Hi Everyone,

 

I am taking a break from posting over the Christmas Season. Will start posting again in  the NEW YEAR.

Methodist Women: Mary Barritt Taft P/12

                                                                    Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Mary Barritt Taft. She lived from 1772 - 1851. Mary was the outstanding woman evangelist of nineteenth-century England. Born in Lancashire, she and her older brother John were drawn to Methodist teachings at a young age, despite the objections of their father. At the age of seventeen she became active in her brother's preaching circuit, Dover, and while working in support of other minsters she discovered that she had the ability to inspire congregations with her preaching. Joseph Benson, the President of the Methodist Conference, angrily advised several ministers to stop allowing her to preach in their pulpits, but they defended her, citing the strength of her spirit and the great crowds she was attracting. In 1802 she married Rev Zacharias Taft, a Methodist minister, with whom she travelled and preached. The following year, in direct response to her work, severe restriction on preaching by women were ratified at the annual Methodis Conference, held at Manchester.

Q.19. Should women be permitted to preach among us?

A. We are of the opinion that, in general, they ought not.                                                                                                                                                                1. Because a vast majority of our people are opposed to it.                                                                                                                                                                  2. Because their preaching does not seem at all necessary, there being a sufficiency of preachers, whom God has accredited, to supply all the places in our connection with regular preaching. But if any woman among us thinks she has an extraordinary call from God to speak in public (and we are sure it must be an extraordinary call that can authorize it) we are of the opinion that she should in general, address her own sex and those only: And upon this condition alone should any woman be permitted to preach in any part of out connection, and when so permitted, it should be under the following regulations:

1. They shall not preach in the Circuit where they reside, until they have obtained the approbation of the Superintendent and a Quarterly-Meeting.                                                                                                        2. Before they go into any other Circuit to preach, they shall have a written invitation from the Superintendent of such Circuit, and a recommendatory note from the Superintendent of their own Circuit.

With remarkable foresight, in 1799 Mary had expressed her hope that God would hasten the day when "the wonder will then be that the exertions of pious females to bring souls to Christ should ever have been opposed or obstructed."

Methodist Women: Ann Cutler P/11

                                                                    Please read part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Ann  Cutler. She lived from 1759 - 1794. Ann was born in the Lancashire parish of Thornley-with-Wheatley. Her parents and schooling are unknown but she became a hand loom weaver. She came to notice in 1785 when she converted from established Christianity to Methodism by William Bramwell.

Ann was with Hester Rogers, one of the first women preachers. Their devotion laid the foundation for friends Sarah Crosby and Mary Bosanquet Fletcher to later become Methodist preachers. Ann had met the Methodist leader John Wesley in 1790 and it was he who had agreed to women preachers.

Martha Thompson teamed up with Ann and the two evangelists would claim converts in Lancashire who had witnessed Martha's singing and Ann's praying. Martha was warned to stay clear of Ann because of her strength and enthusiasm which Martha's father feared would kill his daughter. Ann went to work with William Bramwell and they are credited with leading revivals in Derby, Lancashire, Cheshire and Lancashire in the years following John Wesley's death in 1791.

Her mentor, William Bramwell, had a respect for Ann. She was known as "Praying Nanny" because of her frequent, loud and at times public prayers. When Bramwell got into difficulty then he would benefit from Ann's prayer techniques. Ann never married and was keen to ensure there was no gossip. When she was returning late at night she would refuse a male escort in order to avoid any suspicion. She died in Macclesfield in 1794 at the age of 35.

Read Part Twelve HERE

Methodist Women: Barbara Heck P/10

Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Barbara Heck-Ruckle. She lived from 1734 - 1804  at Ruckle Hill, Ballingran, Limerick, Ireland. At 18 she united herself with the Methodist Church. She married Paul Heck in 1756 and in 1760 she, along with her husband, her brother Paul Ruckle, and other families from the same village went to America, where they settled in New York. in 1766 Barbara encouraged Philip Embury, who had been an itinerant Methodist preacher in Ireland, to begin preaching once again to their community. The congregation grew from a small one in Embury's house to one large enough to fill space in the Rigging Loft in William Street in New York, and eventually into a strong community with the resources to build their own Wesley Chapel. In 1768 the first Methodist Chapel in America was opened on John Street and was named the Wesley Chapel, and a plaque dedicated to Barbara Heck and Philip Embury in the church reads: "Their works do follow them."

In 1774 Barbara moved with her family to Montreal, where she repeated her activities on behalf of Methodism. In 1786 she encouraged the construction of a Wesleyan Chapel and brought the style of Methodist prayer to this area. This is believed to be the first Methodist Chapel in Canada. Barbara's husband died in 1792. However, Barbara continued her devotion and leadership in this Methodist community as a lay leader until her death in 1804. 

Pease read Part Eleven HERE

Methodist Women: Mary Tooth P/9

                                                           Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Mary Tooth. She lived from 1778 - 1843 and was born in Birmingham, UK. Mary did not consider either of her parents to be "pious" during her childhood, though her mother "tried her and proved to do her good in her latter end" answering the prayers of Tooth's pious grandmother.

Mary visited Madeley for the first time in 1795 when she came to work as a teacher and domestic servant in the house of Mrs Mickelwright. When Mrs Mickelwright's son returned from sea and proposed to Mary she felt obliged both to decline and to find employment elsewhere, though she had no desire to leave Madeley. To stay as close as possible, she accepted employment in the neighbouring parish of Shifnal with a Mrs Lutton. Mary experienced a religious conversion in a meeting in "Mr Fletcher's Room (the vicarage tithe barn which had been converted by Mary Fletcher into a preaching room in 1788) in Madeley when Mary Fletcher was preaching on the Minor Prophets. Between 1795 and 1799 she was joined with the Methodists in Birmingham at Cherry Street Chapel during visits to her parent's home.

On the weekends during which she was not in Birmingham, Mary attended the parish church in Madeley as well as Mrs Fletcher's meetings before and after the Sunday services, returning to Shifnal on Monday afternoons. It was during this time that she build friendships with a circle of evangelical women leaders in Madeley, including Mary Fletcher, Sarah Lawrence, Mrs Yates, and Mrs Purton. Mary moved into the vicarage house next to the Madeley parish church with Mary Fletcher as her companion and help-mate in ministry in 1799. In 1808 Mary's sister Rosemond came to live with her in Madeley. From this time on Mary became a prominent leader in the parish "meetings" held in the various meeting houses established by John and Mary Fletcher, where she preached, led prayer meetings, and worked with children. Mary contributed to the building of a preaching house after Mary Fletcher's death in 1815.

Mary was the last and closest of Mary Fletcher's live- in companions and confidants and also acted as her executrix. She was very active in Methodist affairs in the Madeley and East Shropshire area in her own right. After the death of Mary Fletcher in 1815, Mary continued to correspond widely and was active in promoting the role played by women. Mary herself was preaching as late as the 1830s and her obituary states that she was acting as a leader for three classes until a few days before her death on 15 November 1843. 

