After an arduous soul searching journey, the United Council of Church Women (1941-1950) merged with the National Council of Churches of Christ under the nomenclature The General Department of United Church Women (1950-1966). In 1966, fearing the loss of churchwomen's autonomy and the betrayal of its local constituency, United Church Women withdrew from the National Council of Churches of Christ, and reconstituted itself as Church Women United. It continues under this nomenclature today.

Born out of the late 19th and early 20th century Social Gospel Movement and the Woman's Era, and the early 20th century missionary movements, United Church Women may be the first and largest autonomous, interracial, intercultural and interdenominational lay evangelical venture in gender distinct ecumenism. Not only did they create a loose sisterhood with non-Protestant religious women and governmental agencies; they also formed over 2,500 local councils, which represented some 53 million Christian women. This writer has conferred upon them the title progressive-conservative churchwomen in an era of change. The fundamental principle guiding their action was Jesus' prayer that they may all be one, ... and that the world might believe.

Therefore, it is understandable that a critical examination of United Church Women's history would reveal a complex genealogy of race and gender in America's social, political, educational, familial, and ecclesiastical institutions. That examination also reveals the formation of United Church Women's consciousness, conscience, and conscientiousness: that is, their sense of personal and communal identity, responsibility, accountability and destiny. For United Church Women, ecumenism shored-up these aspects.

This dissertation argues four points: 1) The themes in ecumenism - justice, democracy and peace - suffered from inertia within American churches prior to 1950. Between 1950-1966, ecumenism challenged American churches to be collectively sub