Woman in the Pulpit – CTS from the Archives
Throughout our 100th Anniversary year, we will highlight articles from CTS’ Institutional Historical Collection in our series “CTS from the Archives.” This story from the CTS Archives was written by Rev. Dr. Scott Seay and originally posted June 11, 2019 on Facebook.
Most Disciples of Christ know her name: Clara Celestia Hale Babcock (1850-1924). She was a pioneering preacher and one of the first women ordained in the Stone-Campbell Movement. But have you heard her voice?
Here’s an excerpt from one of the few articles she was able to get published. It is from the Christian Standard (4 June 1892), p. 12. Her article is entitled, “Woman in the Pulpit.”
“For many centuries, a mighty force has been silenced contrary to God’s plan. If woman, with her magnetic influence, her tender pleadings, as well as her great intuitive powers, had been heard from rostrum and pulpit, as well as pastoral oversight, in the centuries that are just past, the church would have been well-balanced with more consecrated men as well as women; all this according to natural laws and divine economy. It has been said, women are not physically endowed with strength to meet the demands of ministry. My pastor once said to me, “Well sister, you may be able to preach, and bring souls to obedience, but you will be obliged to turn the job over to us brethren.” I have fully demonstrated woman’s power, physically, as in over three years I have baptized all candidates presenting themselves. I have stood in ice water, and baptized many at once, in and out, any time the occasion demanded, mid-summer’s heat and winter’s cold, both in the baptistery and rivers. I have never taken cold or been hoarse in the work; am forty-three years old, the mother of six children, and every living relative of mine has been brought to faith and obedience. I have a happy home; each member is willing to sacrifice some, if need be, for the salvation of souls and the glory of God. By the encouragement of my family and the blessing of God, my labors have resulted in the conversion of over three hundred, and I am still determined to go forward preaching the Word…”
Photo courtesy of the Archives and Special Collections at Christian Theological Seminary.