Read Part Ten HERE

Methodist Women: Mary Baritt Taft P/8

                                                           Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Mary Baritt Taft. She lived from 1772 -1851.  

Mary Baritt was the outstanding woman evangelist of the nineteenth-century England. Born in Lancanshire, she and her older brother John were drawn to Methodist teachings at a young age, despite the objections of their father. At the age of seventeen, she became active in her brother's circuit, Dover, and while working in support of other ministers she discovered that she had the ability to inspire congregations with her preaching. 

Joseph Benson, the President of the Methodist Conference, angrily advised several ministers to stop allowing her to preach in their pulpits, but they defended her, citing the strength of her spirit and the great crowds she was attracting. in 1802 she married Rev. Zacharias Taft, a Methodist minister, with whom she travelled and preached. The following year, in direct response to her work, severe restrictions on preaching by women were ratified at the annual Methodist Conference, held at Manchester.

At that Conference the following question was asked:

Should women be permitted to preach among us?

Answer: "We are of the opinion that, in general, they ought not.                                                                                                                                                                  1. Because a vast majority of people are opposed to it.                                                                                                                                                                   2. Because their preaching does not at all seem necessary, there being a sufficiency of preachers, who God has accredited, to supply all the places in our connection with regular preaching. But if any woman among us thinks she has an extraordinary call from God to speak in public, (and we are sure it must be an extraordinay call that can authorize it) we are of the opinion she should in general address her own sex and those only: And upon this condition alone should any woman be permitted to preach in any part of our connection, and when so permitted, it should be under the following regulations:                                                                                                                                                 1. They shall not preach in the Circuit where they reside, until they have obtained the approbation of the Superintendent and a Quarterly-Meeting.                                                                                                                                                       2. Before they go into any other Circuit to preach, they shall have a written invitation from the Superintendent of such Circuit, and a recommendatary note from the Sperintendent of their own Circuit.

With remarkable foresight, in 1799 Mary had expressed her hope that God would hasten the day when "the wonder will be that the exertions of pious females to bring souls to Christ should ever have been opposed or obstructed."

P.S. The above is very much in line with what is taking place today, in 2022, in the Southern Baptist Denomination where more than 700 Southern Baptist Pastors together with two professors at Southern Baptist Seminaries have signed a letter stating that churches who allow women to be pastors should be barred.

Read Part Nine HERE

Methodist Women: Ann Cutler P/7

 

                                                           Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Ann Cutler. She lived from 1759 - 1794.

Ann was born in the Lancashire parish of Thornley-with-Wheatley. She became a handloom weaver. In 1785 she converted from established Christianity to Methodism.

Ann was with Hester Rogers, one of the first women preachers in the Methodist Movement. Their devotion laid the foundation for Sarah Crosby and Mary Bosanquet Fletcher to later become Methodist preachers. 

Ann teamed up with Martha Thompson *) and the two evangelists claimed converts in Lancashire who had witnessed Martha's singing and Ann's praying. Martha was warned to stay clear of Ann because of her strength and enthusiam which Martha's father feared would kill his daughter. Ann later on went  on to work with William Bramwell and they are credited with leading revivals in Derby, Lancashire, Cheshire and Lancashire in the years following John Wesley's death in 1791.

Her mentor, William Bramwell, had a respect for Ann. She was known as "Praying Nanny" because of her frequent, loud and at times public prayers. When William Bramwell got into difficulty then he would benefit from Ann's prayer techniques. Ann never married and was keen to ensure there was no gossip. When she was returning late at night she would refuse a male escort in order to avoid any suspicion. She died in Macclesfield in 1794 at the age of 35. 

*) Martha Tompson lived from 1731 - 1820. She was a housemaid in London and converted to Methodism after hearing John Wesley preach in Moorfields.Martha was declared insane and sent to Bedlam, but John Wesley later freed her and rode back with her to her hometown of Preston. There she became a founder of Methodism in the region.

Read Part Eight HERE

Methodist Women: Hester Ann Roe Rogers P/6

                                                                   Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Hester Ann Roe-Rogers. She lived from 1755 - 1794.

Hester was the daughter of Rev James Roe. His preaching deeply influenced the young Hester. Methodism was considered a new sect at that time and Hester believed that Methodist preachers were false prophets. Their new curate, Mr Simpson, was a Methodist, and she resolved that he should not convert her.

Hester continued seeking God continually and eventually decided to attend an early Methodist preaching service. What she heard convinced her that they were in fact truly the Lord's people. From that time she resolved to attend Methodist services, though her mother was horrified and disgusted. The intervention of an uncle prevented the irate mother from turning her daughter out of doors.

Hester offered to become like a servant and do house work for her mother in order for her to be allowed to continue attending the meetings. Her mother listened to her proposal, fully believing that the housework to which she was unaccustomed, would soon outdo her zeal, and she would give up all her resolutions. But that was not the case.

Hester married Mr James Rogers, a Methodist preacher, whose first wife had been her most intimate friend, in 1784. She began to lead classes and wherever she and her husband went, the churches grew in number. It was Mr Roger's custom to give his wife a run-down class, lete her build it up, then divide the class,and give them to other leaders, letting his wife start over again.

Sadly, she died shortly after the birth of a baby boy on October 10, 1794.

Read Part Seven HERE

Methodist Women: Mary Evans Thorne P/5

                                                           Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Mary Evans Thorne, who lived from 1740 - after 1813.

Mary was born in Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Her parents, who were of Welsh heritage, moved to New Bern, North Carolina, where her father died. Her mother remarried in 1767. Mary joined the Baptists in North Carolina when she was 23 and married James Thorne, but he died in 1762. After his death, she relocated with her mother to Philadelphia. New to the city, she sought a place of worship, found a Methodist service conducted by Joseph Pilmoor, which was more to her liking that the Baptist faith. 

Around the age of 30, she joined the Methodist church, against the wishes of her mother. Then her mother and her new husband retured to North Carolina cutting off all contact with Mary. Within two years of her conversion she had three classes and two Methodist bands meeting weekly under her tutelage. She was the first women class-leader of Philadelphia, having been appointed to lead a class of women by Pilmore, and she may have been the first woman in the American Colonies to hold the position. Class leaders in this era were spiritual laity, who were accountable for the pastoral needs of their class members.Mary supported herself by teaching and taking in sewing and visited hospitals tending to and praying for the sick and dying. Her devotion continued even after the British took over the Methodist Chapel, as she then held services in her home at the early part of the Revolutionary war.

Around this time, she met Captain Samuel Parker, a ship captain from England, who was entrusted with taking some of the injured soldiers back to Britain They were married on 12 February 1778 and she returned with him to England. Her husband served as a steward in London and she served as a class leader and later when they were living in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, they held the same positions. Parker died in England after 1813 and later, he and Parker's son moved to Philadelphia.

