Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee: Giving an Account of Her Call to Preach the Gospel

In Short

This spiritual autobiography follows an African American woman’s journey from childhood domestic servitude to becoming an authorized preacher within the African Methodist Episcopal tradition. The text charts her dramatic conversion, her intense struggle to obtain sanctification, and her tireless itinerant ministry across northern and western states. Facing systemic racial inequality, extreme weather, physical exhaustion, and persistent patriarchal opposition to female ministry, she persists on the trial circuit. The work endures as a groundbreaking document of early Black feminist theology, capturing both the raw emotional fervor of nineteenth-century revivalism and a Black woman's unshakeable assertion of her divine calling.

The Story

The account begins in Cape May, New Jersey, where the author is separated from her parents at age seven to work as a servant maid. Raised without religious instruction, her spiritual awakening commences after a childhood lie triggers a profound sense of sin and divine judgment. In 1804, while listening to a Presbyterian missionary preach from the Psalms on human corruption, she experiences intense conviction. This initial conviction plunges her into deep spiritual agony, leaving her exposed to despair and severe temptations to drown herself in a nearby brook.

Through continued prayer and guidance within the Methodist community, she transitions from deep despair to assurance of pardon, yet she senses an ongoing internal battle against human pride and self-will. Seeking full sanctification, she engages in months of intense prayer until a inner voice prompts her to ask specifically for the blessing. Instantly, she feels a transformative rush of grace that she describes as an ocean of light. Shortly after, she senses a clear divine call to preach the Gospel. When she shares this calling with church authorities, she encounters firm institutional resistance from male ministers who doubt the legitimacy of female preaching.

Despite official hesitation, her internal conviction remains unbroken. Following years of domestic life, marriage to a minister, and widowhood, her calling reignites with overwhelming force. She begins taking to the pulpit, securing appointments across circuits in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Her narrative details an grueling schedule: walking fourteen miles between appointments, traveling thousands of miles by foot, stagecoach, and steamboat, and preaching hundreds of sermons to audiences gathered in court houses, school houses, camp meetings, and private homes.

Throughout her travels, she encounters varied audiences of both Black and white listeners. She navigates severe winter storms, violent illness, financial scarcity, and persistent interference from male ministers who attempt to close church doors against her. In response to those who shut her out, she finds alternative spaces, speaking in private residences or securing permissions from sympathetic leaders of other denominations. Her ministry produces visible revivals, characterized by tears of contrition, public conversions, and reconciled backsliders.

The narrative closes with her reflectively assessing her decades of itinerant labor. Having covered vast distances and overcome institutional barriers without formal education, she defends her reliance on the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. She leaves her journal as a lasting testimony to inspire readers and reaffirm her divine commission to preach.

How It Unfolds

The early conviction Separated from her family at seven, a young servant girl tells a lie that triggers a severe awakening of her conscience. Listening to a Presbyterian sermon years later, she feels the profound weight of her sinful state and endures agonizing internal trials, including suicidal despair, before finding spiritual relief.

The call to preach After months of intense internal struggle, she receives the experience of sanctification, feeling swept into a state of divine joy. Soon after, she hears a distinct inner command to preach the Gospel, though church leaders initially resist the concept of a woman occupying the pulpit.

The labor on the circuit Following years of personal hardship and widowhood, she fully embraces her public ministry, embarking on extensive journeys across state lines. She walks long distances between towns, addressing large, attentive crowds in court houses, school buildings, and outdoor camp meetings.

The institutional resistance As her popularity grows, several male ministers attempt to block her access to established meeting houses due to prejudice against female preachers. Undeterred by their efforts to disaffect the congregations, she finds open doors in private homes and alternative meeting spaces provided by sympathetic community members.

The Western mission She expands her travels into the western territories, logging thousands of miles by stagecoach and steamboat despite severe physical illness and limited funds. Her meetings draw massive crowds of diverse denominations, resulting in widespread revivals and numerous conversions.

The lasting testimony Looking back over her extensive labors after age fifty, she acknowledges her lack of formal schooling and attributes her guidance entirely to the Holy Spirit. She concludes her journal with a confident defense of her calling, offering her narrative as an encouragement to future believers.

