Introducing the Margaretha Society

Meet Sattler College’s newest student club! Last spring, a new club was launched, and this fall, it was officially presented to the Sattler student community at the annual club fair, alongside other established clubs like C.O.D.E.R.S, Ampitheatron, and Choir Club. The Margaretha Society was born from the inspiration of several upperclassmen, with collaboration from the Co-Director of Student Life, Ms. Kristi Mast.

Madam President Maggie Wagler explained that the club came about partly from an observed need for closer community among the Sattler women. “We enjoy history, and we thought, why not create an environment where we, as women, can discuss themes from classes and also form deeper relationships?”

While open to all students, the club has become a place for female students to interpret their role as Christian women in today’s amorphous society.

For the fall and spring semesters, the Margaretha Society has read and discussed excerpts from missionary heroines and writers like Amy Carmichael, Mary Slessor, and Elisabeth Eliot. They’ve also deliberated on the implications and application of ethical issues in stirring pieces of nonfiction and fiction literature by women from different periods, such as Flannery O’Connor and Kate Chopin. Kristi Mast’s stirring recitation from “Ain’t I A Woman?” written by famous abolitionist Sojourner Truth awoke the listeners to the sobering realities of post-slavery women’s rights. Theological writers like Edith Steine and Julie Kastorf provoked conversations on nature, nurture, and other ways that women can influence the world for the kingdom of Christ.

In one Margaretha Society meeting, the members watched and discussed a talk given by Christian missionary, author, and writer Elisabeth Eliot entitled “True Womanliness”. This meeting beautifully illustrates the transformative effect this club has on its members and, by extension, the greater Sattler community. Not only were the students encouraged by Eliot’s exhortation to embrace the principles of a woman of God, but one member, Makayla Ressler, was inspired to take the message further. In a Tuesday morning devotional pearl given to the Sattler student and faculty, Makayla based her pearl on Elisabeth Eliot’s incredible life of servitude to the kingdom of God, drawing out the themes of suffering and faithfulness. Makayla shared the personal effect Elliot’s life and writings have had on her and challenged us to be obedient lifelong servants of God as Elliot was.

The Margaretha Society is an example of the opportunities students have to take initiative towards not just personal growth but also investment in the spiritual development of their classmates. If you are interested in this club, Madam President Maggie Wagler emphasized that the society always welcomes visitors!