Tag: The Free Methodist

Free Methodism, Free Methodist Deaconess Order, Free Methodist General ConferencesLeave a comment

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

freemethodistfeminist

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

Clara Wetherald, Ida GageLeave a comment

Hear Our Voices and Respect Our Ministries: Wetherald and Gage’s Defense of Their Work

freemethodistfeminist

Clara Wetherald was a gifted preacher and evangelist conducting revivals from coast to coast and turning thousands to Christ under her ministry. Her brother Frank Miller was led to Christ through her ministry and noted the massive impact of her work in her obituary. Ida Gage was also a gifted evangelist who preached in both Ohio and Michigan and also traveled to Colorado to hold revivals. She was responsible for establishing numerous church plants across Ohio during the early years of the Ohio conference. Both Gage and Wetherald were exceptional women, and while female evangelists were not uncommon in nineteenth … Continue reading Hear Our Voices and Respect Our Ministries: Wetherald and Gage’s Defense of Their Work