MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

March 2024 New York, NY...  It has often been stated that the African American story should not be confined to 28 days (or 29 days in a leap year) in February, the designated Black History Month.  the same is true -- and perhaps even more so --- of March being officially designated as Women’s History Month. Women deserve to be celebrated, honored, exalted 24/7, 365 days of the year and a special tribute is due and owing particularly to the Women of Zion.

In July 2022, the Star of Zion began a series entitled “Clergywomen in Zion,” in which female clergy were asked to write about their ministries and to share their thoughts and experiences as female clergy. One of the first submissions (October 2022) entitled “And Yet She Persisted,” was written by the Reverend Audrey Akins Williamson, Th, M.; The Rev. Nina M. Neely Minister for Christian Education, Mother a.m.e. Zion Church.  In her article, Rev. Williamson talked about her visit to the Smithsonian Museum of African American History. “As I made my way through the many floors of the cultural section, I was, of course, interested in the most compelling aspect of how each religious body would be highlighted.  I found it interesting and refreshing that as I approached the AME Zion offering, it was the uplifting of women’s ordination that was emphasized.”

Jarena Lee (February 11, 1783 – February 3, 1864), the first woman preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), was once denied the right to preach by Bishop Richard Allen. After hearing her stand before people in a prayer meeting, Bishop Allen relented and accepted that she was indeed called by God in 1817; however, it was nearly 200 years later that she was “ordained” posthumously in 2016.

The museum gave space to the Reverend Mary J. Small, who, in 1898, was the first woman to receive Elders' orders in Methodism.

The Reverend Mary Julia Small was born on October 20, 1850, in Murphy's Boro, Tennessee. Very little is known of her early life, but records indicate that in 1873, she married John Bryan Small, who later became a prominent, beloved, and respected Bishop in the A.M.E. Zion Church.  Mary J. Small was licensed as an evangelist and missionary and, in 1898, was elected and ordained an Elder in the church.   Bettye Collier-Thomas, in her book Daughters of Thunder, states, “Her elevation to this status precipitated a bitter debate among male clergy, many of whom questioned the propriety of granting such a status to a woman.”  Following the death of her husband in 1905, there is little information on Rev. Small’s ministry, and it appears the bitterness and resentment of her ordination deemed her unworthy of appointment by the denomination.

Julia Foote was born on May 21, 1823, in Schenectady, New York, and moved to Boston in 1839 following her marriage to George Foote.  In her autobiography, A Brand Plucked from the Fire: An Autobiographical Sketch, Julia Foote placed great emphasis on her commitment to religion.  She shed light on the discrimination that African American people face in the United States and the prejudices against women that exist. She used her religious voice and impact to spread far-reaching messages about these major societal issues. She felt that if women read, heard, and grasped the power of the gospel, they would be free from prejudices and discrimination, and she actively sought for women to be able to preach in churches. Julia preached across the United States and Canada for over 50 years. She brought along other women and spoke about the issues that African Americans face in society. She discussed their spirituality and argued that people should strive to achieve Holiness. She also stressed slavery’s impact on African American families, the financial hardships that African Americans faced, and the evils of lynching. Church leaders Bishop Alexander Walters, Cicero R. Harris, and William Davenport wrote about Julia’s great influence on the Holiness movement. She was a dearly beloved evangelist, mentor, and friend. She was the first woman ordained as a deacon in the A.M.E. Zion Church in 1894 and the second to be ordained as an elder in 1899.  Julia Foote was living with Bishop Walters’s family when she died in November 1901. She was buried at Cypress Hill Cemetery (New York).  Her grave, previously unmarked, was identified, and a headstone was placed by the Mother Church of our denomination in 2016.

Jerena Lee, Mary Julia Small, and Julia Foote were early pioneers in Zion Methodism.  The story of Zion marks the many accomplishments and history-making appointments and elections within the A.M.E. Zion Church.  Most notably, the Reverend Florence Spearing Randolph was appointed to pastor several churches in the denomination, including Wallace Chapel Church in Summit, New Jersey, where she served for over 20 years.  And most historic is the election and consecration of Mildred Bonnie Hines, the 98^th Bishop in line of succession in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Class of 2008.

From Mary to Sojourner to Harriet to Michelle, Kamala, and Ketanji, women have played an integral part in virtually every aspect of society, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Black Church.  Zion is blessed to have been surrounded by strong, capable, and beautiful women – past, present, and future.  In her article, Rev. Williamson summed it up nicely and precisely: “These bold women, called by God created and paved a road less traveled for Women in Zion, and it is this backdrop and rich, courageous history that Clergy Women in Zion stand today.”

A special thanks is extended to all contributors to the Clergywomen in Zion series: Rev. Denise Davenport, Pastor Caldwell A.M.E. Zion Church, Bronx, NY (Sept. 2022); Rev. Nicolle Jean-Simon Harris, Pastor Duryee Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Schenectady, NY. (Dec. 2022); Rev. Robin Woods-Barrant, Pastor John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church, North Attleboro, MA (Sept. 2023).