Donna L. Fowler-Merchant, Mothers in Israel: Methodist Beginnings through the Eyes of Women

Abstract

Fowler-Merchant’s Mothers in Israel is a much-needed, careful, and exquisite analysis of Methodist women preachers during the eighteenth century. In quite appropriate fashion, John Wesley’s role takes a needed backseat, and women shine forth as the leaders, the voices, the mothers of this story.Chapter One begins as any true history of Methodism should, with the story of Susanna Wesley, mother of John, and arguably the original Methodist. Fowler-Merchant’s depiction of Susanna is poignant and presents us with a portrait of a quite independent woman, an attentive mother (even by twenty-first century standards), a person of deep faith in God, and the spiritual interlocutor of both John and Samuel. Chapter Two provides an overview of women during John Wesley’s time and in his movement of Methodists. This chapter is a much-needed synopsis and should be used in every Methodist History course. It establishes necessary background information such as the religious authority of women in the Church of England, women’s friendships in eighteenth-century British culture, the structure of early Methodism, and brief biographies of some of the women closest to John.Chapters Three through Five take a slightly different approach and they focus on the life of Mary Bosanquet (later Mary Fletcher) and her circle of women. Mary Bosanquet is presented as a devout person of God with a unique gift of the Spirit, which leads her to preach. She not only preaches, but she is the first person to defend a woman’s right to preach to John Wesley. Fowler-Merchant does an exceptional job laying out her influence on those around her (Sarah Ryan, Sarah Crosby, and Mary Tooth) and paints an intimate picture of the faith-driven, methodical, and selfless lives that these women led. She’s careful to nuance the changes in how their preaching was received, particularly by John Wesley himself.One of the greatest achievements of Fowler-Merchant’s work is how men are blended into the background, almost unnoticed. This is quite the feat when it comes to writing a history of religious authority in the eighteenth century. But she succeeds in constructing a story that solely focuses on women and their calls to ministry. Even when Mary Bosanquet marries John Fletcher (and changes her name to Mary Fletcher), the reader doesn’t notice much of a change to the narrative beyond the name change. Others who have written about this time and even this subject matter still make men the dominant characters, focusing on men debating women’s roles. Fowler-Merchant simply tells the complex story of these Mothers in Israel and Female Brethren who above all else sought to embody their call of God. I highly recommend this book for individual reading, small group study, and seminary-level classes. It speaks to a wide range of audiences and fills a much-needed gap in our Methodist history literature.