Covering the Body: Requiring a Deaconess Uniform

While the Free Methodist Deaconess Order was geninunely supported by most delegates at the 1907 Free Methodist General Conference, there was one point of contention– should the Free Methodist deaconess have a required uniform? Some Free Methodists worried a uniform would be perceived by the public as a pro-Catholic endorsement and seen as too similar to the habit worn by nuns. [i] Yet, supporters of a uniform argued that by requiring deaconesses to wear a specific outfit or certain colors, the public would be able to easily distinguish their mission and affiliation. Free Methodist Discussion on the Uniform Before the 1907 General … Continue reading Covering the Body: Requiring a Deaconess Uniform

The Shifting Rhetorical Narrative of Gender: 1894-1911 Part One

I’ve written a lot on this blog about the 1890 and 1894 Free Methodist General Conference debates on women’s ordination. (I even have transcripts here if you would like to read the debates). However, the discussion did not end in 1894. Despite the 1894 General Conference choosing not to ordain women as elders or even deacons, more women, not less, became evangelists over the next decade. In 1894 there were 48 licensed women evangelists in the Free Methodist Church, and by 1904 there were 307. However, the number of women evangelists appointed to a circuit did not significantly increase. In … Continue reading The Shifting Rhetorical Narrative of Gender: 1894-1911 Part One