Mary L. Moreland (December 23, 1859 – March 17, 1918) was an
American Congregational minister as well as a teacher and a writer. Among her publications can be counted ''Which, Right or Wrong?'' (1883) and ''The School on the Hill, Or, The New England Assembly'' (1885).
Moreland received her education in academies of
Massachusetts and
New Hampshire, followed later by a
Chautauqua normal course. After coming west, she took several short courses at the
Moody Bible Institute in
Chicago, and received a degree at the
Illinois Wesleyan University in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
. Prior to her ordination, Moreland had been a teacher, lecturer for the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), and an evangelist. It was while she was engaged as an evangelist in
Illinois that the members of First Congregational Church of
Wyanet, Illinois
Wyanet is a village in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 886 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Wyanet's history dates back to 1821; it was officially plated in 1854 and ...
invited her to become their pastor. She was ordained at Wyanet, July 19, 1889, and held the pastorate there for seven years. This was followed by pastorates at
McLean
MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...
,
Normal,
Chebanse,
Mazon Mazon may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Mazon, Illinois, a village
* Mazon Creek fossils
* Mazon River
* Mazon station, Mazon, Illinois
* Mazon Township, Grundy County, Illinois
Organizations
* MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, a no ...
, and
Belvidere. Moreland favored woman suffrage and as a minister, she lectured for the cause. She was the author of numerous books and pamphlets.
Early life and education
Mary Leona Moreland was born in
Westfield, Massachusetts, December 23, 1859. Her parents were James William and Harriet Atwood (Smith) Moreland. On her father's side, she was of Scotch ancestry.
She started school at the age of six years. The family removed to
New Ipswich, New Hampshire, where they lived six years. She was converted at the age of fourteen and joined the
Baptist Church
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
. While there, at the age of fourteen, she entered
Appleton Academy
Appleton Academy is a mixed all-through school for pupils aged 3 to 16. It is located in Wyke in the City of Bradford, in the English county of West Yorkshire. The school is named after Sir Edward Victor Appleton, a physicist who won the Nobe ...
and graduated with the high record of scholarship. Soon after her graduation, the family removed to
Fitchburg, Massachusetts. There she became a member of the First Baptist Church.
About that time, she began her temperance work. She was among the first of Massachusetts young women to take the white ribbon in the W.C.T.U., and, although a girl of sixteen, she was upon the platform a successful lecturer.
She continued her education at Illinois Wesleyan University (Ph.B., 1903; M.A.);
Creal Springs College; oratory at the School of Oratory, Chicago; the
Chicago Theological Seminary; and Moody Bible Institute, Chicago.
Career
Moreland taught school several terms. She attended the Chautauqua Assembly to Lake View,
Framingham, Massachusetts for six consecutive years which laid a foundation for the study of the ministry, to which she added the normal courses in the
Bible and also took the four years in the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, class of 1884. She studied theology two winters in the home of Rev. Mr. Chick.
While in the assembly, she collected the materials for her books, ''Which, Right or Wrong?'' (Boston), and ''The School on the Hill''. During the four years in which she was taking the Chautauqua course, editing the above books and contributing many short articles to different papers, she was constantly invited to address public meetings. She was the author of several booklets, including "Domestic Problem", "Women in the Bible", "The Flag of the Free", "Mother's Opportunity", and "His Guidance".
In 1882, she had occupied the pulpit a number of times, but had not then thought that she was called to ministerial work. In the fall of 1885, she went to Illinois on a visit to her sister, intending to labor in the West in the
cause of temperance. She became interested in revival work, in which she has been eminently successful. Her first revival was through a meeting held in the interest of the W.C.T.U. The most remarkable of those revivals was that which occurred in February and March, 1889, in Sharon and Spring Hilt. There were more than 100 conversions and a church was organized.
Her first call to settle as pastor was in the summer of 1888, in the
Keithsburg circuit, Illinois conference, by Elder Smith, of the
United Brethren Church. She declined to accept the invitation. At that time, Rev. E. M Baxter, of the Dixon district, urged her to preach the gospel, and Rev. Louis Curtis, elder of that district, requested her to spend the time which she could spare from revival work in
Eldena, Illinois
Eldena is an unincorporated community in Lee County, Illinois, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It ...
. She began her labors, and they gave her a unanimous call, but being a
Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
, according to the discipline, she could only be a stated supply. A few months later, she received an invitation to supply the pulpit of the First Congregational Church of Wyanet, Illinois. The church prospered, and the people desired that Moreland should be ordained and installed as their pastor. After much persuasion and deliberation, she consented. A council of six ministers and the same number of delegates from the adjacent churches convened in Wyanet, July 19, 1889. It was one of few instances in which a woman was called to the ministry in the Congregational church in the United States. After a rigid examination, the council retired and voted unanimously to proceed to the ordination.
Moreland represented the women of the ministry of the Congregational denomination at the World's Congresses held at the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893. She served the pastorate in Wyanet until 1895. Thereafter, she held pastorates in several other cities in Illinois: McLean, Normal, Chicago, Chebanse, and Mazon, the last being in Belvidere, from May 1917.
Death
Moreland never married. She died of
pneumonia at Belvidere, Illinois, March 17, 1918.
Selected works
Books
* ''Which, Right or Wrong?'' (1883)
* ''The School on the Hill, Or, The New England Assembly: Sequel to "Which: Right Or Wrong"'' (1885)
Booklets
* "Domestic Problem"
* "Women in the Bible"
* "The Flag of the Free"
* "Mother's Opportunity"
* "His Guidance"
References
Attribution
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External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreland, Mary L.
1859 births
1918 deaths
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century
People from Westfield, Massachusetts
American Congregationalist ministers
19th-century Congregationalist ministers
20th-century Congregationalist ministers
Congregationalist writers
Women Protestant religious leaders
Woman's Christian Temperance Union people
Moody Bible Institute alumni
Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois
20th-century American clergy
19th-century American clergy