• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board of Directors
          • Board Minutes
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • What We Do
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • 3 Great Loves
        • Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Archived Reports
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • MissionInsite
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faith Forming Publications & The Pilgrim Press
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Health Ministries of the UCC
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Scouting
            • Wellness Ministries
          • Washington DC Office
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote 2020
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • Faith INFO
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search & Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Engagement
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Strengthen the Church
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
        • Disaster Relief
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • UCC Roots
  • Florence Alden Partridge

Florence Alden Partridge

by Richard Berg | published on Sep 1, 2017

She was always an advocate for women, even before many church people recognized the need to give women more visibility and influence.  She spoke out with conviction, saying:  “It is a time for women to step out of their former place and take a more definite part in the community, the nation and the world.”

Florence Alden Partridge (1898-1983), rooted in the German Reformed tradition, was born in Chicago.  She attended Wells College and earned a Masters degree at the University of Chicago when few women had advanced degrees.  From 1935 to 1942 she was Dean of Women at Heidelberg College.  As a woman of learning and culture, enjoying reading, the symphony, opera, and discussion with friends she was exceptional.

From 1942 to 1963 Partridge served as executive director of the Women’s Guild for the Evangelical and Reformed Church, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The E&R Women’s Guild blended the earlier Reformed Women’s Missionary Guild and the Evangelical Women’s Union for about 20 years, until the formation of the United Church of Christ.

Partridge traveled all over the country for the Women’s Guild; promoting its emphases on equality, understanding, love and service. She blended her abiding Christian faith with practical activism urging women to take leadership roles and actively work against all prejudice. She was proud of the way her office expressed the concerns of church women, insisting that “Women-power is being stressed in all areas of life and women of the Church are very valuable in upholding the Church in critical times like these.”

As one of the few women holding executive administrative responsibilities in the national leadership of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, Florence Alden Partridge was remarkable.  Her commitments to the church and to women continue to inspire.

Contributor: Richard Berg

 

Download the PDF
Sign-Up

Categories: Column UCC Roots

Related News

Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Waiting to Exhale

Minister for Youth and Young Adult Engagement For nearly two weeks, attention has been fixed on...

Read More
Into the Mystic

A Piece of Work

Listen to the podcast https://soundcloud.com/theucc/a-piece-of-work Read the...

Read More
Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Possibilities

Policy Advocate for Domestic Issues Last year I wrote my Witness for Justice column as the...

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now


UCC Crest
© United Church of Christ 2021. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative