Women, Ministry and the City (Organization)

Program to provide women seminarians with the opportunity to work with women already ministering in parishes and congregations. In the spring of 1982, Rosemary Radford Ruther gathered a small group of women to discuss an idea for a program that would give women seminarians the opportunity to work with women who graduate from seminaries and are ready to minister in urban parishes and congreations. Gretchen Leppke was chosen as coordinator of the program. By 1983, Women, Ministry, and the City ran its first summer program which consisted of a one-day orientation and a six week internship in places such as Genesis House (a house of hospitality and nuturing for women prostitutes), Resident Emergency Shelter (REST), Sarah's Circle, and Kinheart. In 1988, Women, Minstry, and the city moved to the newly formed Women of Faith Resource Center. The improvement proved to be temporary relief from growing financial difficulties which had increased dramatically in the preceding few years. In 1990, Gretchen Leppke retired and a summer program was not offered, but a year later the program was renewed by Mundelein College which provided staff and facilities for meetings. When Mundelein affiliated with Loyola University Chicago, in 1991, the latter took over the program and added new resources to it such as formal structure, board, regular meeting schedule, and staff. In 2002, the program was absorbed into Loyola's Institute for Pastoral Studies.