Read Part Six HERE

Methodist Women: Mary Bosanquet Fletcher P/4

                                                           Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on a Methodist Woman named Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, who lived from 1739 - 1815

Mary was born in September 1739. Her family were Anglicans of Huguenot descent. He father was lord of the manor in Leytonstone, as well as one of the chief merchants in London. She was introduced to Methodism about the age of seven when a Methodist servant girl began to discuss religion with her. However, the servant was dismissed when the parents objected.

Through her father, Mary was confirmed as an Anglican at St Paul's Cathedral at the age of 13. However, Mary's older sister then introduced her to a member of the London Foundery Society, a Mrs Lefevre. This furthered Mary's interest in Methodism, and she began to reject her luxurious lifestyle.

In 1757, Mary met Sarah Crosby, who at the time was a Methodist Class leader. Meeting Sarah was the final impetus behind Mary's conversion to Methodism. She then dedicated her life to the Church and charity, rejecting her wealth and becoming active in the Foundery Society. She began to visit Sarah Crosby and Sarah Ryan in the Moorfields to learn more about religion.

By 1760, tensions between Mary and her family had become pronounced and her family eventually asked her to leave. She moved into unfurnished accommodation in Hoxton Square where she soon settled in company with Sarah Ryan.

Mary had something of a change of heart over her wealth in 1763; she decided to accept it, but use it for charitable purposes. On 24 March 1763, Mary and Sarah Ryan moved to one of the family's properties, The Cedars, in Leytonston and turned it into an orphanage. Over time other Methodist women, including Sarah Crosby and Mary Clark, joined them in their work. 

Mary was not just the owner of the orphanage, but was in charge of much of its operation. She would plan and lead worship, administer the finances, teach the children, conduct weekly children's meetings, act as a supervisor for Methodist meetings and nurse the sick.

Mary and Sarah Crosby instituted nightly Scriptural readings and prayer, as there was no Methodist Society in Leytonstone. To improve the religious environment in the orphanage, the women asked John Wesley to supply them with a preacher. Wesley sent a Mr Murlin to preach, who evidently had success, as the orphanage soon became a Society. Mary and Sarah continued to hold their own religious services on Thursday nights and began to attract large crowds. So successul were they that The Cedars became a centre of Methodism in Leytonstone. Though some Methodist men began to express opposition toward Mary's and Sarah's activities, they were unable to stop them.

In 1768, the orphanage relocated to a farm named Cross Hall in Morley, Yorkshire where Mary continued to hold Methodist meetings at night. In the summer of 1771 she wrote to John Wesley, to defend their work, This is seen as the first full and true defence of women's preaching in Methodism. Marys argument was that women should be able to preach when they experienced an "extraordinary call," or when God asked them to. John Wesley accepted the idea and formally began to allow women to preach in Methodism in that year. Her preaching attracted, in fact, large numbers of people -  in September 1776 she addressed a crowd of 2,000 in Golcar. 

Mary married John Fletcher in 1781 and they moved to Madeley, Shropshire where she continued to hold Methodist meetings. Sadly, her husband passed away in 1785. However, Mary continued to preach and teach at Madeley and started to do so at the nearby villages of Coalbrookdale and Coalport.

She continued her work with the Wesleyan Methodis Connexion until shortly before she died in 1815.

Read Part Five HERE

Methodist Women: Sarah Crossby P/3

                                                                   Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on a Methodist Woman named Sarah Crossby. She lived from 1729 - 1804.

Sarah was born in Leeds. Like many of the women in early Methodism, she was drawn to religion early in life and seems to have come under the influence of a dissenting minister before hearing George Whitefiled preach and converting to Methodism.

In 1750 Sarah married and in 1752 she became a class leader for the first time. In 1757 her husband left her and Sarah moved to London - then the centre of Methodism in England. While in London Sarah came in contact with several women who were to become vastly influential in Methodism -becoming a kind of spiritual mother to them.Sarah Ryan was a member of her class, and she was also the spiritual advisor to Frances Mortimer Pawson and a young Mary Bosanquet, advising the latter in how to best deal with a father who disapproved of her growing involvement with Methodism.

In 1761 Sarah first experienced the call to preach when, while leading a class meeting in Derby, nearly 200 people showed up instead of the usual 30. Unsure about the propriety to speak to such a large crowd, but realising that she could not speak to each individual personally, Sarah recounts that she "gave out an hymn, and prayed, and told them part of what the Lord had done for myself, persuading them to flee from all sin." Afterwards she wrote John Wesley, asking for his advice and in a letter he wrote, "I think you have not gone too far. You could not well do lesss. I apprehend all you can do more is, when you meet again, to tell them simply, "You lay me under a great difficulty. The Methodists do not allow women preachers; neither do I take upon me any such character. But I will just plainly tell you what is in my heart..." I do not see that you have broken any law. Go on calmly and steadily. If you have time, you may read to them the Notes on any chapter before you speak a few words, or one of the most awakening sermons, as other women have done long ago." In so doing Wesley both maintained the conservative line against women's preaching, but tacidly acknowledged Sarah's "extraordinary call" and authorised her sharing of her "experience" in public.

Sarah continued to travel and preach over the rest of her long life. In fact in December 1777 she records that, in the course of the past year, she rode 960 miles, preached at 220 public meetings, 600 private meetings, written 116 spiritual letters of advice. 

Furthermore, Sarah was deeply involved with the most important community of Methodist women who gathered around Mary Bosanquet Fletcher at Cross Hall in Madely. At various times Sarah, Sarah Ryan, Mary Tooth, Ann Tripp, and Elizabeth Mortimer were all part of this community in Yorkshire that, among other things, operated an orphanage.

Towards the end of her life, Sarah moved back to her hometown in Leeds where she lived with Ann Tripp. She died October 24, 1804 at the age of 75.

Read Part Four HERE

Methodist Women: Selina Hastings P/2

                                                                   Read Part One HERE

In this post I will continue to focus on women in the Methodist Movement, this time looking at Selina Hastings. She lived from 1707 - 1791.

Selina was born in England, the daughter of Washington Shirley, Earl of Ferrars. She lived her young life among the aristocracy and at the age of 21 she was married to Theophilus Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon, Though she was raised to fear God, it wasn't until after the death of her four young children and her own severe illness that she began to see her need for a relationship with God and began to seek Him. Selina's conversion experience came at at time when revival was coming to England and from the beginning of her Christian walk she was ready to help the cause of Christ with her faitful witness, financial support, and influence.

Soon after her conversion, Selina developed friendships with both John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. Selina had power and influence and did not hesitate to use it for the good of revival. Being in her company opened many doors for these men, including opportunities to preach to the aristocracy and to gain fiancial backing for their work.

