastor at Taftsville (VT) Chapel Mennonite Fellowship in 1987 and ordained in 1990. Clemens, an inquisitive child, fondly remembered asking her farmer father theological questions while they tended cows together. Smalls shared how her baptism was delayed 20 years because of a hole in the baptismal pool. She credited her three grandmothers for shaping her into the woman of faith standing before us.
Certain themes also wove these stories together. Supportive men were named, such as Willard Swartley, Richard Detweiler, Duane Kauffman, and Merlin Hendrick. Other pioneer women were also mentioned, like Polly Ann Brown, Barbara Shisler, Helen Lapp, Mary Jane Hershey, and Dawn Ruth Nelson.
Themes of doubt and disappointment, patience and perseverance, and a willingness to experiment, explore, take risks, and change course were recurrent. Several women expressed the tension they felt between their deep commitment to motherhood and a restlessness of spirit often prompted by others’ observations and questions.
I wasn’t the only one in the audience who has been a direct beneficiary of the groundbreaking efforts of these courageous women. Hearing their stories was an inspiring reminder of the faith, hope and love of our foremothers, which continues to shape us today.
Donna Merow
Donna became a Mennonite when she was rebaptized at Methacton (PA) Mennonite in 1979. She began attending Ambler (PA) Mennonite while teaching at Germantown Academy and was called as pastor there in 2009. She left in 2018 for a chaplain residency program at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. At the conclusion of her residency, she served as director of pastoral care at Conference-Related Ministry Living Branches. She returned to Danville in 2022 to accept a pediatric chaplain position and regularly interacts with fellow Anabaptists (Amish, Old Order and other Mennos, German Baptist Brethren). She maintains her membership at Methacton Mennonite.
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The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.