Explore
Story on Northaven's Groundbreaking Women's
Ministry, by Bill Beauchamp
It
probably was not the only ministry in Northaven's past that was rumored by some
at the time to be Communist inspired (read: different, subversive of received
wisdom) but it was certainly one of the most effective. Its name was
Explore, and the time was the late
1960s.
Originally entitled "Broadening Horizons of Contemporary Women," Explore was a course of seven weekly two-hour sessions in which women would examine, evaluate, and respond to their life situations, their potential, their possible futures. It was a combination of consciousness raising, goal setting, and research on local opportunities.
First proposed by then Northaven member Jean Swenson, Explore was modeled after a similar course she had helped teach at George Washington University in the nation's capital. Four Northaven women, among them Gail Smith, agreed to help her develop such a course here.
"A whole new world opened up to me," Gail is quoted in a 1976 article on Explore by Vivian Castleberry in the Dallas Morning News. "I had always known I would go back to school at some nebulous time in the future, but I was blank about how to set in motion any kind of outside-the-house activities."
The first class of some twenty-two women ran on Wednesday mornings in March and April, 1969. Tuition -- which covered study materials, tests, and child care -- was $10. The legal-size green publicity flyer read in part:
A kaleidoscope of demands bombards the kitchen door. Women are challenged
to:
-- look at themselves and the spectrum of roles they play
-- study the changing needs of family, community, world
-- evaluate the new possibilities and responsibilities thrust upon them
-- respond with a life plan -- each woman's unique way of saying 'yes' to herself,
her family, her community, and the wider world
In Dallas in 1969, that was the stuff of revolution.
Another participant in the first course at Northaven, and member of the Explore staff until 1973, was Fran McElvaney. "Explore helped me understand how women were socialized by culture," Fran said recently. "It helped me gain insight into my own history. It helped me develop leadership skills in a non-threatening arena."
Judged successful after that first run by both participants and leaders, Explore was repeated for many years at Northaven and spread to other Methodist and Lutheran churches as well. New leaders drawn from among course graduates were constantly being trained so that they could help continue the work in subsequent years.
Eventually the course was also offered in the Dallas community college system, Perkins School of Theology, and the YWCA in both Dallas and Fort Worth. In modified forms, Explore lasted for some 20 to 25 years, impacting several thousand area women.
Besides Explore's influence on the lives of individuals, it led as well to the establishment of various community institutions. Women from Explore played key roles in the establishment of the Coop Preschool at Northaven and the Women's Center of Dallas. Women from the Center, in turn, helped develop the Dallas Women's Shelter.
In addition to the rumors of Communist influence, a recurrent charge in the early years claimed that Explore broke up happy homes. Most of the women interviewed by Castleberry in 1976 said this was nonsense. "A marriage breaks because the reasons are there -- not because someone puts words to them."
To those of us who did not know Northaven in the 60s and 70s, learning about the history of Explore -- and other prophetic ministries in our congregation's past -- only confirms what attracted us to this community one, two, or three decades later. To those who were already active in those early years, this "newbie" (and I suspect I speak for many of us) says a heartfelt "thank you."
Originally entitled "Broadening Horizons of Contemporary Women," Explore was a course of seven weekly two-hour sessions in which women would examine, evaluate, and respond to their life situations, their potential, their possible futures. It was a combination of consciousness raising, goal setting, and research on local opportunities.
First proposed by then Northaven member Jean Swenson, Explore was modeled after a similar course she had helped teach at George Washington University in the nation's capital. Four Northaven women, among them Gail Smith, agreed to help her develop such a course here.
"A whole new world opened up to me," Gail is quoted in a 1976 article on Explore by Vivian Castleberry in the Dallas Morning News. "I had always known I would go back to school at some nebulous time in the future, but I was blank about how to set in motion any kind of outside-the-house activities."
The first class of some twenty-two women ran on Wednesday mornings in March and April, 1969. Tuition -- which covered study materials, tests, and child care -- was $10. The legal-size green publicity flyer read in part:
A kaleidoscope of demands bombards the kitchen door. Women are challenged
to:
-- look at themselves and the spectrum of roles they play
-- study the changing needs of family, community, world
-- evaluate the new possibilities and responsibilities thrust upon them
-- respond with a life plan -- each woman's unique way of saying 'yes' to herself,
her family, her community, and the wider world
In Dallas in 1969, that was the stuff of revolution.
Another participant in the first course at Northaven, and member of the Explore staff until 1973, was Fran McElvaney. "Explore helped me understand how women were socialized by culture," Fran said recently. "It helped me gain insight into my own history. It helped me develop leadership skills in a non-threatening arena."
Judged successful after that first run by both participants and leaders, Explore was repeated for many years at Northaven and spread to other Methodist and Lutheran churches as well. New leaders drawn from among course graduates were constantly being trained so that they could help continue the work in subsequent years.
Eventually the course was also offered in the Dallas community college system, Perkins School of Theology, and the YWCA in both Dallas and Fort Worth. In modified forms, Explore lasted for some 20 to 25 years, impacting several thousand area women.
Besides Explore's influence on the lives of individuals, it led as well to the establishment of various community institutions. Women from Explore played key roles in the establishment of the Coop Preschool at Northaven and the Women's Center of Dallas. Women from the Center, in turn, helped develop the Dallas Women's Shelter.
In addition to the rumors of Communist influence, a recurrent charge in the early years claimed that Explore broke up happy homes. Most of the women interviewed by Castleberry in 1976 said this was nonsense. "A marriage breaks because the reasons are there -- not because someone puts words to them."
To those of us who did not know Northaven in the 60s and 70s, learning about the history of Explore -- and other prophetic ministries in our congregation's past -- only confirms what attracted us to this community one, two, or three decades later. To those who were already active in those early years, this "newbie" (and I suspect I speak for many of us) says a heartfelt "thank you."
Posted: Wednesday - February 01, 2006 at 03:00 PM |
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Published On: May 05, 2008 04:52 PM
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