While her husband was a religious man, it doesnn't appear that he was a Christian. Yet, he never interfered with Selina's new found faith. However, it wasn't until her husband's untimely death in 1746 that Selina was able to give herself fully to the work of the Lord and turn her full attention toward revival. She spoke of revival to everyone she had contact with and her witness spread widely, especially among the nobility. Lady Huntingdon was held in high regard, even by the King himself.

Selina not only devoted herself, her time, and her influence to God, but she also used her incredible fortune to further the Lord's work. Her husband had left his vast fortune in her control and it is estimated that she gave many milions of pounds in her lifetime to furthering the spread of the Gospel. The Countess lived simply and sacrificially, selling her country homes, jewellery, and other trappings of the aristocracy, giving the proceeds of these sales to Christian work.

Lady Huntingdon humbly served the Lord by simply touching the lives of those with whom she came in contact with, giving of her time and her resources. Even at her death she thought of the welfare of others, bequeathing her entire estate to support Christian work. She gave herself to her Lord in both life and death. Her last words were, "My work is done; I have nothing to do but go to my Father."

Read Part Three HERE

Methodist Women: Susanna Wesley P/1

 

In this post I will begin to focus on Women in the Methodist Movement starting with Susanna Wesley, who lived from 1669 - 1742.

As a wife and a mother in a small 18th century English parish Susanna Wesley herself received little recognition for how she managed her household, raised and educated more than a dozen children and coped with an occasionally difficult clergy husband. Yet from her personal influence and loving home came a son who would experience a spiritual awakening and use that inspiration to start a ministry that would fill a void in the national spiritual life and also develop into a world wide church. Indeed, it might be said that the movement Methodism had its foundations in the home of Susanna Wesley.

Born on January 20, 1669, as the daughter of a London pastor and the youngest of 25 children, Susanna Annesley was quite familiar with both a clergyman's household and large families.

Susanna was eduated at home, with her lessons supplemented by the intellectual atmosphere of her father's many scholarly visitors. One of these was a young man, Samuel Wesley.

Samuel Wesley was ordained in the Anglican Church in 1689 and they were married soon after.

Following his ordination and marriage, Samuel served other parishes before 1696 when he came to Epworth, Lincolnshire, the church he would serve most of his life. Also during this time, Susanna had seven children in these years, three of who died.

Ten of Susanna's eventual nineteen children lived to maturity, making for a large family to raise and educate while she carried out all her other household responsibilities. 

The Wesleys had many challenges over the years, occasionally caused by some parishoners'opposition to Samuel as pastor.

To manage her large household and properly educate her children Susanna established a definite routine for her household and family, aiming to help each child learn, mature and develop Christian character. Her policy was "strength guided by kindness." She gave each child individual attention by purposely setting aside a regular time for each of them. Later John wrote his mother fondly remembering his special time with her.

In 1711 Samuel was attending a long church conference leaving his pulpit in charge of another minister, Mr Inman. However, he proved to be a poor choice.

Since there were no afternoon church services, Susanna began an evening family gathering where they sang psalms, prayed and Susanna read a short sermon from her husband's library.It began with the family and servants but soon word spread and other neighbours appeared, and soon there were too many for the parsonage. Susanna had written her husband of what she was doing. However, Mr Inman had complained to Samuel writing that such irregular services could cause criticism or even scandal for the church for the idea of a woman having any part in a worship service - even in her own home -, was unheard of. Samuel eventually told Susanna to discontinue the meetings but she declined since the meeting were a genuine and effective ministry to those who attended. The services continued.

After Samuel passed away in 1735, Susanna settled in a daughter's home. Not long thereafter, John and Charles were converted and were inspired to begin the preaching and outreach that would be part of their new ministry named "Methodism."In 1740 John moved Susanna into the centre of this new ministry in London. This large building held chapels, a school, a clinic and living quarters for John and other workers. Susanna would spend her final days among loving people involved in a new ministry with her other children nearby. Then as the end neared and with her family around her, she instructed them, "Children, as soon as I am released sing a psalm of praise to God." She passed away July 23, 1742.

Read Part Two HERE

Quaker Women: Joan Vokings P/5

  

Read Part Onre HERE

In this post I will focus on a Quaker Woman named Joan Vokins, who lived from 1630 - 1690.

Joan was born as Joan Bunce. Her father Thomas Buncr was a yeoman of harney Bassett in what was then Nerkshire. She married another local farmer, Richard Vokins. of West Challow and she joined the Quakers, She was an enthusiastic evangelist for the Quakers. She persuaded her family and then set about to preach.

In February 1860 she went to America, arriving in New York in May of that year. She visited Long Island, Rhode Island, Boston East and West Jersey, and Pennsylvania. On the return journey she went to the West Indian Islands, including Barbados, Antigua and Nevis. 

After she returned to England on 3 June 1681 she continued preaching in Kent. Five years later she travelled to Ireland. She was at the annual meeting in London in 1690, and died at Reading, on her way home, on 22 July. Her husband was not with her as he was in jail for their paying their taxes. 

Besides three sons one of wom predeceased her, she had three daughters.

Quaker Women: Margaret Fell P/4

 

                                                                       Read part One HERE

In this post I will focus on a woman named Margaret Fell, who lived from 1614 -  1702. 

Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox, a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, known popularly as "the mother of Quakerism", is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and missionaries.

Born Margaret Asket in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, she married Thomas Fell, a barrister in 1632, and became the lady of Swarthmoor Hall. Thomas became a judge and a member of Parliament, but disapproving of Oliver Cromwell's assumption of authority, he ceased to participate in government.

In 1652, Margaret heard the ministry of George Fox and was convinced. Over the next six years. Swarthmoor Hall became a cente of Quaker activity; she served as an unofficial secretary for the new movement, receiving and forwarding letters from roving missionaries, and occasionally sending admonitions to them from Fox, Richard Hubberthorne, James Nayler, and others. She wrote many epistles herself and collected and disbursed funds for those on missions. After her husband's death in 1658, she retained control of Swarthmoor Hall, which remained a meeting place and haven from persecution, even though it was sometimes, in the 1660's raided by government forces.

Because she was one of the few founding members of the Religious Society of Friends who was an established member of the gentry, she was frequently called upon to intercede in cases of persecution or arrest of leaders such as Fox. After the Stuart Restoration in 1660, she travelled from Lancashire to London to petition King Charles II and his parliament in 1660 and 1662 for freedom of conscience in religious matters. In her work " A Declaration and an Information from Us, the People called the Quakers, to the Present Governors, the King and Both Houses of Parliament, and All Whom It May Concern" published in 1660 she explains the principles of Quakerism and pleads for religious freedom. This work is regarded as the first public declarationof the peace testimony as it came some months before the declaration of January 1661. In it she says that Friends "bear our testimony against all strife, wars, and contention that come from the lusts that war in the members...." The declaration by George Fox and other prominent (male) Quakers was only subsequently made in Novermber of 1660. Although the structure and phraseology of these submissions were quite different, the import was similar that, although Friends wished to see the world changed, they would use persuasion rather than violence towards what they regarded as a "heavenly" (i.e. spiritual) end.

