Book Review: Methodist Women Tell Their Stories -- By: Ruby Renz
Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 17:1 (Winter 2003)
Article: Book Review: Methodist Women Tell Their Stories
Author: Ruby Renz
Book Review:
Methodist Women Tell Their Stories
Reviewed by Ruby Renz, who is pastor of assimilation at Grace Fellowship United Methodist Church, Katy, Texas.
Reading Her Own Story is like looking through an ancient, rusty trunk in your great-grandmother’s attic and finding, hidden under yellowing linens and fading daguerreotypes, the journals of a forgotten female relative. The journals make this unheard-of kinswoman come to life in such a way that you feel you know her intimately. She writes of her spiritual journey in all of its joy, splendor, pain, and frustration. Reading these newfound journals is like sitting at the feet of a wise female mentor, listening to her tell her life stories and the spiritual lessons she has learned from them. Now, expand the above scenario to include the journals, diaries, letters, and autobiographies of more than twenty women and you have Her Own Story. Paul Wesley Chilcote has been searching through many “attics,” and he has found a treasure trove of autobiographical literature written by Methodist women who lived from the early 1700s to the middle 1800s. Chilcote gives informative introductions to each woman’s writings, placing her in her historical context. There is an interesting, and sad, progression from the time when John Wesley ponders whether to allow female preachers, to his wholehearted support of them, to the time after his death when new, male leadership all but prohibits women preachers.
The depth of spiritual maturity, the intense desire to love and serve God, the joy of bringing multitudes to saving faith in Jesus by preaching and teaching, and the pain of being condemned by some of their male counterparts for boldly proclaiming the Word all come alive in the pages of this book. Listen to Sarah Colston, an active member of the Methodist Societies in Bristol, England, as she asks Charles Wesley to pray for her spiritual growth and service: “Dear Sir, pray for me that I may be faithful to improve my glorious talents every moment of my life and never rest till I am pure in heart” (p. 45).
Hear Englishwoman Dorothy Ripley’s determination to make a difference for God in the lives of American slaves: “I am a free woman by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ who sends me where and when he pleases and who has sent me here at this time to baptize my soul for the dead, . . . and to groan in secret for the poor Africans for whom my spirit is pressed this day…” (p. 144). Dorothy’s groaning “in secret” became very public when she met with President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to plead the cause of the enslaved Africans, and in 1806 addressed Congress, urging the members to abolish slavery.
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