In the summer of 1998, I was invited to join a panel at "Celebrate '98," to discuss women's religious leadership in America. The celebration marked the 150th anniversary of the first woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York.
After I finished my remarks, which focused on Mary Baker Eddy and her extraordinary legacy, a Presbyterian clergywoman put forward a sobering comment. She wondered how she could be at this place in her career, having come through seminary and a number of years in the ministry, and not have heard of Mary Baker Eddy. She wanted to know why such a remarkable woman religious leader could have become so "marginalized."
It was an inquiry that had particular poignancy when viewed in light of how publicly well-known Mrs. Eddy was by the end of her life. In 1907, the popular magazine Human Life described her as ". . . the most famous, interesting and powerful woman in America, if not in the world, today." Human Life Magazine (March 1907). At that time, she was quoted in many newspapers and widely known for her work as an author, publisher, teacher, founder, and church leader. But over the decades following her passing in 1910, and on into the 1990s, public awareness and knowledge of Mrs. Eddy had gradually diminished. There were thousands who read her writings, whose lives were being healed daily by the Christ Science she discovered and to which she devoted her life. But the general public did not know of her.
