I Lived To See The Day When

I Lived To See The Day When…

Rev. Olympia Brown is one of the unsung heroines of our country. It seems appropriate to tell her story as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day. Two things were vital to Olympia Brown—her calling to the Universalist ministry and her passion for women’s suffrage. She lived to see the day when both those dreams were realized.

As I read about her calling, I pondered my own calling to the ministry and how we are all called in one way or another. I received my initial call to the Unitarian Universalist ministry after attending the ordination of my church’s intern minister. Rev. Gordon McKeeman delivered the sermon about the biblical story of Jonah who ended up in the belly of a big fish because he tried to avoid his calling. The sermon pointed out how we are all called to serve in various capacities, even though we might resist that call at times. I realized that night that I could not turn away from my call any more than Jonah ultimately could refuse his. This morning I ask you to think about your own callings? What kind of service or vision calls you—whether in this church, in the community, at work or school, or in your family? Olympia Brown offers us an example of someone within our own tradition who lived out her calling and her religious principles. Our modern Unitarian Universalist principles such as the inherent worth and dignity of every person, the right of conscience, and the use of the democratic process were central to her ministry and life. Before I continue telling you about Olympia Brown, I invite you to think about the dreams and visions that are most dear to you. Let us pause to consider our individual dreams.

Olympia was born in the mid-west in 1835 in a small cabin on her parent’s farm. Her mother taught her children the basic religious values of Universalism, such as faith in a loving and merciful God who offered salvation to all. These religious teachings impacted Olympia throughout her life. Her mother also believed in something even more rare in those times—the equality of the sexes. She valued education for her three daughters as well as her son. Olympia’s aunt and uncle lived nearby and worked with the Underground Railroad as abolitionists. Olympia learned about the plight of the slaves very early in life by talking to some of the slaves who made their way to freedom.

It wasn’t easy to find a college that would accept women in the 19^th century. Finally, Olympia was accepted to Antioch College where she heard a female minister preach and began to pursue her own dream to enter the Universalist ministry. Numerous theological schools refused her application, replying, “the ministry is not an appropriate calling for women”. But Olympia was not one to give up. She became the first woman seminarian at St. Lawrence theological school. Though she excelled in divinity school, the professors and the president opposed her ordination. Against their wishes, she applied for ordination to the Northern Universalist Association. On June 25, 1863, she was ordained and is generally accepted as the first woman ordained in this country by a denomination.

Her next challenge was to actually receive a call from a congregation. She had fine-tuned her skills as a preacher, taking elocution lessons and learning to powerfully convey her message. A congregation in Massachusetts called her and she spent five years revitalizing that church.

She accepted an invitation to lecture on women’s suffrage across the wilderness state of Kansas. After that campaign, Susan B. Anthony and other well-known suffragists tried to convince her to abandon the Universalist ministry and devote herself to the ministry of women’s suffrage. Olympia refused, remaining a Universalist minister, devoted to her congregation. She must have been an incredible minister for she retained the support of her congregation while advocating and lecturing extensively for women’s rights.

Later, she served several other churches. She married a businessman, John Henry Willis and they had two children. Olympia could not carry out her vision alone. Her mother and husband helped with the children so that she could carry out her pastoral duties and volunteer her time to the Women’s Suffrage movement. At fifty-eight, tragedy struck her family. Her mother suffered a nervous breakdown and her husband died soon after that. She struggled with the loss of her husband, who had been her friend and staunchest supporter. She took care of her mother and assumed her husband’s printing and publishing business. Her faith sustained her through the sorrow and pain. Once her children were grown, she dedicated the rest of her life to women’s suffrage and equality. On November 2, 1920, she cast her first ballot. She was the only one of the early pioneers who survived to cast her vote. After women won the right to vote, she worked on equal rights and opposed militarism, working for peace till her death in 1926 at the age of ninety-one.

Dana Greene edited a book of Olympia’s sermons and lectures. She wrote that Olympia Brown is usually “…seen as a suffragist who happened to be a Universalist.” But the truth is that Universalism “…was central and pervasive” in her life.1 Her faith nourished her and gave her the strength to continue her work when others dropped out or the years rolled into decades. She held onto the lifeline of her faith when others sneered at her or her cause. Her religion buffered her when personal storm clouds rose. She persevered when everyone said that a woman should not go to college, attend divinity school, receive ordination, pastor a church, cross the wilderness of Kansas or numerous other things she did.

It is important to look at historical figures as whole people—not just idealized figures. Olympia Brown and other suffragists apparently did not consider solidarity with working class women and housewives. Women exploited in factories or businesses might have found common cause with the middle and upper class educated women. Classism divided their ranks as it often divides us still. In addition, Olympia also began to focus on women’s suffrage more exclusively because of her interactions with notable African American activists like Charles Langston and Frederick Douglass who emphasized the “Negro” vote. Olympia firmly believed that all citizens should be allowed to vote and receive an education, but her passion for women’s rights, often made her seem prejudiced and narrow minded. She was a product of her times and her experience. Her vision may be different than ours, 76 years after her death. Perhaps, some of her blind spots haunt us still.

I wonder whether women would ever have won the vote if dedicated women like Olympia Brown did not fight so hard for the cause. Would slavery have ended if abolitionists, and leaders like Sojourner Truth and Nat Turner had not spoken up? Would we ever have looked at racism and oppression in this country without the Civil Rights movement? In spite of legal strides, women often receive less pay and are overlooked for promotion today. People of color are still victims of racial profiling; hate crimes, disproportionate poverty and incarceration. How can a largely white, middle class association like ours resist complacency? How can we live out our religious principles and follow our calling? Olympia Brown offers us an example. She consistently plodded on. Her faith called her on.

What sustains you throughout long years of struggle to reach your visions? I started this sermon by telling you about my calling to our ministry. People like Olympia Brown sustain me through long nights reading for my interview with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. There are so many people who risked so much to realize their dreams. Often, we are the benefactors of their efforts. I hope that we can remember the steadfast dedication of people like Olympia Brown. May we kindle her fiery spirit in our hearts and make it our own as we approach another Independence Day. May your vision burn steadily before you and enable you to see the day when your own dreams are fulfilled. May it be so.

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