Women in Church History - Cynthia Hester

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‘Bible Women’ Who Founded and Established the Chinese Church

by Cynthia Hester| February 8, 2023

God chose to work largely through women to found and establish the Christian church in China and Cambodia. Nineteenth-century pre-literate Chinese women, evangelized by Protestant women missionaries, were taught how to read Chinese characters thereby enabling them to teach from the Mandarin Bible.

These ‘Bible women,’ such as Dora Yu (1873–1931), publicly evangelized and taught the Bible to mixed-sex groups. Peace Lin and her son Watchman Lee, who later were instrumental in forming churches across China, came to faith through the ministry of Dora Yu.

Nannie Helen Burroughs: Leading Black Voice Advocating for Faith, Educating Girls, and Women’s Right to Vote

by Cynthia Hester| March 17, 2021

African American women stand above all other groups of men and women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds for their high religious observance levels. The 2007 U. S. Religious Landscape Survey reported, “More than eight-in-ten black women (84%) say religion is very important to them” and "six-in-ten (59%) ...attend religious services at least once a week."[1]

From the early twentieth century to the late 1950s, Nannie Helen Burroughs winsomely and persuasively stood as a leading Black voice advocating for faith, educating girls, and women's right to vote.

Historic Women of Faith: Three Female Martyrs in Ravenna’s Ancient Mosaics

by Cynthia Hester| February 5, 2021

In June 2019, I enjoyed the amazing opportunity to travel to northern Italy for an immersive study of medieval women’s spirituality and theology. Led by Sandra Glahn, Professor of Media Arts and Worship, my fellow students and I stayed in monasteries and visited art and history museums, cathedrals, and catacombs.

One of my favorite excursions was to Ravenna, the Western Roman Empire’s capital in the fifth century and later (6th–8th century) of Ostrogothic and Byzantine Italy. Best known for its early Christian mosaic art, it has eight UNESCO world heritage sites. The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri described Ravenna’s Byzantine mosaics as "the sweet color of Oriental sapphires." In this second of my “Historic Women of Faith” series, I will introduce you to three female martyrs in Ravenna’s ancient mosaics.

Historic Women of Faith: The Twin “Lady Bible Hunters”

by Cynthia Hester| January 26, 2021

In the first of my series on Historic Women of Faith, I’d like to introduce you to the twin “Lady Bible Hunters.” Scottish twins, Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson were born in Irvine, Scotland in 1843. They were raised by their father after their mother died tragically when they were only two weeks old.

Agnes and Margaret lived extraordinary lives—like Indiana-Jones-in-a-Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark kind of lives. They were called “Lady Bible Hunters” because they spent considerable effort, expense, and time to travel to hunt for ancient manuscripts. And, their incredible accomplishments have been acclaimed across the world. Curious?

Did You Know We\’ve Neglected to Highlight & Reflect on Half of Church History?

by Cynthia Hester| January 19, 2021

“Hmmm, no, I’ve never heard of Huldah,” he replied. I was talking with my attorney friend and gifted teacher, who has taught the Bible at church for three decades. Another avid Bible-reading friend recently said she’d never heard of Huldah either. Do you know that we’ve neglected to highlight and reflect on half of church history?