Here is a summons to pray with twenty great women of faith-from Hildegard of Bingen to Dorothy Day. Brief biographies are followed by commentary, prayer experiences, questions for reflection, and suggestions for action. Meehan brings these women to life, allowing their example to inspire, encourage, and empower you. Meet women who will change your life and enrich your spiritual journey with new possibilities of self-discovery, wisdom, creativity, and friendship. Reminding us that abundance is all around us, and challenging us to make a difference, this book is filled with stories of visionary women with whom we can share the longings that lie deep within us for divine love, deep tranquility, and human intimacy.

Prayer Is Our Response to God’s Invitation. So often we think of prayer as something we do to break through to God—to get His attention and to get Him to listen to us. But intimacy with God is His idea. He has taken the initiative, and prayer is His gift to us. It is an opportunity for us to respond to His invitation to intimacy by calling, crying, and singing to Him. Prayer is our response to the One who has called out to us and desires to be in a relationship with us. In Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Cynthia Heald will encourage you to respond to God’s invitation to deeper intimacy with Him.

A Prayer book designed to be used by individual women, as well as by those who are leading group prayer services. For nearly two millennia, Christian women have learned to pray in the language of other people's souls. From worshiping God as father to envisioning a holy life as a military campaign, they've been taught to approach the Divine with the hearts and minds of men. She Who Prays: A Woman's Interfaith Prayer Book offers women a new way to pray. It draws on feminine images of God, as well as the language and experience of women, to help women tap into their own rich and unique spirituality. With material from new translations of ancient Christian hymns and prayers, as well as original prayers in the Christian and other faith traditions, She Who Prays will help women speak to God in their own voices. Arranged in roughly the same format as the Book of Common Prayer, She Who Prays contains a seven-day cycle of daily prayer services, prayers for special occasions, and a woman-oriented liturgical calendar that honors the lives of women of all faiths. The book also contains four rituals marking such themes as healing, reconciliation, and new beginnings, and a prayer to be used while walking a labyrinth. An appendix provides information on world religions and instructions for group services.

This study of radical prophecy in 17th-century England explores the significance of gender for religious visionaries between 1650 and 1700. Phyllis Mack focuses on the Society of Friends, or Quakers, the largest radical sectarian group active during the English Civil War and Interregnum. The meeting records, correspondence, almanacs, autobiographical and religious writings left by the early Quakers enable Mack to present a textured portrait of their evolving spirituality. Parallel sources on men and women provide a unique opportunity to pose theoretical questions about the meaning of gender, such as whether a "women's spirituality" can be identified, or whether religious women are more or less emotional than men.

REACH for the Visionary Woman of God will help the centered Christian woman think seriously, live faithfully, and develop a plan to fulfill the godly vision burning in her heart. A vision crafted by God has both earthly and heavenly intentions for those known and unknown. Thus, prayer, steadfastness, biblical study, and an unrelenting faith are required for the non-compromising Woman of REACH. A mans heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9, NKJV)

Women were made to lead. Even in church. Jesus affirmed women as leaders-many contend Mary Magdalene was the first female minister. Yet women in ministry face challenges and obstacles, both from churches and from their own self-doubts. Both men and women miss out when women don't lead. Made to Lead empowers you to live out your calling boldly and confidently. Draw closer to God with relevant biblical examples and heart-felt prayers. Break down stereotypes of women in leadership. And create your own successful reality in which you are a key part of God's holy community.

In Visionary Women, influential feminist theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether glimpses into the souls of three medieval mystics. Hildegard of Bingen, a self-taught theologian who developed a mystical secret language used in her community of mystics, became a traveling preacher and author. At the age of forty, Mechthild of Magdeburg was commanded by God to write down her visions, which resulted in seven books. Julian of Norwich prayed as a young child that she would see Christ's passion, that she would get deathly ill, and that she would long for God--all in her desire to focus her life solely on God--and He answered all three. Ruether describes the women as prophets with a God-given message for the church and society of their time. Her sympathetic overview evokes the new religious horizons they envisioned for Christianity. She discusses the three women's beliefs about God, theology, and their identity. Though they faced adversity, they challenged these notions as bold women in the faith, secure in their strong relationship with God. Visionary Women is an adaption from Ruether's award-winning book, Women and Redemption: A Theological History. Readers will join in the long tradition of keeping the mystics' messages alive and relevant.