Photograph of Dorothea Foote Merriman and her son Roger as an infant. This image appears in the King's Chapel publication 'Of Paramount Importance.'
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Dorothea Foote Merriman grew up in King's Chapel, and later paved the way for a major transition in the church's history. Dorothea's father was Reverend Henry Wilder Foote, minister of King's Chapel from 1861 to 1889. In 1904, Dorothea married Roger Merriman, a history professor at Harvard College. Like her mother, Frances Eliot Foote, Dorothea took on leadership roles in the church and challenged the church's status quo. Notably, she became the president of the King's Chapel Club, which was organized in 1902 "to unite the young women of King's Chapel in greater interest in the church and such charitable work as may appeal to them." Dorothea played a crucial role in opening up participation in church leadership to all congregants, regardless of age or gender. In May 1916, she read a statement to the church's male leadership, suggesting that all members, not only wealthy pew owners, be able to play an active role in the church's administration. Her powerful statement, on behalf "of the younger people of King's Chapel who have deeply at heart not only the present welfare of the church but its future" resulted in the formation of the Society of King's Chapel, which democratized participation in church leadership and gradually repealed the policies of participation based on pew ownership. With the establishment of the Society in 1920, women could now vote in all church matters, and congregants were no longer restricted in church leadership by financial status. The Society of King's Chapel still exists, and Dorothea's work paved the way for the open and welcoming community present at King's Chapel today.
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