Mary Stewart
Mary Stewart was born in 1876 in Ohio, but spent her childhood in Georgetown, Colorado, high in the Rockies. She became a teacher and then principal of a high school, and was described as "a little bundle of energy, dignity and personal charm." She wrote this poem in 1904 as a personal daily prayer, but later started calling it a ‘Collect for Club Women’, as she felt that women working together for the common good “needed a special petition and meditation of their own.” Mary Stewart held a number of teaching and administrative posts in Colorado and Montana until 1921, when she became a junior guidance and placement officer in the pioneer period of U.S. employment services. She continued to write, and was published in a number of American newspapers and magazines. In 1927 her Alma Mater, the University of Colorado, conferred upon her an honorary degree in recognition of her distinguished work in education, social and civic service. Her ‘Collect for Club Women’ has been used ever since by women’s organizations around the world as their club creed. Mary Stewart died at the age of 67 on April 1, 1943.
Written in 1904 by a high school principal, this prayer/poem was adopted by women’s organizations around the world as their creed…and it continues to resonate today with its timely, astute advice for us all.
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