In 1664 Margaret Fell was arrested for failing to take an oath and for allowing Quaker Meetings to be held in her home. She defended herself by saying that "as long as the Lord blessed her with a home, she would worship Him in it." She spent six months in Lancaster Gaol, whereafter she was sentenced to life imprisonment and forfeiture of her property. She remained in prison until 1668, during which time she wrote religious pamphlets and epistles. Perhaps her most famous work is "Women's Speaking Justified," a Scripture-based argument for women's ministry, and one of the major texts on women's religious leadership in the 17th century.

Having been released by order of the King and council, she married George Fox in 1669. On returning to Lancashire after her marriage, she was again imprisoned for about a year in Lancaster for breaking the Conventicle  Act. Shortly after her release, George Fox departed on a religious mission to America, and he too was imprisoned again on his return in 1673. Margaret again travelled to London to intercede on his behalf, and he was eventually freed in 1675. After this, they spent a year together at Swarthmoor, collaborating on defending the recently created organizational structure of separate women's meetings for discipline against their anti-Fox opponents.

George Fox spent most of the rest of his life thereafter abroad or in London until his death in 1691, while Margaret Fell spent most of the rest of her life at Swarthmoor. Surviving both husbands by a number of years, she contimued to take an active part in the affairs of the Society, including the changes in the 1690's following legal tolerance of Quakers when she was well in her eighties. In the last decade of her life, she firmly opposed the effort of her fellow believers in Lancashire to maintain certain traditional Quaker standards of conduct (for example, in matters of dress). She died aged 88.

Read Part Five HERE

Quaker Women: Katherine and Sarah P/3

                                                                       Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on two Quaker Women named Katherine Evans and Sarah Cheevers. Not much is known about their early lives, but they were both Quaker missionaries by 1653. They did not yet know each other at that time

Katherine, who was born in appr. 1607, was married to John Evans. They had several children and lived in Inglesbatch near Bath, England. John Evans wasa Quaker minister.

Sarah, who was born in appr.1617, was married to Henry Cheevers and they too had a number of children. They were settled in Slaughterford, Wiltshire. 

In 1657 both women separately sensed that they should travel to Alexandria, Egypt. Upon their introduction through a London-based Quaker community, they decided to make their journeys together.

The transit from England to Turkey on their way to Eypt was difficult and slowed by multiple storms, so that the captain decided to go to Malta. Katherine and Sarah arrived there on 21 December 1658. At that time, Malta was a country under control of the RC Church, which strictly forbade women from preaching any religious message. When Katherine and Sarah began to distribute Quaker texts they drew attention from the Maltese Inquisitor. Arrested for preaching and distributing Quaker literature, they were put under house arrest with the English consul from December 1658 to April 1659. In 1659, under the orders of Cardinal Barberini, they were removed from their place of residence to a local prison. 

While in prison, they resisted repeated efforts to convert them to Catholicism and continued to write and preach about their religious beliefs despite bouts with illness, starvation/fasting, isolation, restraints, and continual interrogation. The women were intentionally treated as if they were insane, to discredit their ideas and activism. This resistance continued even after they were separated with the intention of breaking their resolve. Instead, it strengthened it.

During their incarceration many prominent Quaker leaders, including George Fox, attempted to intervene on their behalf, but this was unsuccessful except in one case. Quaker missionary Daniel Baker went to visit them and to offer himself up as a prisoner in exchange for their freedom, but this was denied. Instead he made efforts to deliver to England letters and works the women had written. These he only managed to obtain when they were thrown out of a window to him.

Katherine and Sarah were released in 1662. Not much is known of their subsequent lives.

Read Part Four HERE

Qaker Women: Elizabeth Hooton P/2

 

                                                                       Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on a Quaker Woman named Elizabeth Hooton, who lived from 1600 - 1672. She was the first of the Quaker women missionaries. She travelled several times to the New World and endured persecution well into her old age.

Not much is known of Elizabeth's early life. She was born Elizabeth Carrier in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire. She married Oliver Hooton and the two moved to Skegby, where they had several children. By 1646, when George Fox came to Skegby, she had become part of the local Baptist community. But her meeting with George Fox was to change her whole life.

Initially against the wishes of her husband, she began to organise meetings at her house where the remnants of her Baptist group could hear Fox's ministry. This group became known as the Children of Light.

It was the power of Hooton's words that persuaded Fox that God anointed women for ministry as well as men. Within a few years, she had become one of his itinerant preachers. In 1651, she was imprisoned in Derby for "reproving a priest," and in 1652 she was jailed for 16 months in York for preaching in a church at Rotherham.

She was literate and wrote letters to judges and other public officials. When in jail in Lincoln in 1654, she wrote a letter to the authorities there protesting conditions in the prison and calling for separation of the sexes and useful employment for the prisoners.

In 1661, at the age of sixty, Elizabeth made her first trip to New England with her friend Joan Brocksop. Quakers in New England were suffering severe persecution. Not long belore four Quakers had been hanged in Boston. Though the death penalty had since been revoked by King Charles II, other punishments had been devised for Quaker "blasphemers," of which the harshest was the "Cart and Tail Law" - those condemned were stripped to the waist, tied behind a cart and dragged from town to town, where they were whipped with the knotted rope....

Ships bringing Quakers to Massachusetts were threateded with steep fines, so Elizabeth and her friend Joan travelled via Virginia. Having reached Boston by small boat and overland, they attempted to visit Quakers imprisoned there, but were waylaid and taken before Governor Endicott. After they had been imprisoned for days without food, put in the stocks and beaten in three towns, they were taken out into the wilderness and left. The two women survived by following wolf tracks through the snow until they found a settlement.

Having made their way to Rhode Island and thence to Barbados, the two women returned to England. Once there, Elizabeth, petitioned the King to stop the persecution of Quakers in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Following him to where he played tennis, she refused to kneel in his presence, but walked beside him as an equal. She must have won the King's respect, because he gave her a document authorizing her to buy land in Massachusetts and use it to make a safe haven for Quakers in the colony.

Elizabeth returned to Massachusetts accompanied by her daughter. However, the royal seal on the letter proved no protection. Once again,she was repeatedly stripped, beaten and left in the wilderness by the authorities in Boston and Cambridge.

In 1666 Elizabeth returned to England. She clearly had no taste for a quiet life, though, as shortly after, she was imprisoned again in Lincoln for disturbing a congregation.

