Jarena Lee: the first woman to preach with Richard Allen’s blessing in the AME Church

In 1819, at Bethel Church in Philadelphia, a visiting preacher lost his way in the middle of a sermon. A woman in the congregation rose to her feet and began to speak, picking up his text and preaching with such force that the room fell silent. Her name was Jarena Lee. Years earlier, she had asked the church’s founder, Richard Allen, for permission to preach and had been told that the church did not allow women to do so. That day, Allen stood up and said he now believed she had been called.

Early life and the call

Jarena Lee was born in 1783 in Cape May, New Jersey, to a free Black family. At the age of seven she was sent to work as a servant some distance from her parents. As a young woman she struggled with despair before experiencing a deep conversion, which she later described in vivid detail. She joined the Methodist movement associated with Richard Allen.

Lee felt a strong call to preach. When she approached Allen, he explained that Methodist rules did not provide for women preachers, though he allowed women to hold prayer meetings.

The day at Bethel and her travels

She married Joseph Lee, a pastor, and moved with him to Snow Hill, near Philadelphia. After his death, she was left to raise their children. The 1819 incident changed her life. Allen publicly acknowledged her gift, and she began to preach and travel. Lee travelled thousands of miles, often on foot, preaching to Black and white audiences in many states. She faced opposition from those who objected to women preaching.

In 1836, she published The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee, one of the earliest autobiographies by an African American woman in the United States. She later published an expanded edition.

Abolition and legacy

Lee also supported the movement to end slavery and was involved in anti-slavery circles. Lee is remembered as a pioneer for women in ministry. The AME Church did not formally ordain women until much later, but her example inspired many. Richard Allen once told Jarena Lee there was no place in the rules for a woman preacher. A few years later, he was in the congregation when she proved the rules had missed something.