Jarena Lee

Jarena Lee was born on February 11, 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey. At age seven she was sent away to become a house servant. In 1804 she experienced a spiritual awakening and was baptized around 1807. After several years of struggle, she felt called by God to preach, but women were not allowed to preach in the African Methodist Episcopal Church at that time. In 1811 she married Joseph Lee, the pastor of an AME church in Snow Hill, now Lawnside, New Jersey. Over the next several years she obtained permission from Bishop Richard Allen to hold prayer meetings and to speak briefly after sermons when invited by a pastor. In 1817 Bishop Allen finally gave her permission to preach. Her career as an evangelist lasted more than three decades and took her thousands of miles. In 1836 she published a journal that gives a detailed account of her career. According to local legend, she is buried in an unmarked grave behind the church.

Lawnside, New Jersey · United States