Mary Clarke Nind (16 August 1825 – 1 January 1905), known as "Our Little Bishop", was a British philanthropist and worker for social justice. It was during her time living in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

that she fulfilled her calling into missionary work through the

Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (WFMS of the MEC) was one of three Methodist organizations in the United States focused on women's foreign missionary services, the others being the WFMS of the Free Methodist C ...

Early life

Mary Clarke was born in

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England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the daughter of Ebenezer and Louisa Clarke. ''"I was born six miles from London, England, the child of pious parents, who led their six children to the Savior, converted before five years of age. The memory of my conversion is still fresh and delightful."'' She was teaching in the Sabbath school by the age of 12 and at the age of 14, she was united with a Congregational Church.Methodist Church in Singapore website, ''The woman who made it possible for Sophia Blackmore to serve in Singapore'', article by Earnest Lau dated December 26, 2003
/ref> In 1850 she came to the United States, the bride of James G. Nind.

Career

In her spiritual life, Mary was tormented. She could see others much older than she was struggling to achieve a life of salvation. ''"Must I go on to thirty, forty, fifty, sixty years, and still have to fight against my easily besetting sins, and every now and then be conquered? Is there no hope of victory all the time?"'' It was not until she was introduced to the

Methodist movement Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

that she began to move "into the light." A pastor of her Congregational Church aligned with the Methodist movement and began to teach about sanctifying grace. When the pastor was dismissed from the Congregational Church, about 40 members moved to the Free Methodist Church. Mary occasionally went to the Methodist meetings and was more than once disciplined and charged with "schism" - holding Methodist doctrines in a Congregational Church. Mary was tormented over her devotion to the Congregational Church and her desire to reach a "higher life" through sanctification. One day after church, she encountered a woman who had lived through many afflictions and Mary opened up to her about her torment. She replied, "Mrs. Nind, we shall all miss you if you decide to leave the Congregational Church; but if I were you I would go into the Methodist Church. You will be more happy and more useful there, for there is more liberty for women to exercise their gifts." Taking this as a sign from God, she abruptly left the Congregational Church and joined the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

. ''"I raised a new Ebenezer of gratitude, 'for hitherto the Lord had helped me.' Anew I consecrated myself to the Lord and His service, and with new consecrations came new joy."'' Mary wrote the story of her spiritual struggle and final victory in a leaflet titled "Into the Light"; the leaflet was widely used during the

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as a source of inspiration.

Woman's Foreign Ministry Society

In 1866, Mary and her husband moved to

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. The city is named after legendary figure Winona, who ...

. Her eagerness to "win souls for Christ" led her into evangelistic work. On April 4, 1870, the Western branch of the

(WFMS) was formed; and Mary was the first to enlist for work. The WFMS is one of the forerunners of the United Methodist Women. In 18 years during the 1870s and 1880s, Mary raised $17.5 million for the WFMS on "two cents and a prayer a day" from the women of the Methodist Church. She traveled the nation, China, Tibet, India, Japan, Africa, and South America bearing messages of salvation and became known worldwide as an evangelist. She also became known as "Mother" Nind in the WFMS. In Methodist circles, she was also known as "Our Little Bishop." As a result of her missionary work, Mary is considered by some to be one of the top women of influence in the Methodist Church along with

Susanna Wesley Susanna Wesley (née Annesley; 20 January 1669 – 23 July 1742) was the daughter of Dr Samuel Annesley and Mary White, and the mother of John Wesley, John and Charles Wesley. “…although she never preached a sermon or published a book o ...

and Barbara Heck. In 1878, her son moved to Minneapolis, and to be closer to him, Mary also moved. She became a member of Centenary M. E. Church. The leaders of the WFMS led by Mrs. Franc Elliott in Nebraska, set forth a cause to have women elected as representatives to the male-dominated General Conference and the Minnesota Lay Conference: five other conferences responded to the call. At the Minnesota Lay Conference of 1887, which met at Centenary Church, elected Mary as one of the representatives, even though she was not in attendance. She was one of five women nationally who presented credentials at the 1888 General Conference. The others were

Frances E. Willard Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an Americans, American educator, Temperance movement, temperance reformer, and women's suffrage, women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Wom ...

, Amanda C. Rippey, Angie F. Newman and Elizabeth D. Van Kirk. After the conference was assembled, a committee on eligibility was formed to consider the question. The committee reported to the General Conference and the matter was debated over the course of 5 days before the women were denied their seats. Nind observed the entire proceedings from the balcony. It would not be until 1904 that women were given laity rights and admitted as delegates to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1922 for the M.E. Church, South). At the close of the General Conference, discouraged, Nind went to London and attended the World's Missionary Conference. After that she traveled around the world, visiting the chief mission stations. When she returned she moved to

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in about 1891 or 1892. In 1894, she travelled to Japan and toured around the country beginning in May.

Death and legacy

In September 1905, she traveled to Massachusetts where she had a son living in Boston. On September 1, 1905, "Mother" Nind was at a missionary day celebration in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

. There she was afforded a place of honor. She conducted the opening services with a Bible reading on the resurrection of Jesus and offered a prayer "of marvelous beauty and devotion, which seemed to our informant to indicate 'a wonderful spirituality and nearness of approach to God.'" The next day she was visiting friends in

Littleton, Massachusetts Littleton (historically Nipmuc: ''Nashoba'') is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,141 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the neighborhood of Littleton Common, please se ...

. Mary retired for the evening in an upper bedroom of the home. Shortly after, a fire started in the house, which rapidly filled with smoke. Mary died just a few months from her 80th birthday. Her children published her biography, ''Mary Clarke Nind: A Memorial''. Her Bible is held with the Lacy family papers at Yale University.

Family

She married James G. Nind and they moved to Illinois. They had five children, losing one at the age of 3. Two of her daughters later became missionaries, one going to

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

and the other to

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. Boston University website, Missiology section, ''Nind, Mary Clarke (1825-1905)''
/ref> Several of her grandchildren, including George Carleton Lacy, also served as missionaries. ArtStor website, ''William H Lacy''
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* ''History of Wesley Church, The First 125 Years, Wesley United Methodist Church'', 1977 * Nind, J. Newton, Wesley Archives, ''Mary Clarke Nind and Her Work, by Her Children'', 1906, Chicago, Woman's Foreign Missionary Society * Boeder, Thelma, Minnesota Annual Conference

External links

*
Wesley UMC - Mary Clarke Nind
at the Wesley Church official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Nind, Mary Clarke 1825 births 1905 deaths American Methodist missionaries Deaths by smoke inhalation Methodist missionaries in the United States Female Christian missionaries Proponents of Christian feminism Converts to Methodism 19th-century Methodists English Methodist missionaries Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church