defied the conservative sex biases of the church to become, as she contended, the

"first female preacher of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church". As an

evangelist, Mrs. Lee sometimes traveled on foot to spread her religious message and

would walk as far as 16 miles to preach. When over forty years old, the unordained

minister logged 2,325 miles on the Gospel circuit. She preached up and down the

Eastern Shore and traveled into sections of Illinois and Ohio, converting blacks as well

Believed to have been born free in Cape May, New Jersey, February 11, 1783,

to parents who were "wholly ignorant of the knowledge of God," she left home at the

age of seven to work as a maid sixty miles away. Her first religious experience

occurred relatively late in life--in 1804 when she was twenty-one. Listening to a local

Protestant missionary who was holding services in a schoolroom, she became

overwhelmed by the "weight of my sins". Afterward, she contemplated committing

suicide and credited the "unseen arm of God" with preventing her.

After moving to Philadelphia, she was i

If the man may preach, because the Savior died for him, why not

From that time on, Jarena Lee's life was dedicated to evangelizing, and as she

the Reverend Allen, now bishop of the African Episcopal Methodist Church, rose to

spirit". At that moment, she spang to her feet and gave a stirring exhortation, writing in

Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and became

sanctification of mind and spirit and was moved by a vision to preach. She went to see

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 906
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)