African Methodist Episcopal women preachers

"[1][3] A few years after her husband died, Lee reapplied to Allen, requesting to be able to exhort and hold prayer meetings.

For example, Zilpha Elaw was cited as a traveling preacher in Maryland and Harriet Felson Taylor in Washington, D.C. Rachel Evans, in New Jersey, was recorded as a "preacheress of no ordinary ability.

Leading bishop Daniel Payne addressed the threat of the organization, describing the woman as a "rope of sand" with no hope to last into the future.

[2][6] Following the Northern victory in the American Civil War, the AME Church gained members amongst the newly emancipated southern Blacks.

[4] She evangelized at camp meetings in the northeast and was sanctioned as an AME Church preacher after leading a revival in Brownstown, Pennsylvania, where she converted seventy-two people.

Other female preachers included Sarah A. Hughes, Margaret Wilson, Emily Calkins Stevens, and Lena Doolin Mason.

[2] At the 1884 General Conference, delegates sanctioned the licensing of women as lay preachers, though formal ordination was still prohibited.

[6] In 1888, the Church created the role of "deaconesses," a "quasi-ministerial" position with duties including ministering to the poor and sick.

[8] Women who pursued the ministry referenced a divine call to preach, and many attended a seminary in preparation for their careers.

[2] The General Conference of 1900 created the position of unordained deacons, opening a formal preaching role to women.

[6][7] It appears that Rebecca M. Glover, assistant pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first woman to be ordained following the new resolution.