Interseminary Conferences
In 1973, Yale Divinity School women began organizing yearly inter-seminary conferences for women in order to create a broader network of support and collaboration for women attending divinity schools across North America. The conferences included opportunities for networking, communal worship, and discussion sessions on theological, social, and political issues.
“For three brief, hectic and incredible days in February, 300 women (and even a few men) converged on Yale Divinity School for the Fifth Women's Interseminary Conference. Focused on [the] theme of Women and Human Liberation, the conference featured Drs. Justo and Catherine Gonzales as the keynote speakers. For YDS students, it was also a time of sharing ideas, frustrations, anger, and joy with people from over 30 seminaries as far north as Nova Scotia and as far south as Puerto Rico. [...] Elie Drury, a YDS student who attended the First Women's Interseminary Conference which was held at YDS in 197[3], noted the effect of this greater diversity and size on the overall tenor of the Conference. ‘My strongest feeling about the weekend,’ she stated, ‘was the exhilaration at the difference between this Conference and the one four years ago. The greater numbers and the strength of the individuals added to the strength of the group. A greater sense of self-worth and wholeness permeated the event. There was much less fear, anger, or inadequacy.’”
From the report of the 5th Inter-seminary Conference, 1977
