Jarena Lee overcame many struggles and much opposition to become the first black woman preacher in the United States.
Jarena was born into a free black family in New Jersey in 1783. She had little education and, aged seven, was sent away to be a maid to a white family. These were difficult times. Despite the pronouncement of the Declaration of Independence that ‘all men are created equal’ and have ‘rights’, prejudice persisted and, in the South, slavery continued.
Despite little religious teaching as a child, Jarena became burdened by a sense of sin. After moving to Philadelphia in 1804, she began to attend church, seeking forgiveness. She tried a white church and then, feeling out of place, went to an independent African-American church that had been started by Richard Allen after his own uncomfortable experiences of racism. Under his preaching Jarena came to faith and experienced forgiveness.
Soon Jarena had an experience in which she distinctly heard a voice say, ‘Go preach the gospel!’ She approached Pastor Allen only to be told that the denomination did not permit women to preach. He did, however, allow her to ‘exhort’ people and hold prayer meetings in private homes.
In 1811 Jarena married Joseph Lee, the pastor of a Methodist church, and moved to New Jersey. The fact that her husband disapproved of her desire to preach heightened a sense of frustration. After six years of marriage, her husband died, leaving Jarena with two young children. She returned to Philadelphia, where Allen had just created the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church; a denomination destined to play an important role in America. There was, however, still no permission for Jarena to preach.
In 1818 Jarena was at a service when, at the start of his sermon, the visiting preacher faltered and stopped. On impulse, she stood up and preached the sermon instead. Allen was present and, impressed by what he had heard, declared Jarena to be gifted by God. He granted her a licence to preach and from then on he became her ally, encouraging her to preach in churches and at conferences. As her preaching ministry grew and saw fruit, Jarena decided to become a full-time travelling preacher.
In thirty years of extraordinarily demanding ministry, Jarena travelled across New England, into Canada and even down into the South, where she risked being taken into slavery. She preached to everybody, ignoring race, social level or church background. She preached anywhere – churches, homes, barns and the open air – covering enormous distances on her own or with other preachers. In one year, she travelled around 2,800 miles, much of it on foot. Despite chronic poor health, Jarena often preached several times a day. Although none of her sermons have survived, we know from her autobiography what her topics and themes were. She preached for conversions but also, in a typically Methodist manner, for a holy life. She saw many conversions, some of them dramatic, and everywhere encouraged the building up of church fellowships. Aware of social injustice, Jarena became involved in the anti-slavery movement. Yet despite her years of labour and the fruit of her ministry, her denomination refused to ordain her.
In 1836 Jarena wrote The Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee. The first autobiography by any African-American woman, it proved to be very influential. However, in1852, the AME denomination ruled that women were forbidden to preach and should be removed from leadership. Whether this was a factor or not, Jarena died in 1860. In a notable, if delayed, act of contrition, the AME posthumously ordained Jarena in 2016.
Jarena Lee’s ministry was marked by powerful and effective preaching, and in her autobiography she reported experiences of conversions, some dramatic and emotional, that mirror those seen by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.
In thinking about Jarena Lee, let me point out three things.
First, Jarena had a compulsion to preach. Some people talk about Jarena’s hunger to preach as if she was motivated by nothing more than an ambition to achieve some sort of gender equality. The truth is otherwise: this was a woman who felt that God had called her and anointed her for preaching, and had the burning urge to exercise that gift. She was at one with Saint Paul when he wrote, ‘I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!’ (1 Corinthians 9:16 NIV). All the best preaching needs that God-given compulsion.
Second, Jarena showed courage in preaching. She boldly faced physical challenges as she travelled, often alone, through inhospitable country and even into areas where slavery continued. She showed another type of bravery in confronting social challenges. She was what we call today a ‘marginal figure’: an uneducated, poor black woman in a society dominated by well-educated, middle-class white men. Yet she stood up both for herself and for the gospel.
Finally, Jarena showed a commitment to preaching. She may not have had much in life, but she gave up what she had in order to be a preacher. Dependent entirely on gifts, burdened with ill health and often greeted with hostility and prejudice, she kept pressing on for the sake of the gospel.
Our world is very different from that of Jarena Lee. Yet the virtues she showed remain essential: a divine compulsion to preach the gospel, a courage to preach to a hostile world and a commitment to keep preaching come what may.
J.John
Reverend Canon
