Vida Dutton Scudder exemplifies the marriage of contemplation and action within an engaged Christian spirituality. As a contemplative laywoman, Scudder was a champion for peace, social action, and women throughout her life.

Scudder was born on December 15th, 1861, the child of Congregationalist missionaries in India. In the 1870s, Vida and her mother were prepared for confirmation in the Episcopal Church by Phillips Brooks, then Rector of Trini…