Over 200 years ago, a woman with a calling approached her pastor and asked for permission to proclaim the Gospel from his pulpit. To no one’s shock but hers, he refused. Reflecting on his rejection years later, Jarena Lee asked, “If the man may preach, because the Savior died for him, why not the woman? Seeing he died for her also. Is he not a whole Savior, instead of a half one?” That she had the audacity to make such an appeal so long ago is shocking enough. The fact that Jarena Lee was Black, makes the story even more compelling.
Born free in 1783
Mrs. Lee was born in New Jersey on February 11, 1783 to free Black parents. A bright girl, she taught herself to read and write, despite having to work as a live-in servant from the age of seven. As she grew, she became more devout and more convicted that she needed Christ. Because her parents had offered no religious instruction, she pursued Christianity on her own. As a young adult, she moved to Philadelphia and began to attend the church that would eventually deny her professed calling. She was baptized there and soon after she began to hear God telling her “Go preach the Gospel! Preach the Gospel; I will put words in your mouth.” Unfortunately, as her pastor’s response indicates, humans were less keen on her ministry than was the Divine. Indeed, the18th century offered few opportunities to a young Black woman, even if she had heard the voice God.
Married, Mama, & Minister
In 1811, Jarena got married, moved back to New Jersey with her husband, and started having babies–six altogether. By 1817, though, she was a widow with just two surviving children. Never having found the community in New Jersey she cherished back in Philadelphia, she went back there and to the church that had rejected her. One Sunday morning, she burst into spontaneous proclamation during a worship service led by a guest preacher. (Take a minute to picture the look on that guy’s face, mid-message as he was and a guest at that!) Well, the old preacher who had turned her away now promptly recognized her gift and acknowledged her calling. Just like that, Jarena Lee–make that Reverend Jarena Lee–became the first woman preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Committed to the Calling
Now, it would be so great if the story ended here with, “And she continued living out her vocation with the blessing of the whole Christian community. The End.” But, of course, it was not–it is never–that simple. Rev. Lee could not find a church to hire her so she became a volunteer traveling preacher, going from town to town, receiving only food and lodging, plus the occasional token cash gift for her services.
But Rev. Lee kept preaching. She kept living into what God called her to do. And she did that because, while she doubted herself in the earliest days, she never doubted God. God called her. She knew that. And so she answered.
Heroes and Sheroes
February is Black History Month–at least until we legitimately weave the richness of the Black story throughout the teaching of American History. It is also the month that Baptist Women in Ministry calls all churches to honor women in ministry. Jarena Lee’s story reminds us that this nation’s history, and the history of the Christian faith in the US, includes heroes whose names many of us have never heard. Even more importantly, it’s a reminder that, like Jarena, God has called me and you and every one of us. And God has created us with all we need to live out that call–no matter how crazy it sounds to anyone else.
*I learned about Rev. Lee from three different sources–so far. You can find the sources for this brief summary and lots more about her by clicking on the links below.
Jarena Lee – Wikipedia
Africans in America/Part 3/Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee (pbs.org)
Life Story: Jarena Lee – Women & the American Story (nyhistory.org)
