[1][2] Her father was a Presbyterian pastor who advocated for a reunification of the southern and northern branches of the American church; Henderlite spent much time with him, and her religious views were shaped by his influence.

[2] She attended high school in Gastonia, North Carolina, and went on to study at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia for two years.

[1] After her father's death in 1942, Henderlite enrolled at Yale University Divinity School to study Christian ethics under H. Richard Niebuhr.

[1][3] Between 1966 and 1981, she was active in the Consultation on Church Union, a joint conference of 10 North American Christian denominations.

[3][1] In 1965, Henderlite was ordained by the PCUS, making her the first woman to become a minister in this branch of the American Presbyterian Church.

[3]) Henderlite was ordained at All Souls Presbyterian Church in Richmond, a predominantly black congregation that she had helped to found.