In 1672, George Fox planned a trip to Jamaica, his first and only voyage to the New World. Although Elizabeth was  now 71, she was determined to accompany him. Fox fell ill on the voyage and Elizabeth nursed him, probably ensuring his survival. However, withim one week of their arrival, she herself fell suddely ill and died the next day. Fox wrote of her death: "Elizabeth Hooton, a woman of great age, who had travelled much in Truth's service, and suffered much for it, departed this life. She was well the day before she died, and departed in peace, like a lamb, bearing Testimony to Truth at her departure."

P.S. George Fox was the founder of the Society of Friends or the Quaker Movement.

Read Part Three HERE

Quaker Women: Anne Hutchinson P/1

 

In this post I will focus on a Quaker Woman named Anne Hutchinson, who lived from 1591 - 1643. She was born in Lincolnshire, England. Her father, Francis Marbury, was a Puritan minister who insisted his daughter learn to read.

After her father's death, Anne married William Hutchinson in 1612 and began to work in Alford as a midwife and a herbalist. Around the same time, Anne started teaching Bible sessions in her home with other women.

The Hutchinsons became followers of Puritan minister John Cotton. 

The ascent of King Charles I in 1626 led to the persecution of certain Protestant sects by the Anglican Church of England. Puritans fled in large numbers. 

Cotton was questioned by the Court of High Commission over concerns that his preaching about church reform was causing dissent. Cotton immediately went into hiding and fled to Boston in 1633.

At the age of 43, Hutchinson and her family, which included 10 children, joined Cotton in Boston in 1634.

Her husband rose to prominence in Boston, becoming a magistrate, while Anne joined a group of women who treated illnesses and assisted in childbirth.

Anne began to hold meetings in her home. By 1636, she was holding two meetings a week with as many as 80 people attending. During these meetings she was providing commentary on recent sermons. These meetings became so popular that she began offering meetings for men as well, including the young governor of the colony, Henry Vane.

However, she was at some point forbidden to continue her meetings and was eventually proclaimed a heretic at a church trial when she was put out of her congregation. She and her family were then banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony. They then went to live in the Rhode Island territory.

After her husband's death, Anne and her children moved to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.

One afternoon in the summer of 1643, Anne's family was attacked by Native Americans. Sadly she died that day.

Read Part Two HERE

Women Of The Reformation: Catherine De Parthenay P/5

Read Part One HERE
 

In this post I will focus on a woman named Catherine De Parthenay. She lived from 1554 - 1631. Catherine was froma well-established Protestant family in Poitou. She was a wealthy heiress, whose second husband was Rene Vicomte de Rohan, with whom she had five children. One of these became Henri II, the future Duc de Rohan, who became the leader of the Huguenots after the death of Henry IV in 1610. She was a poet, a playwrigt and a mathematician.

Catherine was proud to belong to this noble family and brought up her children in the Protestant faith -  indeed, in Brittany her chateau was a stronghold of the Reformed faith.

At the time of the siege of La Rochelle, she remained with her daughter amongst other Protestants trapped within the city. She managed to survive, together with five thousand others, but was later locked up in the prison of Niort. As a result of the treaty of Ales in 1629 she was released and died in the Parc de Soubise in 1631.

Women of the Reformation: Jeanne d'Albret P/4

Read Part One HERE

 In this post I will focus on a woman named Jeanne d'Albret

Jeanne Albret is one of the better-known women of the French Reformation. She lived from 1528 A.D. - 1572 A.D. in Navarre, which is located between Spain and France

Jeanne was the daughter of Marguerite de Navarre, and the mother of the future king of France: Henry IV. 

Jeanne was strong-willed and stubborn from childhood, qualities which prepared her well to become an unflinching leader in the Huguenot wars. She is famous for the anecdotes surrounding her first marriage to the German Duke of Cleves. Bethrothed while still a child to him by King Francis, Jeanne seems to have taken it upon herself (after imploring the king to this face -an audacious act for anyone, let alone an eleven-year old girl) to write a formal statement, complete with witness signatures, declaring her unequivocal opposition to the upcoming wedding. She did this again as the wedding approached, and when the wedding day itself arrived, had to be literally carried down the aisle. The marriage was never consummated due to her youth, and was later annulled because of changing political currents. To have shown such resolve at eleven years old, in the face of mother, father, and even king, is remarkable to say the least! How would such a young woman carry herself as an adult?

The mature Jeanne took a very different approach to the Reformation than her mother, Marguerite de Navarre. Whereas Marguerite preferred to work discretely, through diplomacy and carefully-nuanced loyalties to both churches, and worked to reform the Roman Catholic Church from within while protecting persecuted reformers, Jeanne decided, after her parents' death, to convert publicly to Protestantism, and to fight openly for the Reformation. She had to face opposition at court, from her husband Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome, and from enemy armies as a major political leader of the Huguenots. 

Jeanne worked closely with men like Coligny and Conde during the Third Huguenot war, and even rallied the Huguenot troops in person. She instituted official Reformation policies in her own kingdom of  Navarre, and sponsored translations of the New Testament into her people's native Basque. When Philip II of Spain sent an ambassdor to pressure her at one point, Jeanne replied to him, "Although I am just a little Princess, God has given me the government of this country so I may rule it according to His Gospel and teach it His Laws. I rely on God, who is more powerful than the King of Spain."

Read Part Five HERE

Women Of The Reformation: Olympia Morata P/3

Read Part One HERE
 

In this post I will focus on a woman named Olympia Morata. She lived from 1526 A.D. - 1555 A.D. in Italy.

Olympia's father was a scholar, and brought her up so that by the age of 12, she was called as a companion and tutor to the young Anna d'Este of Ferrara, the future wife of Francois, Duc de Guise. During her time at the court of Ferrara, she was invited to lecture to the court in Greek and Latin! After leaving court to take care of her declining father, she fell out of favour with the Duke. It seems that is was during this time that these convictions, previously held more intellectually along with her broad philosophical and literary interests, now awakened in her a true and living faith in Jesus Christ, and marked a turning point in her life. 

It was also during this time that Andreas Grunthler, a Reformed German doctor, classically-trained and a lover of literature, sought her hand in marriage. They married around 1550. Life was not easy, as they travelled back to Germany where her husband hoped to find a position in a university. They met with persecution, were even imprisoned, and barely escaped with their lives before finally finding peace in Heidelberg. Her health suffered as a result, and when the Elector Palatine offered her the incredible position of lecturing at a university, she seemed to have turned it down. She died shortly thereafter.

Her short but faithful life, which included activities such as correspondence with Reformers Martin Luther, Philip Melanchton, John Calvin and Matthias Flacius, was well-summed up in her own words when she wrote: "There is no part of the world so distant that we would not be glad to live in it, if we could but serve God there with full liberty of conscience." 

Read Part Four HERE

Women Of The Reformation: Katharina Von Bora P/2

 Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on Katharina Von Bora. She is also known as Katherine Luther and lived from 1499 - 1552. 

