Complete Dissertaton - Final for Print with new editing - Dallas ...

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leading relationally, and of functioning from an ethic of care,” 134 observes Hislop.
Participation in the roles of pastoral care, shepherding, and mentoring gives a woman the
opportunity to minister to other women in a way that only a woman can do. Hislop makes
an important point when stating, “Today women have to be intentional about finding
ways to enter community, to connect with one another. The need for input, care, and
shepherding from other women is heightened even further because these kinds of
relationships are not readily available. They are not built into the everyday life of most
women.” 135 Sandy Sheehy has also discovered the importance of relationships in a
woman’s life. She states in Connecting,
Today…an increasing number of psychologists and sociologists on the cutting
edge of women’s development contend that female friendship is indeed a primary
bond. Their research reveals that over the course of our lives, the ability to form
and maintain solid, rewarding friendships with other women is essential both to
our personal growth and fulfillment and to the health of our sexual and family
relationship.…Women today sense that we need female friendship more than
ever. Our lives are moving so quickly, and everything from technology to the
concept of what constitutes a family is changing so fast that we must look to our
women friends to provide both stability and a reality check… 136
These relationships involve mutual acceptance, caring, and sharing. Dr. Deborah
Newman posits, “I think women grow, heal, and change in the context of supportive
relationships.” 137 And as with any relationship, it requires priority, respect, and attention
if they intend to succeed and survive.
134 Ibid., 72.
135 Ibid., 79.
136 Sandy Sheehy, Connecting: The Enduring Power of Female Friendship (New York, NY:
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 2000), xvi.
165.
137 Deborah Newman, Passion on Purpose (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003),