International Woman's Day - Rising to the "altitude of true womanhood" revisited

Spiritual resource to share: true womanhood

When the Christian Science movement was very young in the mid 1800's, women had few rights, including lacking the right to vote. In addition, it was considered out of place for a woman to address congregations, much less start whole movements, write books and lecture. Nonetheless, this was the atmosphere in which Christian Science got a foothold.

One of my favorite stories of this early time was an incident in which Mary Baker Eddy had enlisted a number of her students, both men and women, to become lecturers. One of them, Annie Knott, had her doubts if she would ever be called upon, believing that people preferred to have a man lecture for them. She went to Mrs. Eddy with this concern who immediately and thoroughly turned down that argument. She said to Annie Knott,

"You must rise to the altitude of true womanhood, and then the whole world will want you...."*

To me, that comment is a call for all time.

In Science and Health, Eddy writes, "the union of the masculine and feminine qualities constitute completeness." I remember coupling that with an idea read from a book Footsteps of Israel that said one can gauge a nation's progress by the status of their women.

Rising to the altitude of true womanhood, we complete the expression of our full humanity. We get a clearer idea of God, who is the basis of our being. Again, from Eddy,

"In divine Science, we have not as much authority for considering God masculine, as we have for considering Him feminine, for Love imparts the clearest idea of Deity."

This is what brings full fledged progress to our individual lives and to our nations and our world.

As International Woman's Day is celebrated all over the world, I am so encouraged to see that more women's voices are being heard through protests, marches, songs and celebrations and through quiet prayer, affirmations and daily deeds. Hidden issues are coming to the surface, milestones are being celebrated and young men and women are growing into a world demanding a complete humanity where both masculine and feminine thought are honored.



from Canada, China, Turkey, Brazil and Afghanistan - pictures from the International Women's Day site

Happy International Women's Day!

*from the book We Knew Mary Baker Eddy p. 82 Christian Science Publishing Society

post first written March 8, 2007

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.