Katharina was a nun who wrote to Martin Luther asking for his help in freeing her and some others nuns who have converted to his teachings from their convent. Luther sent a merchant, Leonard Kopp, who regularly delivered goods to the convent, and he smuggled the women out in empty herring barrels.

These women were then free to return home, marry, or do what they wished, but many of their families could not afford to take them back, and men were reluctant to marry former nuns. 

Luther found a place for all the women except Katharina, who he married in 1525. She instantly took over all the practical matters of the household, including the finances, planted gardens, brewed her own beer for sale, and helped Luther in the formulation of ideas. 

She also regularly contended with harsh criticism from Luther's enemies, who denounced the marriage of two former clerics who, according to Roman Catholic traditions, were supposed to have remained celibate. After Luther's death in 1546, Katharina struggled to maintain her home but was forced to flee during the Schmalkaldic War and died of an unknown disease in 1552.

Read Part Three HERE

Women of the Reformation: Katharina Von Zimmern P/1

 

In this post I will focus on a woman named Katharina Von Zimmern. She lived from 1478 A.D. - 1547 A.D. in Zurich, Switzerland.

Katharina had a difficult childhood and was eventually placed in a convent. She and her sisters were molested by priests and returned home. After a time, Katharina was returned to the convent for good, eventually becoming the imperial Abbess of Zurich. In this position, she controlled huge amounts of land, cash and people. But Katharina was exposed to the Reformed faith and and at some point converted. She invited Protestant ministers to teach the nuns Latin and to provide spiritual care. 

At the end of 1524, Katharina signed over the Abbey and all of its assets to the city of Zurich. This was personal conviction - peaceful but strong - that Rome was wrong and must be resisted. The transfer of property gave the city an advantage that was more than economic: it made Zurich an openly free and safe place for Protestants without the civit war that so many other places endured. Yet, it placed Katharina in a very vulnerable position as Rome's open enemy. However, God protected her, also providing her with a husband and a daughter. And Katharina's public leadership did not end there. Later, she served on the city council.

Read Part Two HERE

Early Christian Women Martyrs: Perpetua P/2

Read Part One HERE

In this post I will focus on a woman named Perpetua who lived from appr 181 A.D. - 203 A.D.in Carthage, Africa, which was then under the dominion of Rome and its emperor Severus.

Perpetua's mother was a Christian, but her father was a pagan who worshipped the Roman gods.

In this era, Christians were being persecuted in Roman Carthage and Africa. 

Perpetua was literate and well-educated. She married as a young woman and had a son.

In 203 she was moved to begin the process of converting to Christianity, despite its risks. Some time later she was baptised into the faith.  She was afterwards arrested together with two slaves Felicitas, who was pregnant at that time, and Revocatus. They, together with other imprisoned believers, were brought before the Roman governor of the region, Hilarianus, when they confessed their faith.

Conditions in the prison were dark, crowded and hot and the soldiers in charge often physically mistreated or negleted the prisoners. Perpetua was separated from her child upon her arrest and left him to the care of her mother and brother, who had so far escaped notice. After a pair of deacons bribed the prison guards, the Christians were moved to a better part of the prison and permitted visitors, including Perpetua's family.

When it came time for the Christians to go before the judge, Perpetua's father followed them, begging Perpetua to recant and begging the judge for mercy. Upon seeing this, the judge also tried to convince Perpetua to change her stance, but she refused and, like the others, was sentenced to death.

During their time in prison the slave girl Felicitas was heavily pregnant and concerned that she would be left behind when her friends were martyred as pregnant women could not be executed. She did, however, give birth a few days prior to the scheduled executions, and her daughter was taken in and adopted by a Christian woman in Carthage.

Perpetua and her fellow Christians began to impress the guards at the prison. Perpetua was recognised as the spiritual and emotional leader of the group. Eventually, the warden became a Christian himself due to Perpetua's influence.

On the day of the execution, Perpetua and the others were in good cheer and secure in their belief that they would soon receive a heavenly reward. Both Perpetua and Felicitas were attacked by a female cow, but they eventually died by the sword of a gladiator.

Early Christian Women Martyrs: Blandina P/1

 

Dear Everyone,

I will begin to post blog posts again. However, my focus will be different in that I plan to write on women who are known because of their function within the Church. The first woman we are going to look at is  a woman named Blandina.

From 112 A.D. - 313 A.D., Christianity was outlawed by the Roman Empire. This reality led to the fairly common experience of local persecution and martyrdoms of Christians who refused to renounce their faith.

Blandina was a Christian slave girl, who lived in Lyons, France, and served as a minister or deacon in the church. In 177 A.D. she was part of a small group of Christians, who were accused and consequently martyred. Her public tortures included scourging, a roasting chair and being gored by a bull as ordered by the Roman governor Pliny the Younger, who mentioned her position in the church in his letter to the Emperor Trajan.

 However, Blandina never gave up on her faith. Instead, her steadfast faith impressed the crowd who claimed never to have seen a woman bear such cruelties. Her boldness was for Christ and for the sake of others. She sought to encourage other believers, many of whom faced hideous torture and death. In her final words, she told her fellow prisoners: "Stand fast in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and be not offended by my sufferings." 

Read Part Two HERE

 

 

 

     Dear Everyone,

 

I am taking a break in July and Augut but will start posting again in September.

 Wishing everyone a good summer!! 

Loes

Abuser and victim are equally sinful: Sovereign Grace P/8

Read Part One HERE

In this blog post I will continue to focus on C.J.Mahaney, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He was formerly president of Sovereign Grace Ministries, now known as Sovereign Grace Churches. Their culture incorporates a strong emphasis on homeschooling, patriarchy and corporal punishment. A civil suit was filed in 2012, accusing Mahaney and other Sovereign Grace pastor of covering up sexual abuse of children.

Testimony of a survivor:

"My husband and I spent many years at our Sovereign Grace church. We homeschooled, got involved in a home group and created a nice little bubble for ourselves.We looked the part and believed what we were told to believe and even though we never fit the mold, we kept trying."

"The thing was, though, my husband had a porn addiction that was kept hidden (because a Godly wife doesn't reveal her husband's sins to the world, even to close friends). He would get caught, he would "repent" and humble himself, and I was to forgive him. A vicious pattern that would repeat itself over and over, and would set the stage for what was to come."

"It all came to a head when I discovered that my husband had been sexually abusing our ten-year old daughter. (One night I went into my daughter's room to kiss her goodnight after her father had gone downstairs to get on the computer, and I said to her, "You know honey, No one, not even me or daddy has the right to touch you in your private areas." She started crying and said that daddy had been doing just that every day for a long time, and making him touch her as well.) I confronted him. He begged me not to tell anyone. I said I had to protect our daughter, so I called our associate pastor  My husband ran out of the house, got into the car and drove off. The pastor came to the house and talked to our daughter. I was praised for not calling the police but contacting them first, for being a Godly example of a Christian wife. I did tell two of my close women friends, though, feeling the need for support."

