Amy Beatrice Carmichael (16 December 1867 – 18 January 1951) was an Irish

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in India who opened an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abu ...

and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for 55 years and wrote 35 books about her work as a missionary.

Early life

Amy Beatrice Carmichael was born in the small village of Millisle,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, in 1867, as the oldest of seven siblings. Her parents were David Carmichael, a miller, and his wife Catherine, both devout

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Amy attended Harrogate Ladies College for four years in her youth. Amy's father moved the family to Belfast when she was 16 years old, but he died two years later. In Belfast, the Carmichaels founded th
Welcome Evangelical Church
In the mid-1880s, Carmichael started a Sunday-morning class for the ‘Shawlies’ (mill girls who wore shawls instead of hats) in the church hall of Rosemary Street Presbyterian. This mission grew quickly to include several hundred attendees. At this time Amy saw an advertisement in ''The Christian'' for an iron hall that could be erected for £500 and would seat 500 people. Two donations, £500 from Miss Kate Mitchell and one plot of land from a mill owner, led to the erection of the first "Welcome Hall", on the corner of Cambrai Street and Heather Street in 1887. Amy continued at the Welcome until she received a call to work among the mill girls of Manchester in 1889, from which she moved on to overseas missionary work, despite suffering from

neuralgia Neuralgia (Greek ''neuron'', "nerve" + ''algos'', "pain") is pain in the distribution of one or more nerves, as in intercostal nerve, intercostal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and glossopharyngeal nerve, glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Classific ...

. At the Keswick Convention of 1887, she heard Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM), speak about missionary life; soon afterwards, she became convinced of her calling to missionary work. She applied to the China Inland Mission and lived in London at the training house for women, where she met author and missionary to China Mary Geraldine Guinness, who encouraged her to pursue missionary work. Carmichael was ready to sail for Asia, but it was determined that her health made her unfit for the work. She postponed her missionary career with the CIM and decided later to join the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

Work in India

Initially Carmichael traveled to Japan, staying for fifteen months, but returned home for health reasons. After a brief period of service in Ceylon (

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

), she went to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India, for her health, where she chose to stay to continue her work as a missionary. She was commissioned by the

Church of England Zenana Mission The Church of England Zenana Missionary Society (CEZMS; founded 1880), also known as the Church of England Zenana Mission, was a British Anglican missionary society established to spread Christianity in India. It would later expand its Christian mis ...

. Carmichael's most notable work was with girls and young women, some of whom were saved from customs that amounted to

forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appea ...

(i.e., Devadasi) Carmichael founded the Dohnavur Fellowship in 1901 to continue her work, as she later wrote in ''The Gold Cord'' (1932). Dohnavur is situated in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

, thirty miles from India's southern tip. The name derives from Count Dohna, who initially funded German missionaries at the site in the early 19th century, on which the Rev. Thomas Walker then established a school. Carmichael's fellowship transformed Dohnavur into a sanctuary for over one thousand children. Carmichael often said that her ministry of rescuing temple children started with a girl named Preena. Having become a temple servant against her wishes, Preena managed to escape. Amy Carmichael provided her shelter and withstood the threats of those who insisted that the girl be returned either to the temple directly to continue her sexual assignments, or to her family for a more indirect return to the temple. The number of such incidents soon grew, thus beginning Amy Carmichael's new ministry. In an attempt to respect Indian culture, members of the Dohnavur organization wore Indian dress and gave the rescued children Indian names. Carmichael herself dressed in Indian clothes and dyed her skin with dark coffee. While serving in India, Carmichael received a letter from a young lady who was considering life as a missionary, asking, "What is missionary life like?" Carmichael wrote back, "Missionary life is simply a chance to die." In 1912, money and workers were available that helped fund a hospital at Dohnavur. By 1913, the Dohnavur Fellowship was serving 130 girls. In 1918, Dohnavur added a home for young boys, many born to the former temple prostitutes. Meanwhile, in 1916 Carmichael formed a Protestant religious order called Sisters of the Common Life.

