Jackson Free Press

Women's activist Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt believes that Christianity and feminism go hand in hand, and is using that idea to advance women's rights.

Hunt will be present tonight during the Women's Fund of Mississippi's "Downtown Spaces, Hip New Places," kick-off party at the King Edward. The Mississippi Women's Fund is a non-profit organization that provides grants to improve the lives of women and girls in the state.

In her latest book, "Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance," (Atria Press, 2004, $14) Hunt makes the case for the similarities between the two beliefs.

"Both Christianity and feminism offer a prophetic vision for the future by inviting the transformation of the individual and of society," Hunt writes. "The two may be experienced differently, but they point us in the same direction."
Hunt, 61, received her doctoral degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City where she studied theology's impact on women's movements.

in 1993, Hunt founded the Sister Fund, a private women's fund. She established the fund to aid women working for justice from a religious framework.

Hunt also helped found the Dallas Women's Fund, the New York Women's Foundation and the Women's Funding Network, a national women's organization.

In 2007, Hunt and her sister, Swanee Hunt, began the Women Moving Millions initiative to raise funds for programs that promote lasting social change in the lives of women and girls. By May 2009, Women Moving Millions had raised $176 million.

Hunt is also the co-author of several relationship books she wrote with her husband, Harville Hendrix.

Hunt and her husband live in New York City. They have six children and three grandchildren.

"Downtown Spaces, Hip New Places" kick-off party is at the King Edward Ballroom tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person. Hunt is also the keynote speaker at the Women's Fund of Mississippi's annual luncheon Wednesday, March 3, at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $100, which includes a ticket for Thursday's "Hip New Places" tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the tour Jackson's newest properties will be open to the public. The event will also showcase a sidewalk art show on Congress Street. For more information, call 601-326-0700.

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