"When I shared with the pastor that I told my friends about the situation, he was quite upset for me telling anyone, and reprimanded me for gossipping and I then had to meet with them and our care group to do damage control, to make sure no one would know what was really happening or had happened. My husband was told to move in with his mother."

"My daughter and I were brought in for counselling with the pastors, where she once again had to tell what had happened, and where she was told she needed to forgive her father, that she was a sinner too, and didn't she feel that she had sinnd by not telling me sooner, and we were made to feel that she had somehow sinned by allowing it to continue, even insinuating that may be she even wanted that attention a bit. She was ten years old!!"

"I was also told that I should not get ouside counselling for my daughter at all. According to the pastor it would expose her to ungodly counsel and do more harm than good, that God was the only counsel she needed. My husband got counselling for about four months from the pastors; it is the "trickle down" theory of taking care of the "head" and it will trickle down to the wife and kids."

"The pastors knew that so many people knew about what had happened that they were required by law to report it, so they told my husband that he needed to turn himself in instead of them doing it."

"After about two months, I was told that in order to be a truly Godly wife, I had to forgive my husband because my sins as a less than Godly wife had also contributed to my daughter's abuse. I was told that had I better met my husband's needs physically, he wouldn't have been tempted elsewhere. A meeting was held at the pastor's home, where my husband coud apologise for hurting her and ask her to forgive him. Again she was reminded by the pastors that she was a sinner too, and that Jesus had forgiven her, so she must forgive her father to be a good Christian."

"So I was told to allow my husband to move back home, and to make sure I had physical relations with him regularly. I was told as well to put a lock on my daughter's door, on the inside, and every night after I had kissed her goodnoght, she had to lock her door to keep her father out."

"He moved back and we resumed looking like a "normal" Sovereign Grace Ministries family, my husband was greatly praised for repenting and we were praised for reconciling."

"A year later we were told to be part of a church plant. However, I caught my husband looking at our daughter when she went to use the bathroom.I told the pastor. He said that sin was insidious and that I should expect my husband to have moments of weakness. I was wrong to warn my daughter because I was further damaging her relationship with her father and preventing it from being reconciled.At that moment I knew that not only was I and my child without protection from the church, but that I was truly alone and would just have to make the best of it. I could not rely on any more help from the pastors and it was up to me to protect my child as best as I could."

"For five years I struggled to be that protection for my daughter. She continued to lock her bedroom every night and I continued to always be alert to my husband's prowling at night. In the meantime, we maintained our facade as a healed and reconciled family The toll on my self-esteem, my self-respect and my family was huge. My marriage relationship was dead, but I was trapped inside it trying to be that "Godly wife."

"Finally, I just burned out. I just couldn't do it any longer. I couldn't pretend to love a man who had sexually assaulted my child every day for months."

"It was only with the strength and support of one friend that I was able to finally get the courage to divorce my husband and leave the church. It was a long two-year process, in which I was shunned and ostracised by the church body under instructions by the pastors for "abandoning my family" and beraking my marriage vows. I was told I couldn't leave the church because as long as my husband was a member, I was a member also. But I finally got my divorce and broke free, and maintained custody of my daughter."

"I have found a wonderful church that has helped me realise that the world and God are so much bigger than Sovereign Grace Ministries ever taught."

P.S. This is my last post on Sovereign Grace Ministries.

Abuse is part of God's Plan: Sovereign Grace P/7

Read Part One HERE

In this blog post I will continue to focus on C.J. Mahaney, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He was formerly president of Sovereign Grace Ministries, now known as Sovereign Grace Churches. Their culture incorporates a strong emphasis on homeschooling, patriarchy and corporal punishment. A civil suit was filed in 2012 accusing Mahaney and other Sovereign Grace pastors of covering up sexual abuse of children. 

Testimony of a survivor:

"I came to PDI (later SGM) when they were just getting into the subject of Christian counselling. Basically we were told there was no credence in rehashing the past because God was the God of the present. We would go to Celebrations, their annual mecca-life conference, and there would be time for all kinds of things. But there was never a time for anyone who had suffered abuse."

"In the twelve years I was in the ministry, I never asked for help in dealing with my abusive past. I was so afraid I would be judged as being self-pitying or not fully embracing the sovereignty of God. But then one day I made the tragic mistake of reaching out to a pastor of our previous SGM church and he told me something that chilled me to the bone. He said, "It is such a comfort to know that whatever happened to you was sovereignly ordained by God and was still better than you deserved."

"I was shocked, horrified, outraged, you name it. For the first time in my life, I challengd this sick doctrine vehemently, although I didn't attack him personally."

"After leaving SGM, I finally opened up to a very wise and godly woman who was able to show me the depth of distortion to the Father's heart of God presented to me by this pastor and by SGM in general."

Read Part Eight HERE

Pastors are above the law: Sovereign Grace P/6

 Read Part One HERE

 In this blog post I will continue to focus on C.J. Mahaney, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, Louiseville, Kentucky, USA. He was formerly president of Sovereign Grace Ministries, now known as Sovereign Grace Churches. Their culture incorporates a strong emphasis on homeschooling, patriarchy and corporal punishment. A civil suit was filed in 2012 accusing Mahaney and other Sovereign Grace pastors of covering up sexual abuse of children. 

 Testimony of a survivor:

"I was part of PDI-turned SGM for a long time, and there were too many abuses to recount in a post. In a nutshell, leadership puts up an appearance of humility, while being absolutely unwilling to look at very serious cult-like tendencies. Basically, everyone was expected to be cookie-cutter families: Everyone is to home school, only let their children court, support the same hyper-Calvinist doctrines etc. When my spouse and I decided not to home school, you would have thought we had decided to sell our children into prostitution. We came under so much scrutiny and "evaluation" as to our motives, we ended up doing it out of a sense of shame."

"I also took issue with the fact that the leadership in our church refused to report very serious cases of child abuse to local officials - even one case of molestation and another of incest. I have a very good friend whose husband confessed to a pastor he had sexually abused their daughter and other heinous acts. One of the pastors met with the couple one time and then told my friend later - when she asked when they would meet again - that he thought the situation was pretty much dealt with."

Not only is not reporting these abuses against the law, I think it was indicative of their arrogant presumption that they can effectively take on situations that were way over their head..... Their methodologies are so fraught with inconsistencies  and dangerous error, they have hamstrung themselves in their effectiveness. And as much as they uphold the efficacies of biblical accountability, if anyone outside their tight little leadership circles dare to challenge anything in the movement, they are anathema and shunned altogether.Although there were many good things about PDI -SGM and I have many fond memories, unfortunately the harm I suffered far outweighs the good. I was so sipwrecked after leaving, I still have a difficult time walking into a church or trusting anyone who calls himself a Christian."

Read Part Seven HERE