EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN EARLY 1800: PHOEBE WORRALL PALMER P/2

                                                                                    Read Part One HERE

In this post I will continue to focus on an Evangelical Woman named Phoebe Worrall Palmer. She lived from 1807 - 1874.

Phoebe was actually a reluctant preacher who never pursued official church ordination. She simply gave talks. As she obedeyed the Lord, she found herself pioneering alone in a man's world, and as a result, she encountered rude and bitter opposition.

At least, 25,000 people in the northeastern United States, in eastern Canada, and in England, were converted during her meetings that ran from a few days to several weeks.

In her book, "4 Years in the Old World," Phoebe records the events of an extended time of ministry that she and her husband spent in England. In the City of Newcastle, for instance, Phoebe says that the Lord was saving the people by scores daily. God was moving through her minstry in such a powerful manner that she remarks, "Now the entire community seems to acknowledge the revivals power." She notes, "The power of God is sensibly felt to be present to heal."

Despite the fruitfulness of her minstry, Phoebe endured considerable rejection and criticism because she was a woman functioning in public ministry. Perhaps her most vocal critic wrote "Are we so ignorant as to require a sister to travel from conference to conference to instruct us?"

Another male critic suggested that she would have been better engaged in washing dishes then in writing.

Phoebe was also a prolific writer. For example, in 1859 she published "The Promise of the Father," in which she laid out the Biblical case favouring women in ministry. Her influence was extensive, to say the least, and she inspired women leaders such as Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army.

In 1856, to accommodate Phoebe's popularity and to extend her influence, her husband purchased the top periodical of the day called The Guide to Holiness Magazine. 

Despite all of this, Phoebe Worrall Palmer was "written out of history" and was only recovered in the 1950s by a scholar's research.

Read Part Three HERE