This second edition of Boyd and Brackenridge's acclaimed history of Presbyterian women in America traces women's affiliation with Presbyterianism for more than two centuries--from 1789 to the present. In the first century after the establishment of the General Assembly, churchmen expected females to be silent, subordinate, and submissive in the church; ordination was forbidden. However, women in the 19th century organized into local groups devoted to mission and Christian education projects. This fascinating historical account traces the evolvement of these groups into the women's boards of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that influenced women's current equal role in the pulpits, sessions, and courts of the church. Boyd and Brackenridge raise important issues concerning diversity, sustenance of community, and ordination--issues that will affect women's position in the church in the 21st century.

Since its founding in 1869 by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Trinity University has been engaged in realizing the dreams of its founders to become "a University of the highest order." In Trinity University: A Tale of Three Cities, R. Douglas Brackenridge, professor emeritus of religion at Trinity, brings a wealth of scholarship and knowledge to this institutional history. Brackenridge traces Trinity's unique heritage from its founding in Tehuacana and growth in Waxahachie to its emergence in San Antonio as a top private university for the study of liberal arts and sciences. He draws on historical records and reports, oral histories, newspaper accounts, books, correspondence, and archives to document the university's challenges and successes. He describes Trinity's development within the broader context of private, church-related universities in America, while profiling the administrators, faculty, staff, and students who have contributed to Trinity's rich heritage. The result is a well-researched story of the founding and the progression of one of the nation's exceptional institutions for higher learning. Illustrations picture Trinity's campuses in three cities and include black-and-white photographs.

"Presbyterians and Pensions" traces the historical development of the modern Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor organizations from colonial times to the present. It is a critical work that examines the Board of Pensions in its broad historical, social, economic, and theological context. Utilizing the case study approach, the authors show how a major Protestant denomination produced its present retirement and protection program for church employees. This is an insightful historical presentation of a vital part of the church's mission and provides very interesting and critical reading for those interested in the history of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).