The People

• Jarena Lee: The author and narrator, an African American woman who overcomes childhood servitude, personal grief, and institutional opposition to fulfill her divine calling as an itinerant preacher. She desires to obey the Spirit and convert souls, facing strong opposition from skeptical male clergy, severe physical exhaustion, and harsh travel conditions, ultimately becoming an unshakeable voice in early AME history.
• James: Jarena's young son, who demonstrates early religious inclinations by giving out hymns with ministerial gestures, prompting his mother to dedicate him to God's service through prayer and faith.
• Brother Samuel R—: A Methodist circuit preacher who harbors strong prejudices against female preaching, actively attempting to disaffect congregations and shut church doors against Jarena's ministry.
• Rev. Mr. Cornish: A minister of Jarena's denomination who labors alongside her to spiritually counsel a dying, indifferent young man during his prolonged illness.
• Jane Hutt: An elderly colored sister in Christ who joins Jarena in persistent prayer and spiritual conversation to awaken the conscience of a sick young man.
• Elder Joseph Harper: An AME elder who acts as a supportive friend to Jarena, providing her with opportunities to speak despite opposition from local church leaders.
• Thomas Voris: A local preacher in Princeton who acts as a bitter adversary to Jarena's ministry, attempting to block her from holding meetings in the town's churches.

In Its Own Voice

"At this awful point, in my early history, the Spirit of God moved in power through my Conscience, and told me I was a wretched sinner."

When a childhood lie brings an immediate, overwhelming sense of guilt, her lifelong engagement with divine conviction begins.

"That very instant, as if lightning had darted through me, I sprang to my feet, and cried, 'The Lord has sanctified my soul!'"

Following months of intense prayer, she experiences an immediate, ecstatic breakthrough of sanctifying grace that fixes her spiritual path.

"The dear man has since gone to stand before that God who knows the secrets of all hearts—and where, I earnestly pray, he may find some who have been saved by grace through the instrumentality of female preaching."

Reflecting on an elder who strongly opposed her ministry, she responds to patriarchal doubt with quiet, persistent faith in the efficacy of her work.

What It's Really About

The central theme of the text is the supreme authority of personal divine calling over human hierarchy. Lee argues that the movement of the Holy Spirit cannot be restricted by gender, racial status, or formal institutional education. The narrative explores the deep psychological tension between feelings of unworthiness and the undeniable internal force of sanctifying grace.

Underneath her travel records lies a persistent challenge to nineteenth-century religious norms that sought to exclude women from public pulpit ministry. By framing her voice as an instrument directly wielded by God, Lee asserts her right to preach, equating her labors with those of biblical apostles. The book acts as both a spiritual guidebook and a quiet social critique, proving that genuine religious authority arises from divine empowerment rather than ecclesiastical sanction.

Why Read It Today

This narrative offers readers an intimate, unvarnished look into the life of a pioneering nineteenth-century Black woman who forged her own path through sheer spiritual conviction. Reading it feels like sitting beside a determined traveler who recounts every muddy road, crowded meeting house, and cold church rejection with straightforward clarity.

Modern readers should be prepared for the strong nineteenth-century evangelical vocabulary, marked by frequent scriptural quotes, hymn verses, and vivid descriptions of emotional spiritual crises. The text moves rapidly between geographic locations and sermon records without elaborate narrative flourishes, reflecting its origins as a working journal published to finance her ministry.

What remains with the reader is Lee's profound resilience. Her absolute refusal to allow institutional bias or physical hardship to derail her mission makes the text a vital historical document. It stands as a testament to self-determination, early Black feminist theology, and the power of an unyielding faith.

<ElicitationsGroup message="What would you like to do next?"> <Elicitation label="Explore early AME Church history" query="Explore the founding and early history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church" query_intent="CLICKABLE_SUGGESTION" /> </ElicitationsGroup> *An early nineteenth-century itinerant evangelist recounts her spiritual conversion, her fight against gendered hostility, and her thousands of miles traveled to deliver the Gospel.

