The Girl Who Baptized Herself
A Live Virtual Event

Join feminist theologian MEGGAN WATTERSON for a live virtual event on July 21st at 7:00 pm EDT to celebrate the publication of THE GIRL WHO BAPTIZED HERSELF.

This event includes:

  • Meggan will share insights on the 1st  century saint named Thecla, why the scripture that contains her story was buried, and why she’s so important for our time.

  • The hour-long event will include a guided meditation to help us reclaim the power of knowing our worth.

  • Meggan will lead a Q&A about the book along with an invitation to share insights that came forward during the guided meditation.

To join us for this event:

Preorder THE GIRL WHO BAPTIZED HERSELF in your preferred format (hardcover, ebook, or audiobook) from the retailer of your choice (links below). Enter your information in the form below. A confirmation email will be sent as soon as you register. A Zoom link will be emailed to you on July 18th three days before the event, and a reminder will be sent the morning of July 21st, the day of the event, as well.

If you’re unable to join us live, or if you’d like to relive the event, keep an eye on your email. The event recording will be sent out on July 22nd and remain available for 30 days.

Open to US residents only. Valid 2/13/-25 – 7/20/25

This riveting exploration of a nearly lost first-century scripture tells the story of a courageous saint named Thecla and offers us a roadmap to knowing our worth.

Know Your Worth

A teenage girl named Thecla is sitting at her bedroom window listening to a man share stories nearby. Her mother and fiancé order her to stop. But Thecla, trapped in a world that expects her to marry and have children, refuses. This man, Paul, is talking about a world she wants to believe in: an inner world of freedom to define her own life. And he’s talking about a kind of love she hasn’t known before—a love that asks her to be true to who she is within.

For Watterson, a Harvard-trained feminist theologian, Thecla’s story in The Acts of Paul and Thecla has everything to do with power. Thecla’s refusal to be controlled, as well as the authority she reclaims by baptizing herself, reads like a lost gospel for finding our own source of power within. A power that allows us to know who we are and to make choices based on that knowing. This hidden scripture suggests that Christianity before the fourth century was about defying the patriarchy, not deifying it. But early church fathers excluded The Acts of Paul and Thecla, along with others like The Gospel of Mary, from the New Testament.

Watterson synthesizes scripture, memoir, and politics to illuminate a story that has been left out of the canon for far too long, one that follows a girl freeing herself from a life predicated on the expectations of others—a path that made her feel unworthy. Thecla’s story offers us a path to take back the power we often give to others and live based on the truth of who we are.

About the Author

MEGGAN WATTERSON is a renowned feminist theologian and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Mary Magdalene Revealed. She has a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University. She created The House of Mary Magdalene – a spiritual community that studies sacred texts left out of the traditional canon and practices the soul-voice meditation. Her work has appeared in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Huffington Post, TEDxWomen, and Marie Claire. 

FAQ

  • Monday, July 21st from 7:00pm-8:00pm EDT online on Zoom

  • This virtual event will be one hour long.

  • The recording will be available to view for 30 days after the event.

  • To register your friend, you can purchase a copy of the book for them and submit the order information using the form above. You can enter their email so they receive the event information directly.

  • Yes — no previous experience is necessary.

  • You can sign up anytime before midnight on July 20th. After that, registration will close.

  • Yes! The book is available for preorder with most major booksellers in hardcover, ebook, or audiobook formats.

  • While this story is drawn from texts from the earliest forms of the Christian church, no religious affiliation or experience is needed to draw inspiration from Thecla’s story.

  • Live internationally? We will be making the recording available to you at a later date!