It's not surprising that your Mom and her minister friends were "New Women". Most of the ministers in mainline Protestant churches now are female and most are feminist (a lot are Lesbians also!) because it required a feminist consciousness initially to become a minister at a time when most ministers were male. Now most are female because it is a job that is both family friendly (you're not trapped "at work" when children get home from school) and requires a nurturing spirit, which is something women are more likely to have. As I said in my previous comment what I missed terribly not growing up with organized religion was being part of a community with a common narrative. Being "independent" (like Jo) might be appealing to a sixteen year old but I don't know how good that is for a six year old. Children are comforted by comformity (I was told that by a therapist) so it's up to parents to find a healthy community that they can conform to. Now my involvement with church is mostly as a musician (I am a classically trained singer, and sacred music is a better fit for someone my age than the strenuous marathon of singing opera; also the field is less ageist) but I have also found a nice, kind, community of women of the sort that one doesn't find elsewhere. I suppose when I was growing up there was a sense of community in the Brooklyn neighborhood where I lived, but I don't remember any group activities for young people.