Final days and legacy

In 1931, a fall severely injured Carmichael, and she remained bedridden for much of her final two decades. However, she continued writing, publishing 16 additional books (including ''His Thoughts Said . . . His Father Said'' (1951), ''If'' (1953), ''Edges of His Ways'' (1955) and ''God's Missionary'' (1957)), as well as revising others she had previously published. Biographers differ on the number of her published works, which may have reached 35 or as many as six dozen, although only a few remain in print today. Carmichael died in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

in 1951 at the age of 83. She asked that no stone be put over her grave at Dohnavur. Other Christian missionaries have cited her as an influence.

outlawed temple prostitution in 1948. However, the Dohnavur Fellowship continues, now supporting approximately 500 people on 400 acres with 16 nurseries and a hospital. The foundation is now run by Indians under the jurisdiction of the C.S.I. Tirunelveli Diocese, founded in 1896. Changed policies acknowledging Indian law require that all children born in or brought to Dohnavur be sent out for education in the 6th grade. Furthermore, since 1982, infant boys have been adopted out rather than remaining in the community. Amy is remembered in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

with a commemoration on

18 January Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail. *1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chi ...

. Carmichael College in Morayfield, Moreton Bay Region,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia is named after her.

Selected works

* '' From Sunrise Land: Letters from Japan'', Marshall (1895) * From fight (1901) * Raisins (1901) *
Things as they are; mission work in southern India
', London: Morgan and Scott (1905) * Overweights of Joy (1906) * Beginning of a Story (1908) *
Lotus Buds
', London: Morgan and Scott (1912) * Continuation of a Story (1914) *
Walker of Tinnevelly
', London: Morgan & Scott (1916) (biography of Thomas Walker) * NorScrip (1922) *
Ragland, pioneer
', Madras: S.P.C.K. Depository (1922) (biography of Thomas Gajetan Ragland) * Made in the Pans (1917) * Ponnammal: Her Story (1918) * From the Forest (1920) * Dohnavur Songs (1921) * Tables in the Wilderness (1923) * The Valley of Vision (1924) * ''Mimosa: A True Story'' (1924), CLC Publications (September 2005) * Raj (1926) * The Widow of the Jewels (1928) * Meal in a Barrel (1929) * ''Gold Cord'' (1932), Christian Literature Crusade (June 1957) * ''Rose from Brier'' (1933), Christian Literature Crusade (June 1972) * ''Ploughed Under: The Story of a Little Lover'', Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) (1934) * Gold by Moonlight (1935) * Towards Jerusalem (1936) * Windows (1937) * ''If'' (1938), Christian Literature Crusade (June 1999
If...
* Figures of the True (1938) * Pools and the Valley of Vision (1938) * ''Kohila: The Shaping of an Indian Nurse'' (1939), CLC Publications (July 2002) * His Thoughts Said...His Father Said (1941) * ''Though the Mountains Shake'', Madras: Diocesan Press (1943) * Before the Door Shuts (1948) * This One Thing (1950) * ''Edges of His Ways'', Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade (1955
Edges of His ways : selections for daily reading
*Wings (with

Florence Margaret Spencer Palmer Florence Margaret Spencer Palmer (July 27, 1900 – March 29, 1987) was a British composer who wrote several hymns and a piano pedagogy textbook. She published some of her works under the name Peggy Spencer Palmer. Spencer Palmer was the youngest ...

; 1960) * ''Thou Givest, They Gather''
Thou givest-- they gather
CLC Publications (June 1970) * ''Candles in the Dark'', Christian Literature Crusade (June 1982) * ''Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael'', Christian Literature Crusade (August 1999) * ''Whispers of His Power'', CLC Publications (June 1993
Whispers of His power
*''That Way and No Other'', Plough Publishing (January 2020) https://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/discipleship/that-way-and-no-other

References

External links