Jarena Lee (February 11, 1783 – February 3, 1864) was the first woman preacher in the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

(AME). Born into a free Black family in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, Lee asked the founder of the AME church,

Richard Allen Richard, Rick, or Dick Allen may refer to: Artists *Dick Allen (poet) (1939–2017), American poet, literary critic and academic *Richard Allen (abstract artist) (1933–1999), British painter *James Moffat (author) (1922–1993), Canadian-Britis ...

, to be a preacher. Although Allen initially refused, after hearing her preach in 1819, Allen approved her preaching ministry.Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee
pbs.org A leader in the

Wesleyan-Holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with the holiness movement ...

, Lee preached the doctrine of

entire sanctification Within many Christian denomination, denominations of Christianity, Christian perfection is the theological concept of the process or the event of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is Divinization (Chris ...

as an itinerant pastor throughout the pulpits of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination. In 1836, Lee became the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

woman to publish an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

Early life

Jarena Lee was born on February 11, 1783, in

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...

, according to the details she published later in life in an autobiography. She recounts that she was born into a free black family, and that from the age of 7, she began to work as a live-in servant with a white family. Not much detail is known of her family or her early life. Lee later recalled that she did not receive religious instruction as a child. She was not formally educated, but taught herself to write. In 1804, Lee was first introduced to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

by a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

missionary.Giver-Johnston, Donna, 'Jarena Lee', ''Claiming the Call to Preach: Four Female Pioneers of Preaching in Nineteenth-Century America'' (New York, 2021; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 July 2021), , accessed 12 June 2023. In 1804, she moved from New Jersey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she continued in domestic service. While there, she was introduced to Christian teachings during religious revivals at Allen's church, and felt herself to be a "wretched sinner." Bishop Richard Allen's teachings inspired her to convert, but she continued to struggle in the male dominated church. She recounted that she struggled with

suicidal thoughts Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas or ruminations about the possibility of dying by suicide.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal i ...

and fantasized about drowning herself on at least several occasions. Through prayer, she finally felt justified and was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

. After three months of constant prayer, she felt that she had been fully

sanctified Sanctified may refer to: *Sanctification, the process of making holy Music Albums * ''Sanctified'' (album), by Morgana Lefay, 1995 *''Sanctified'', by the Rance Allen Group, 1975 Songs * "Sanctified" (song), by Rick Ross featuring Big Sean and ...

by the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

."American Religious History", ed. Amanda Porterfield, 2002, Blackwell Publishers, Malden, Massachusetts . In 1807, Lee began hearing voices telling her to "Go preach the Gospel! Preach the Gospel; I will put words in your mouth." Lee then told Richard Allen that God had spoken to her and commanded her to preach, but Allen said that there was no provision for women preachers in the Methodist Church.

Marriage

Jarena married Joseph Lee in 1811, seven years after joining Philadelphia's Mother Bethel. Joseph Lee was a pastor of the African American Society at Snow Hill, six miles from Philadelphia. Lee moved to Snow Hill with her husband, but knew no one there besides her husband. She found at Snow Hill that she did not find the same closeness that she had in Philadelphia. During their marriage her husband did not want her to preach, so she felt forced to put her spiritual needs on hold for her marriage. It is said that her not being fully committed to her spiritual needs resulted in Lee becoming ill and a sense of discontent. Joseph Lee died six years into their marriage, after having two children with his wife. Soon after Lee was fully devoted to religious concerns, but her ill health never recovered.

Call to preach

After her husband's death, Lee renewed her advocacy in the ministry. "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 half of one?" In 1817, she again requested her ecclesial license to preach, but Allen refused again. Two years later, during a Sunday service at the Mother Bethel the preacher seemed to lose spirit. Lee stepped up and began to preach, the crowd was very intrigued to what she had to say. Following this, Bishop Allen was so impressed with Lee that he publicly endorsed her. Though he could not issue her a license to preach, he endorsed her as an official traveling exhorter. Lee went on to preach throughout the United States, including in the South, where she risked

enslavement Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Religious belief became a source of self empowerment for Lee. In rebuttal to questions on a female ministry, she responded, "Did not

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

''first'' preach the risen Savior?".Harvey, Paul. (2011). Through the storm through the night: a history of African American Christianity. Landham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. p. 43. The idea that African Americans and women could preach was an element of the

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked a number of reform movements. Revivals were a k ...

, which reached its peak as Lee began her missionary work.
nyhistory.org Despite Richard Allen's blessing, Lee continued to face hostility to her ministry because she was black and a woman. She became a traveling minister, traveling thousands of miles on foot. In one year alone, she "travelled two thousand three hundred and twenty-five miles, and preached one hundred and seventy-eight sermons."

Late life and death

In 1836, Lee became the first Black woman to publish an autobiography, which she titled ''The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee.'' She published an extended version with a hired publisher in 1849, including 70 pages revealing names of those who had rejected the Spirit’s movement within her preaching. Much of the known information about Lee's life is from these sources. It is known as the first autobiography of a black woman, and was also pioneering in the theological genre. In 1852, the

officially ruled that women were not allowed to preach. Following this decision, Lee disappeared from the historical record. However, Dr. Frederick Knight identified her amongst the speakers at the 1853 American Anti-Slavery Society, American Anti-Slavery Society’s convention, at which she joined the Pennsylvania Female Anti-Slavery Society and supported the anti-colonization resolution. Lee's date of death is unclear. Archival research by Dr. Knight suggests that Jarena Lee died penniless in Philadelphia and was buried at Olive Cemetery. However, records of Mount Pisgah AME Church Cemetery indicate that she died in 1855 and was buried there. Other sources list her death in 1857.

Legacy

Lee is recognized as the first woman to preach in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Her life story exemplifies the 19th-century American religious movement's focus on personal

holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

and

sanctification Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

. She has been compared to influential African American women of her time, such as Maria W. Stewart and

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Bomefree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and Temperance movement, alcohol temperance. Truth was ...

. In the decades after Jarena Lee became a preacher, other women such as Juliann Jane Tillman gained prominence as evangelists within the AME Church. Jarena Lee was the subject of a research project at

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

entitled "The Resurrection of Jarena Lee." Womanist Biblical scholar

Nyasha Junior Nyasha Junior is an American biblical scholar. Her research focuses on the connections between religion, race, and gender within the Hebrew Bible. She holds a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary. She was associate professor at Temple Univers ...

is involved with this project. File:Jarena Lee (7222590302).jpg, National Park Service panel on Jarena Lee.

References

Bibliography

*
''Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee''
1849.

External links

Jarena Lee - Voices from the Gaps

pbs.org

Women and the American Story - Jarena Lee
* https://www.nyhistory.org/womens-history/education/curriculum/saving-washington/module-2-breaking-the-rules-women/life-stories/jarena-lee *https://daily.jstor.org/jarena-lee-the-first-woman-african-american-autobiographer/ *https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/pastorsandpreachers/jarena-lee.html *https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2012/02/jarena-lee {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jarena 1783 births Methodists from Pennsylvania 1864 deaths 19th-century American women writers American religious writers American women religious writers African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy Methodist circuit riders Women Protestant religious leaders 19th-century American Methodist ministers People from Cape May, New Jersey American women non-fiction writers 19th-century African-American writers 19th-century African-American women writers 19th-century American writers Writers from Cape May County, New Jersey