In Short

This spiritual autobiography follows an African American woman’s journey from childhood domestic servitude to becoming an authorized preacher within the African Methodist Episcopal tradition. The text charts her dramatic conversion, her intense struggle to obtain sanctification, and her tireless itinerant ministry across northern and western states. Facing systemic racial inequality, extreme weather, physical exhaustion, and persistent patriarchal opposition to female ministry, she persists on the trial circuit. The work endures as a groundbreaking document of early Black feminist theology, capturing both the raw emotional fervor of nineteenth-century revivalism and a Black woman's unshakeable assertion of her divine calling.

The Story

The account begins in Cape May, New Jersey, where the author is separated from her parents at age seven to work as a servant maid. Raised without religious instruction, her spiritual awakening commences after a childhood lie triggers a profound sense of sin and divine judgment. In 1804, while listening to a Presbyterian missionary preach from the Psalms on human corruption, she experiences intense conviction. This initial conviction plunges her into deep spiritual agony, leaving her exposed to despair and severe temptations to drown herself in a nearby brook.

Through continued prayer and guidance within the Methodist community, she transitions from deep despair to assurance of pardon, yet she senses an ongoing internal battle against human pride and self-will. Seeking full sanctification, she engages in months of intense prayer until a inner voice prompts her to ask specifically for the blessing. Instantly, she feels a transformative rush of grace that she describes as an ocean of light. Shortly after, she senses a clear divine call to preach the Gospel. When she shares this calling with church authorities, she encounters firm institutional resistance from male ministers who doubt the legitimacy of female preaching.

Despite official hesitation, her internal conviction remains unbroken. Following years of domestic life, marriage to a minister, and widowhood, her calling reignites with overwhelming force. She begins taking to the pulpit, securing appointments across circuits in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Her narrative details an grueling schedule: walking fourteen miles between appointments, traveling thousands of miles by foot, stagecoach, and steamboat, and preaching hundreds of sermons to audiences gathered in court houses, school houses, camp meetings, and private homes.

Throughout her travels, she encounters varied audiences of both Black and white listeners. She navigates severe winter storms, violent illness, financial scarcity, and persistent interference from male ministers who attempt to close church doors against her. In response to those who shut her out, she finds alternative spaces, speaking in private residences or securing permissions from sympathetic leaders of other denominations. Her ministry produces visible revivals, characterized by tears of contrition, public conversions, and reconciled backsliders.

The narrative closes with her reflectively assessing her decades of itinerant labor. Having covered vast distances and overcome institutional barriers without formal education, she defends her reliance on the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. She leaves her journal as a lasting testimony to inspire readers and reaffirm her divine commission to preach.

How It Unfolds

The early conviction Separated from her family at seven, a young servant girl tells a lie that triggers a severe awakening of her conscience. Listening to a Presbyterian sermon years later, she feels the profound weight of her sinful state and endures agonizing internal trials, including suicidal despair, before finding spiritual relief.

The call to preach After months of intense internal struggle, she receives the experience of sanctification, feeling swept into a state of divine joy. Soon after, she hears a distinct inner command to preach the Gospel, though church leaders initially resist the concept of a woman occupying the pulpit.

The labor on the circuit Following years of personal hardship and widowhood, she fully embraces her public ministry, embarking on extensive journeys across state lines. She walks long distances between towns, addressing large, attentive crowds in court houses, school buildings, and outdoor camp meetings.

The institutional resistance As her popularity grows, several male ministers attempt to block her access to established meeting houses due to prejudice against female preachers. Undeterred by their efforts to disaffect the congregations, she finds open doors in private homes and alternative meeting spaces provided by sympathetic community members.

The Western mission She expands her travels into the western territories, logging thousands of miles by stagecoach and steamboat despite severe physical illness and limited funds. Her meetings draw massive crowds of diverse denominations, resulting in widespread revivals and numerous conversions.

The lasting testimony Looking back over her extensive labors after age fifty, she acknowledges her lack of formal schooling and attributes her guidance entirely to the Holy Spirit. She concludes her journal with a confident defense of her calling, offering her narrative as an encouragement to future believers.

