Click here to access a printable press release.
Nancy Hardesty was a much beloved founding mother of EEWC-Christian Feminism Today and co-author of the groundbreaking book, All We’re Meant to Be. When she died in 2011, a scholarship fund was created to honor her life’s work of advocating for women’s and LGBTQ justice in Christianity.
Read more about the Nancy A. Hardesty Memorial Scholarship here.
The second scholarship recipient was selected in 2015 and will receive a $1000 scholarship.
The NAHMS committee, Becky Bender, Linda Bieze, and Sharon Bowes reviewed the applications and selected Katie Deaver, a Ph.D. candidate in theology and ethics at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, as the 2015 NAHMS recipient.
Ms. Deaver is a native of Viroqua, WI. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Religion from Luther College in Decorah, IA, as well as a Master of Arts in Theological Studies and a Masters of Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
She works as the Director of Music Ministry at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Glenview, IL. She also writes faith reflections for Café, an online magazine for young adult women, and contributes to Role Reboot, an online contemporary culture magazine about living life “off script.”
Ms. Deaver’s primary research interest focuses on Christian feminist reinterpretations of atonement theology. In her doctoral dissertation, she will explore the specific question of whether the doctrine of atonement can and ought to be reclaimed within Lutheran feminist circles. She aspires to teach theology at a college, university, or seminary. At the same time, she hopes to make scholarship “understandable, liberative, and life-giving for women [who] have questions and doubts, and [also] amazing theological understanding.
“While I consider myself to be a scholar and continue to work diligently toward establishing a name for myself in the academic field of Christian feminism,” wrote Ms. Deaver in her scholarship application, “My faith and personal connection to God inspire me to write for the women, and men, in the pews on Sunday mornings.” She aims to help make theology “a life-giving and enriching aspect of the daily lives of all people of faith.”
Here are links to some of Deaver’s writing:
Why Hating the HeforShe Campaign Doesn’t Make Me a Bad Feminist
Faith Reflection: Love and Gender Equality
Elsa and the New Roles of Gender Equality
To make a donation to the Nancy A. Hardesty Memorial Scholarship fund, please click here.
