Through journals, diaries and letters, this anthology brings to life more than 20 Methodist women who lived from the early 1700s to the middle 1800s. Instead of adhering to typical stereotypes, these women helped to make the Wesleyan Revival of the 18th century one of the most dynamic Christian movements in the church's history. FROM THE PREFACE: “One of the most painful aspects of the history of the church is that much of the memory of women—stories about the lives, faith, and ministry of women—has been lost. Women, who have always represented the vast majority of the Christian community down through the ages, have not been permitted to have a voice and thereby shape our memory. This is a tragedy, and it must be rectified for our Christian family ever to be truly healthy. And what is true of the larger Christian family in general is equally true of the spiritual descendants of the Wesleys. Methodist women have a story to share that has not been heard or well remembered; they must be allowed to tell their story, and tell it in their own voice....[L]istening to the voices of the women and knowing their stories is not simply a matter of adding an addendum to the historical report. When we truly take their lives seriously it changes our whole understanding of who we are and what we are called to become.” FROM THE INTRODUCTION: “[T]he early Methodist women's writings assembled here provide a new vantage point from which to view the exciting renewal of Christianity in the Wesleyan Revival. They reveal a way of devotion, a way of living our the Christian faith that conjoins personal piety and social action, conversion and growth in grace. They reflect an age of spiritual discovery with bursts of insight and stories that inspire and challenge.” KINGSWOOD BOOKS 2001 Includes select bibliography of original sources 6 x 9 inches, 301 pages
	PAUL WESLEY CHILCOTE is professor of historical theology and Wesleyan studies at Asbury Theological Seminary-Florida in Orlando.