I am currently working on monograph of Lucy Rider Meyer (1849-1922), a Christian activist during the progressive era and one of the most influential women in the large and powerful Methodist denomination. Rider Meyer was a visionary educator, who opened the Chicago Training School for women interested in home and foreign missions work. She was an innovator in Christian social work, who established the Deaconess office, a new profession and avenue for women’s Christian activism. She was also a female STEM pioneer--earning a medical degree, teaching college chemistry, helping found Wesley Hospital in Chicago, and advocating for public healthcare.

 

This monograph will situate Rider Meyer alongside other female leaders in the progressive era and provide a lens into viewing the contributions of "new Christian women."