If the title is any indication, it's clear A Church of Her Own: What Happens When A Woman Takes The Pulpit, by Sarah Sentilles, focuses on the change in clergy as women started to become part of the community.

Episcopalians kicked things off by ordaining some thirty years ago. In 2002, seven women from Germany, Austria, and the United States were ordained in the Danube River by a Roman Catholic bishop. While this fact may appear inconsequential, the resulting uproar was soon felt. Think about it. A priest makes the decision to give women the authority for conducting sacraments.

Once the decision is made, the ceremony cannot be undone. There is, however, a step which can be taken to undo perceived damage. Excommunication, or 'away with you'. This may sound harsh. It is. Basically, the person or persons it happens to is not recognized as being part of the believers.

Sentilles best describes what the battleground looks like by having conversations with women who have had to fight to be both recognized and respected. Unfortunately, sometimes the biggest detractors are men already serving congregations.

One would think anybody who goes through the process of becoming clergy would be welcomed with open arms. Adah knows differently. She understood she was meant to be a priest. How? By a guy who thought so, and used it as a tool of manipulation. The resulting abuse was multifaceted, and would take a long time to move past it.

Not every experience is like this, of course. Some men merely decide they are threatened by a woman even if she is not about to steal the position already taken. Marion was appointed to a church where the senior minister was a man. He handled the situation poorly, using his authority to undermine hers. This took the form of 'forgetting' to share important information such as a death in the congregation, or acting as if she had nothing worthwhile to say if she offered an alternate opinion from his in a meeting.

Catherine's issue had to do with money. When she was offered a much lower salary than expected, she told the church committee she did not feel the diocese would let her accept it. Stunned silence followed, but they eventually gave her what she deserved. 

A Church of Her Own is an interesting look at one of the dirty little secrets within the Protestant denomination. Much more work will have to be done before it can be safely described as taken care of. Sentilles wisely offers her own story as well to illustrate she was not entirely ignorant when she wrote this book. Along with the problems, triumphs are shown to create a balance.