(first published in 2005)
The
Salvation Army in New York City recently celebrated the 125th
anniversary of the opening of the work in that great city. It was a quite a party, and gave witness to
the faithfulness of God in powerful ways.
But it raised again an issue that has troubled me for a number of
years: Why do we continue to refer to
the seven brave women who came with Railton as the “seven hallelujah
lassies”? OK, in a pinch it may be a
poetic phrase, but this is 2005, and whatever that word may have implied in
1880, my vivid imagination can only draw on my early childhood experience of
Lassie, the adorable collie who kept getting lost.
These
“lassies” are seven women who left their homes, their families, and everything
that was familiar to cross the ocean in hopes of spreading the gospel. They are seven women who have names. Except that it’s difficult to find them. Sixty minutes on the Internet could not
locate their names. They are unnamed in Soldier
Saint, a biography of George Scott Railton, who accompanied them to New
York, nor are they named in Red-Hot and Righteous, Diane Winston’s work
on the urban religion of The Salvation Army.
Edward McKinley names one in Marching to Glory, Emma Westbrook,
and describes the group as “stalwart women with great heart but little
ability”(15). Ouch! It finally took an e-mail
to the archives in London to find them.
So for the record, in recognition of their personhood, the women who
came to these shores in 1880 were Alice Coleman, Rachel Evans, Emma Elizabeth
Florence Morris, Elizabeth Pearson, Clara Price, Annie Shaw, and Emma Westbrook
It could be
presumed that the lack of naming of these women has been simply a historical
oversight, but if so, there have been too many historical oversights in the course
of the history of our faith, beginning with the Scriptures. Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11), the woman
who was a concubine (Judges 19), the woman at the well (John 4), the woman
taken in adultery (John 8), the woman with an issue of blood (Matthew 9), and
the woman in Simon’s house (Mark 14), are only a few of the many unnamed women
in the Bible.
Unnamed women are not confined
to the pages of history. There are
unnamed women in our contemporary world as well: the female babies aborted daily in China
simply because of their gender, the women being sold into prostitution and
sexual slavery, and yes, the prostitutes on the street corners and the women
who have been bumped off the welfare rolls in our own communities.
Yet these
women do have names. While they may not
have been considered noteworthy enough to be recorded in the Scripture, each
woman has a name. Even women who are
forced to abort their daughter give them a name. And sex slaves, prostitutes, and poor women
all have names as well. As such, their
names are known to the God of the universe, the shepherd who cares for his
sheep. As the chorus writer reminds us,
He cannot forget me, though trials
beset me,
Forever his
promise shall stand,
He cannot
forget me, though trials beset me,
My name’s
on the palm of his hand.
SASB
125
While I may not be able to change the
historical records of The Salvation Army, I can remember that George did not
come alone to the shores of the US, but was accompanied by Alice, Rachel, Emma,
Elizabeth, Clara, Annie and Emma. I can
honor the memory of the unnamed women in the Scriptures by telling their
stories. And I can respect my brothers
and sisters enough to speak their names, whether in the pew or the soup-line,
as those who are created in the image of God and held close to his heart. For the gift of a name bestows both identity
and regard upon another, and I can choose to live in such a way that the names
of God’s children are cherished and preserved.
O concubine of Ephraim,
No name is ever wholly forgotten.
Your mother’s lips brushed identity upon being.
A fragile vase, auctioned to the highest bidder,
Stripped naked of dignity.
Yet your name whispers gently.
I know you.
(see Judges 19)
Right you are. Today, women on some parts of the earth have little value--it was the same during the time of Christ and long before. It is the same for many even in this country, particularly women with abusive husbands. Every woman is a child of God, loved by Him regardless of her circumstances. He knows each of us by name, as you pointed out. And because we are His daughters, and He is the King of Kings, we are all princesses. I think a lot of men are going to be shocked in the final judgement...
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