Phoebe Palmer (December 18, 1807 – November 2, 1874) was a

Methodist 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 b ...

evangelist and writer who promoted the doctrine of

Christian perfection Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...

. She is considered one of the founders of the

Holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emph ...

within Methodist Christianity.

Early life

Palmer was born Phoebe Worrall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Her father was a devout

named Henry Worrall. He had experienced a religious conversion during the Wesleyan Revival in England before immigrating to the United States. Phoebe's mother was Dorothea Wade Worrall.

Spiritual development

In 1827 Phoebe Worrall married Walter Palmer, a

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dise ...

physician, who was also a devout Methodist. They regularly attended Allen Street Methodist Church in

. As Methodists, the couple became interested in the writings of the founder of Methodism,

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

. They developed a particular interest in Wesley's doctrine of

, which is the belief that a Christian can live a life free of sin. On 26 July 1837, Phoebe Palmer experienced what John Wesley termed "

entire sanctification Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...

." Other members of her family experienced this "sanctification" soon thereafter. They felt that they should teach others about that experience and teach them how to have it for themselves. As such, Phoebe Palmer often preached at Methodist churches and

camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier d ...

Spread of Holiness concepts

In 1835 Palmer's sister, Sarah Lankford, began having weekly prayer meetings with Methodist women. Two years later, Phoebe Palmer became the leader of the meetings, which were referred to as the Tuesday Meeting for the Promotion of Holiness. The meetings were held in the Palmer's home. She always refused to hold the Tuesday meetings anywhere but in a home (her house had to be enlarged to accommodate them). Beginning in 1839, men were allowed to attend the meetings. Among the men were Methodist bishops, theologians, and ministers. Some of the bishops who attended were Edmund S. James,

Leonidas Lent Hamline Leonidas Lent Hamline (pronounced as if it were ''Hamlin'') (1797 in Burlington, Connecticut – 1865) was an American Methodist Episcopal bishop and a lawyer. He is the eponym of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and of Hamline Avenue ...

Jesse T. Peck Jesse Truesdell Peck (April 4, 1811 – May 17, 1883) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1872. Birth and family He was born on April 4, 1811, in Middlefield Center, Otsego County, New York. His family was of Eng ...

and

Matthew Simpson Matthew Simpson (21 June 1811 – 18 June 1884) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1852 and based mostly in Philadelphia. During the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, most evangelical denominations in ...

. This renewed interest in Holiness eventually influenced the Methodist Church nationwide. Phoebe Palmer and her husband Walter became itinerant preachers as they received more and more invitations from churches, conferences, and camp meetings. Although Walter Palmer spoke at these meetings, it was Phoebe who was better known. Palmer played a significant role in spreading the concept of Christian holiness throughout the United States and the rest of the world. She wrote several books, including ''The Way of Holiness'', which was a foundational book in the Holiness movement. From the northeastern United States the movement spread. She and her husband visited other regions, then Canada in 1857, and then the United Kingdom in 1859. They stayed in the United Kingdom for several years. The Palmers bought a monthly magazine entitled ''The Guide to Holiness'' in 1864. It had been started by Timothy Merritt to promote the doctrine of Christian perfection. Phoebe Palmer edited the magazine from that time until her death. Some of the people that Palmer influenced through her speaking and writing were the temperance leader,

Frances Willard Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1879 an ...

; the co-founder of the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Catherine Booth Catherine Booth (''née'' Mumford, 17 January 1829 – 4 October 1890) was co-founder of The Salvation Army, along with her husband William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Mothe ...

; and the first president of the

National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness The Christian Holiness Partnership is an international organization of individuals, organizational and denominational affiliates within the holiness movement. It was founded under the leadership of Rev. John Swanel Inskip in 1867 as the National ...

(later the

Christian Holiness Partnership The Christian Holiness Partnership is an international organization of individuals, organizational and denominational affiliates within the holiness movement. It was founded under the leadership of Rev. John Swanel Inskip in 1867 as the National ...

John Swanel Inskip John Swanel Inskip (August 10, 1816 – March 7, 1884) was an American minister and evangelist affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a proponent of family sittings in church and a leader in the holiness movement, serving as fou ...

. While Phoebe Palmer remained committed to the Methodist tradition, her works also influenced the

Higher Life movement The Higher Life movement, also known as the Keswick movement or Keswickianism, is a Protestant theologies, Protestant theological tradition within evangelical Christianity that espouses a distinct teaching on the doctrine of entire sanctificatio ...

. In her book, ''The Promise of the Father'', Palmer defended the idea of women in Christian ministry. Palmer's belief in holiness was not merely theoretical. She led the Methodist Ladies' Home Missionary Society in founding the Five Points Mission in 1850. This mission was in a slum area in New York City. Phoebe Palmer's daughter,

Phoebe Knapp Phoebe Knapp ( Palmer; March 9, 1839 – July 10, 1908) was an American composer of music for hymns and an organist. Biography Knapp was born in New York City. Her parents were Walter C. Palmer and Phoebe (Worrall) Palmer. She married Jos ...

, wrote several

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s, including the melody for

Fanny Crosby Frances Jane van Alstyne (née Crosby; March 24, 1820 – February 12, 1915), more commonly known as Fanny J. Crosby, was an American mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer. She was a prolific hymnist, writing more than 8,000 hymns ...

's "Blessed Assurance."

Writings

''The Way of Holiness'' (1843)
o

o

o
''Entire Devotion to God'' (1845)''Incidental Illustrations of the Economy of Salvation: Its Doctrines and Duties''''Faith and its Effects'' (1848)''Four Years in the Old World''''The Promise of the Father'' (1859)''The Collected Works of Phoebe Palmer'' (Contains all six listed above)

References

External links