Mary Bosanquet, early Methodist preacher and leader
Having said that, I do wish that the contributions of the women of early Methodism were displayed more prominently. There is a limited amount of space and everything can't be covered in detail, but women played a more important role in the Methodist revival than anyone would realize from the exhibits. Over half of the members of the earliest Methodist societies were female, and women served as leaders of classes, as spiritual directors and teachers, as exhorters, and even as preachers! (In an attempt to keep his Methodists from being associated with dissenters like the Baptists and Quakers, Wesley called it "exhorting" if a person spoke of her/his experience of faith, while "preaching" involved using a scripture text and explaining it.) It is often the case that the minority voice has to read itself in between the lines of history because of scanty documentation, but many of these women's stories have been recorded -- the question is, how well and how often are we telling them in the present day?
In a letter dated March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams urges her husband, John Adams, not to forget about the nation’s women during the movement towards independence from Great Britain. She exhorts him to "remember the ladies" and to make laws that are more generous and favorable to them than those of previous governments. She goes on to neatly turn the words of the budding American Revolution into a cry for women's rights: "Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
I am in no way suggesting that the World Methodist Museum is run by tyrants or that anyone is deliberately trying to exclude women from representation, nor am I calling for a rebellion, but I regret that so much is left out. There is a small section dedicated exclusively to women in Methodism and one that highlights the importance of Susanna Annesley Wesley, but some of the most notable women's names are missing, and what information does appear is incomplete.
For example, Mary Bosanquet, pictured on the teapot and cups in the picture above, is mentioned by name, but the first "accomplishment" under her name is that she married the Rev. John Fletcher! She was a teacher and leader in her own right, before, during, and after her brief but happy marriage to Mr. Fletcher, and she set up a school/orphanage with two other Methodist women, Sarah Crosby and Sarah Ryan. Furthermore, Mary Bosanquet is the woman who convinced John Wesley to allow women to publicly exhort and later, even to preach! After she wrote to him in 1771 to tell him that she had "exhorted" a mixed group of women and men, he responded with a letter dated June 13, 1771:
MY DEAR SISTER,--I think the strength of the cause rests there--on your having an extraordinary call. So I am persuaded has every one of our lay preachers; otherwise I could not countenance his preaching at all. It is plain to me that the whole work of God termed Methodism is an extraordinary dispensation of His providence. Therefore I do not wonder if several things occur therein which do not fall under the ordinary rules of discipline. St. Paul's ordinary rule was, 'I permit not a woman to speak in the congregation.' Yet in extraordinary cases he made a few exceptions; at Corinth in particular.--I am, my dear sister,
Your affectionate brother
John Wesley
While this was not unqualified approval, it marked a tremendous shift in Wesley's understanding of the public roles of women in the Methodist revival, and he eventually came to recognize at least one woman, Sarah Mallett, as an official itinerant preacher by issuing a preaching license to her in 1787! This paved the way for the eventual inclusion of women into all aspects of Methodist life. But how many of us, even ordained deacons and elders, know her remarkable story or even the names of any of these important women?
These are stories that need to be told about sainted women whose faithful example and Spirit-inspired holy boldness must be lifted up and honored. Their names should be as familiar and as normative a part of our story-telling as the names of Coke and Asbury. When history is told from only one perspective, its focus is skewed, and when the valuable contributions of these other voices go unacknowledged, the dominant voice becomes the only one heard. When that happens, we miss out on the beauty and diversity of the gifts God gives to every person of every race, gender, language, tribe, etc., and we need the perspective of everyone, especially the voiceless, in order to have a more well-rounded sense of God's all-encompassing grace.
I am committed to doing my part to share the richness of our story by emphasizing these courageous and committed women of Methodism and consider it an honor to count myself in their number. Had it not been for them, the witness of the Church would be impoverished and the gospel would be strangely one-sided. And so, I encourage you to "remember the ladies" and the unique place they occupy in our family history and to give thanks for their sacrifices and commitment to Jesus Christ. If you'd like to know more, contact me to preach at your church or to lead a discussion about our foremothers in the faith. It is my privilege and honor to help to tell their tale as part of the great salvation narrative in which all our stories are located.
Yes! Even with my 2nd major in Women's Studies (the first ever from Meredith, believe it or not), I am constantly surprised by all I don't know about the contributions of women throughout history, including, or maybe especially, our faith history. Thank you for highlighting these women and raising their voices!
ReplyDeleteI’m always amazed at the names and stories we don’t know. We miss out on so much by not retelling them as part of the normal history that makes us who we are.
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