We’ve all heard the names John and Charles Wesley, but there are a lot of other important names in the history of Methodism you may not know. The Unsung Heroes of Methodism series tells the stories of lesser-known figures whose lives and witness still impact The United Methodist Church today, even if their names aren’t familiar to us.
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The Methodist Episcopal Church (a precursor to The UMC) first began ordaining women as full elders in 1924, but women had a long history of preaching and taking on spiritual leadership in the Methodist movement long before. In fact, the first true women preachers emerged in the earliest days of Methodism under the leadership of John Wesley. One of these was Sarah Crosby.
The Foundery, the most popular Methodist chapel in its time, was where Sarah Crosby, the first Methodist woman to be approved to preach in the mid-18th century, was a member. Crosby was was a trailblazer and an inspiration.
Crosby was born in Leeds, England, in 1729. We know little about her life prior to her ministry. We don’t even know her maiden name, but we do know her marriage to a Mr. Crosby was not a happy one and he left her in 1757 for reasons unknown.[1] Crosby heard John Wesley preach for the first time in London in 1749 and converted soon after. She became a member of the Foundery, the most active Methodist society in England at the time, and began leading a class in 1752.[2]
In 1757, Crosby met Mary Bosanquet who would become her closest friend and later follow in her footsteps in preaching the gospel. Together, with a team of other Methodist women, they established an orphanage in Leytonstone called The Cedars that provided both children, and even adults with food, clothes, hygiene, medicine, and education. The orphanage was moved to Yorkshire in 1768 and then closed in 1782.[3]
At some point, Crosby claimed to have a vision of Jesus calling her to “Feed my sheep” and believed it meant she was supposed to become a preacher. At the time, neither the Anglican Church nor most of the other Protestant sects active in England allowed women to preach openly. Nevertheless, Crosby began preaching in Derby in 1761 where she established a new Methodist class.[4]
Though Crosby had never asked for permission to preach, she wrote to Wesley afterwards for advice. Wesley vacillated on the issue, neither wanting to attract controversy nor hinder what was clearly a fruitful ministry. He told Crosby to continue her work undaunted, but to avoid referring to herself as a preacher. Years later, Wesley gave a more open encouragement of Crosby’s activities and, in 1771, he officially endorsed the practice of women preaching openly, largely at the urging of Crosby and Bosanquet.[5]
That same year, Crosby became a true itinerant preacher by traveling the country to give sermons to hundreds in public. It’s said that she traveled thousands of miles over her lifetime. Her activities attracted opposition from some Anglican pastors who began denying both her and even Wesley access to their parishes. This did not seem to hamper Crosby at all who sometimes preached to crowds of over 500 people.[6]
Crosby ceased to travel in the 1780s due to health concerns, but continued to preach locally in Leeds while teaching classes. By now she had become an inspiration and mentor to other Methodist women who felt the same call to preach. Crosby died at the age of 75 in 1804 in Leeds. She is buried in the local parish churchyard along with two other women preachers: Sarah Ryan and Ann Tripp.[7]
Though it would be another century and half before the first women were recognized as fully ordained elders within the Methodist Episcopal Church, Crosby took the first bold step by preaching openly in public and establishing a model for early female leadership in the Methodist movement that would be followed by countless others.
This content was produced by UMC.org on January 17, 2024. Philip J. Brooks is a writer and content developer at United Methodist Communications. Contact him by email.
[1] Chilcote, Paul. “John Wesley and the Women Preachers of Early Methodism.” London: The Scarecrow Press Inc., 1991.
[2] Idem.
[3] Idem.
[4] Idem.
[5] Heitzenrater, Richard P. “Wesley and the People Called Methodists.” Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.
[6] Chilcote, Paul. “She offered them Christ : the legacy of women preachers in early Methodism.” Nashville : Abingdon Press, 1993.
[7] Chilcote, Paul. “John Wesley and the Women Preachers of Early Methodism.” London: The Scarecrow Press Inc., 1991.