The People

• Jarena Lee: The author and narrator, an African American woman who overcomes childhood servitude, personal grief, and institutional opposition to fulfill her divine calling as an itinerant preacher. She desires to obey the Spirit and convert souls, facing strong opposition from skeptical male clergy, severe physical exhaustion, and harsh travel conditions, ultimately becoming an unshakeable voice in early AME history.
• James: Jarena's young son, who demonstrates early religious inclinations by giving out hymns with ministerial gestures, prompting his mother to dedicate him to God's service through prayer and faith.
• Brother Samuel R—: A Methodist circuit preacher who harbors strong prejudices against female preaching, actively attempting to disaffect congregations and shut church doors against Jarena's ministry.
• Rev. Mr. Cornish: A minister of Jarena's denomination who labors alongside her to spiritually counsel a dying, indifferent young man during his prolonged illness.
• Jane Hutt: An elderly colored sister in Christ who joins Jarena in persistent prayer and spiritual conversation to awaken the conscience of a sick young man.
• Elder Joseph Harper: An AME elder who acts as a supportive friend to Jarena, providing her with opportunities to speak despite opposition from local church leaders.
• Thomas Voris: A local preacher in Princeton who acts as a bitter adversary to Jarena's ministry, attempting to block her from holding meetings in the town's churches.

In Its Own Voice

"At this awful point, in my early history, the Spirit of God moved in power through my Conscience, and told me I was a wretched sinner."

When a childhood lie brings an immediate, overwhelming sense of guilt, her lifelong engagement with divine conviction begins.

"That very instant, as if lightning had darted through me, I sprang to my feet, and cried, 'The Lord has sanctified my soul!'"

Following months of intense prayer, she experiences an immediate, ecstatic breakthrough of sanctifying grace that fixes her spiritual path.

"The dear man has since gone to stand before that God who knows the secrets of all hearts—and where, I earnestly pray, he may find some who have been saved by grace through the instrumentality of female preaching."

Reflecting on an elder who strongly opposed her ministry, she responds to patriarchal doubt with quiet, persistent faith in the efficacy of her work.

What It's Really About

The central theme of the text is the supreme authority of personal divine calling over human hierarchy. Lee argues that the movement of the Holy Spirit cannot be restricted by gender, racial status, or formal institutional education. The narrative explores the deep psychological tension between feelings of unworthiness and the undeniable internal force of sanctifying grace.

Underneath her travel records lies a persistent challenge to nineteenth-century religious norms that sought to exclude women from public pulpit ministry. By framing her voice as an instrument directly wielded by God, Lee asserts her right to preach, equating her labors with those of biblical apostles. The book acts as both a spiritual guidebook and a quiet social critique, proving that genuine religious authority arises from divine empowerment rather than ecclesiastical sanction.

Why Read It Today

This narrative offers readers an intimate, unvarnished look into the life of a pioneering nineteenth-century Black woman who forged her own path through sheer spiritual conviction. Reading it feels like sitting beside a determined traveler who recounts every muddy road, crowded meeting house, and cold church rejection with straightforward clarity.

Modern readers should be prepared for the strong nineteenth-century evangelical vocabulary, marked by frequent scriptural quotes, hymn verses, and vivid descriptions of emotional spiritual crises. The text moves rapidly between geographic locations and sermon records without elaborate narrative flourishes, reflecting its origins as a working journal published to finance her ministry.

What remains with the reader is Lee's profound resilience. Her absolute refusal to allow institutional bias or physical hardship to derail her mission makes the text a vital historical document. It stands as a testament to self-determination, early Black feminist theology, and the power of an unyielding faith.

<ElicitationsGroup message="What would you like to do next?"> <Elicitation label="Explore early AME Church history" query="Explore the founding and early history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church" query_intent="CLICKABLE_SUGGESTION" /> <Elicitation label="Analyze Jarena Lee's rhetorical style" query="Analyze Jarena Lee's rhetorical style and use of scripture" query_intent="CLICKABLE_SUGGESTION" /> <Elicitation label="Compare nineteenth-century female spiritual narratives" query="Compare Jarena Lee's journal with other 19th-century women's conversion narratives" query_intent="CLICKABLE_SUGGESTION" /> </ElicitationsGroup>