Following the end of the United Nations decade on women in 1985, a working party exploring the position of women in church was set up in Scotland. On 19 March 1988 an open meeting was held at which Sister Mary Kilpatrick, Secretary Justice and Peace Commission and Mary Shanahan, a Roman Catholic and experienced educational worker, spoke. A year later in 1989, with financial support from the Falkland Community Trust, the Women's Church Resource Group's centre was launched at 15d Hill Street, Glasgow. Co-ordinated by Mary Shanahan and supported by a group of about thirty women, including Pat MacEachan, Honor Hania, Betty Campbell, Kathie Walsh and Barnie Pugh, the WCRG's aim was to support and develop the understanding of the role of women in church and society.
On 16 May, 1996 the last steering group meeting was held and two years later the papers, books and resources of the group were donated to Glasgow Women's Library.