The first name that met my eye was \u201cThe Mother of the Salvation Army,\u201d Catherine Booth. This particular chapter focuses on how she overcame ill health and \u201ccalls back\u201d to us that we, too, can triumph in spite of our weaknesses. In his biography of his mother-in-law, Herbert Booth-Tucker writes about this:
\n\u201cScores of times she sallied from her sick-bed to face the eager, waiting crowds who hung upon her lips, and no sooner had she finished than she hurried back to it, utterly prostrated by the effort. Again and again she would be compelled, even while the meeting was in progress, to place the hymn-book in another\u2019s hand, rush into the vestry to relieve the nausea, which even her iron will could not restrain, and then return to deal with the penitents, who little dreamed the anguish that her labors cost.
\n\u201cIt was a life-long martyrdom, none the less heroic because self-inflicted and avoidable. There was no need for an inquisitor to stand with rack and faggot in one hand, and recantation paper in the other. Her weak body was its own inquisitor, but, overpowered, like her Master, with a sense of compassion for the shepherdless sheep, she would not surrender to its called. Her indomitable determination carried her along. Like the British soldiers at Waterloo, she knew not when she was defeated; she fought when she should have rested, advanced when she should have retreated, lived hen she should have died.\u201d (Illness, p. 9)
\nCatherine Booth is not infrequently quoted in other books written by Edwin and Lillian Harvey. And in Three in Love, Trudy Harvey Tait tells the story of the romance between Catherine and William Booth. She also relates the details regarding her last illness and death. This remarkable woman, without whom the Salvation Army would never have achieved what it did, was thrust into public ministry through a definite and particular call from God which, at first, seemed to spell martyrdom to her shy and retiring nature. Yet she knew she could not and must not disobey that call. And so, much against her will and always with the support and cooperation of her husband, she joined him in his public ministry. She is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable women the Church has produced\u2013sensitive, highly gifted, frail, and with an indomitable will, and most of all, wholly dedicated to Christ and to her role as wife and mother, not only of her eight children but of the Salvation Army itself.
\nCatherine has been termed \u201can early Christian Feminist.\u201d Whether this term is accurate or not depends on one\u2019s interpretation of the word \u2018feminist.\u2019 And whether you happen to agree with the whole topic of women\u2019s ministry or not, seems to irrelevant in the light of this brave woman\u2019s heroic life. And it is to William Booth\u2019s credit that he recognized her talent and intellect and was not afraid to share his ministry with one of the most incredible women who ever lived!<\/p>\n
<\/div><\/div>Continue reading...<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many of the books published by Harvey Christian Publishers are compilations; others are reprints; still others are the original writings of Edwin and Lillian Harvey. These books introduce us to many of God\u2019s saints, some well known, some lesser known. I thought it would be helpful to scan these books and see how many women […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[209,42],"tags":[231,234,235,236],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2184,"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1018\/revisions\/2184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harveycp.vitelline.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}