Read Part One HERE
In this post I will continue to focus on a woman named Jarena Lee. She lived from 1783 - 1855. In 1811, Jarena married Pastor Joseph Lee. However, her husband died in 1818. Jarena's desire to proclaim the word of God grew even stronger. This caused her to renew her advocay for women in ministry.
In 1819, during a worship service at Bethel Church, a guest preacher began struggling with his message and abruptly stopped preaching. As he stared into the congregation at a loss for words, Jerena sprang to her feet and began preaching, picking up where the minister had left off.
After her sermon, she was afraid that Bishop Allen would punish her for preaching without permission. On the contrary, he was so impressed by Jarena that he officially gave her authorisation to preach the gospel. He asserted that God had called her to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
She was granted permission first to preach on the itinerary circuit and then to hold prayer meetings in her home, both huge concessions to be given to a nineteenth century woman of any race. However, despite the bishop's blessings, Jarena faced hostility because she was black and a woman.
Read Part One Hundred And Thirty-One HERE
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