Olivia Krall shares how the stories of Mennonite women included in the Mennonite Church USA Archives have inspired her to push for a better future.
This blog is part of the ongoing Learn, Pray, Join: Undoing Patriarchy series.
Olivia Krall is the archives coordinator for MC USA. She strives to use the powerful history of the church to engage and inspire people. She graduated from Goshen College in 2023, with a Bachelor of Arts in history. Prior to joining the MC USA Executive Board staff, Olivia worked at the Elkhart County (Indiana) Historical Museum. Olivia attendsSouthside Fellowship, a congregation within theCentral District Conference.
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In the records of the Mennonite Church USA Archives, where I work, I have the opportunity to encounter the lives of the women who came before me. In these boxes of records, photos, cassette tapes, films and much more, I can vividly see their courage, the challenges they faced, and how they shaped the world and the church around them.
In my work in the stacks, I have realized I owe them a debt of gratitude.
The Archives holds powerful stories of women’s successes and early leadership in the church. Nellie Miller Mann, who traveled the world in the 1920s to support refugees from the Armenian Genocide, impels me to do good. Rowena Larks’s witness and church planting efforts in the mid-20th century motivates me to think creatively. Ruth Brunk Stoltzfus’s voice on the Heart-to-Heart broadcast in the 1950s inspires me to challenge expectations.
I am thankful for the historians and archivists who carefully gathered and preserved these stories.
I often find reading the records of women’s experiences in the (old) Mennonite church sobering. These collections hold painful stories of sexual violence and abuse against women that were systematically covered up, downplayed and outright ignored. The Mennonite church turned away women’s wisdom and theological gifts, and church records document divisive debates over women’s ability to serve as leaders.
I am thankful for the women who shared these stories, even though they are difficult.
The Archives’ collections themselves are evidence of how patriarchal structures have shaped our understanding of Mennonite history. Within the first series of our Historical Manuscript (HM1) papers, the subset of the archives that documents individuals and families, there are 827 active collections. These collections are named after the person whose records it contains.
Of these 827 sets of papers, 612 are titled with a man’s name, 152 are named for women, 90 have both a man and woman’s name — typically a couple — and 25 collections did not fit into any of these designations. This means 74% of HM1s are named for men alone and 18% for women. When including couples collections in the calculation, men are named in 85% of all HM1 collections and women in just 27%.
These statistics have limitations. They do not include backlogged items, institutional collections, audiovisual materials or materials generated by women in collections named for men. Despite this, the disparity in one of our largest sections of the collection is clear.
The gap in collections is intersectional — there are even fewer collections documenting the experiences of women of color. As noted by Dr. Felipe Hinojosa, just 5% of the MC USA Archives materials document BIPOC Mennonite experiences. The subset of those records documenting BIPOC women is even less.
In order for the MC USA Archives to truly preserve the history of Mennonite life and faith, intentional collecting and storytelling is required. Each day I spend in these records reminds me that there is more work to be done.
Being in the Archives is an experience of gratitude. I am grateful to the archivists, historians, coworkers and constituents who have oriented me to this position and given me this opportunity to have a hand in continuing this work. I am grateful for the people who trust us to preserve their stories. I am grateful for the chance to witness the strength, fortitude and faith of the women who came before me. Their lives have shaped mine for the better, and their experiences are powerful reminders that change is possible.
“Learn, Pray, Join: Undoing Patriarchy” draws attention to the ways in which the current systems in our world and churches create spaces that perpetuate patriarchal norms and do harm to those who fall outside of those norms. This initiative provides tools and resources to help MC USA church communities work toward a more equitable world, in which everyone is treated with the care and respect they deserve, regardless of gender.
You are invited to get involved with Learn, Pray, Join: Undoing Patriarchy.
Support Mennonite Church USA’s Peace and Justice Initiatives by giving here.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog belong to the author and are not intended to represent the views of the MC USA Executive Board or staff.