Jarena Lee Essays - Christianity, Jarena Lee, Anglican Saints

Jarena Lee Jarena Lee felt imbued with a religious mission in life, and because of this, she bravely 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 as whites to the Christian faith. 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 inspired by the preaching of the Reverend Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and became"gloriously" converted to God. Five years later, she experienced a religious sanctification of mind and spirit and was moved by a vision to preach. She went to see the Reverend Allen, who informed her that she could hold prayer meetings, but that his discipline did not call for women preachers. Later writing in her journal, she reflected on the decision, noting, "O how careful ought we to be, lest through our by-laws of church government and discipline, we bring into disrepute even the word of life. For as unseemly as it may appear now-a-days for a woman to preach, it should be remembered that nothing is impossible with God. And why should it be thought impossible, heterodox, or improper for a woman to preach? seeing the Savior died for the woman as well as for the man. If the man may preach, because the Savior died for him, why not the woman? seeing he died for her also. Did not Mary first preach the risen Savior, and is not the doctrine of the resurrection the very climax of Christianity--hangs not all our hope on this? Then did not Mary, a woman, preach the gospel? for she preached the resurrection of the crucified Son of God." In 1811, she married Joseph Lee, a pastor of a congregation in Snow Hill, a town six miles from Philadelphia. Feeling that she did not fit into the community, she became discontented the first year and told her husband she wanted them to move. But because he felt that his obligation as a minister came first, he refused. Jarena Lee's passionate but stifled desire to preach caused her morbid suffering and ill health. Tragedy beleaguered the family, and five members died within six years, on of whom was her husband. Two children survived, a two-year-old and a six-month-old baby. her suppressed calling to preach was miraculously released in the church of Reverend Allen, where she went to hear the Reverend Richard Williams give a sermon. In the same course of his preaching, she suddenly discerned that he had "lost the spirit". At that moment, she spang to her feet and gave a stirring exhortation, writing in her journal later, "God made manifest his power in a manner sufficient to show the world I was called to labor according to my ability. Immediately following her sermon, the Reverend Allen, now bishop of the African Episcopal Methodist Church, rose to sanction her right to preach. From that time on, Jarena Lee's life was dedicated to evangelizing, and as she did so, she challenged the prejudices against women as ministers of God. To tell others of her work, she had printed in Philadelphia a pamphlet of twenty-four pages entitled The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee, a Colored Lady, Giving an Account of Her Call to Preach the Gospel. She kept a journal while traveling which she combined with her autobiography, and this expanded version appeared in 1894 as Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee, Giving an Account of Her Call to Preach the Gospel. She sold her book at church meetings to meet expenses. One source has categorized it as a"narrative of her pilgrimage with exhortations to the

Assigned a new project Ask your boss these questions ASAP

Assigned a new project Ask your boss these questions ASAP If you’re committed to doing your very best at work each day and taking every opportunity to show your bosses and colleagues that you’re dedicated and serious about your job, then when you get assigned to a new project you know that it’s a great opportunity to show your stuff. You likely get excited by the possibility of hitting the ground running and will stop at nothing to ensure that every facet of the project is completely successful. If this sounds familiar, then you know that it usually takes a strong start for a project to finish strong. This means that you need to have a good handle on the core, fundamental aspects of the assignment. You’ll want to kickstart your work leaving no stone unturned and no question unanswered- because any lingering doubt or confusion at the beginning can fester, grow, and spread, and make a successful completion increasingly less likely.Although the nature of work projects can vary greatly, based on a wide range of facto rs (including industry, size, and scope, to name just a few), there are some basic questions that you should ask and have answered before getting things going. We suggest asking the following questions whenever you’re assigned to a new project to help ensure a successful result.â€Å"What are the goals of the project?†Of course, knowing a project’s goals is key to being successful. After all, we can’t congratulate ourselves for building a helicopter (though impressive) if the goal was to build a boat, can we? We need to know the purpose of the project and what it is expected to achieve before we can begin determining what a positive result even looks like. Whenever you get started on a project, make sure that whoever is in charge clearly communicates to you the goals of the project- it’s the logical starting point for the next step, which is determining how to make those goals an achievable reality.â€Å"What are the key target dates?†Anothe r crucial piece of any project puzzle is knowing the project timeline- this includes the final date for completion as well as all project milestones and deliverables along the way, especially the ones you’re responsible for. Once you know what is expected of you and when you’re expected to deliver results, you can plan accordingly.â€Å"What is my role in the project?†Getting clarity up front regarding your specific role for the project is crucial. When it comes time to deliver, you want to be sure that there are no surprises in terms of what’s expected of you. This becomes especially important for large projects with multiple stakeholders and deliverable windows.â€Å"Who are the other stakeholders involved in the project?†A crucial component for success on many projects- especially large ones with multiple components- is to make sure that everyone involved knows all of the other key project stakeholders, and to establish a regular and efficient f low of communication. When you’re getting started on a new project, always make sure you know all the players involved and how best to keep in contact with them.There you have it, a few crucial questions that you should get answers to when you’re beginning any new work project. Of course, you’ll likely have additional questions that are specific to the project you’re currently working on, but getting answers to these fundamental ones will help ensure that your project gets off on the right foot, stays on track, and is ultimately successful.