In honor of Woman’s History Month, let me introduce the life and work of Anne Hutchinson.
Three hundred seventy nine years ago Anne Hutchinson was the mother of fifteen, the respected midwife and counselor, and a house-church leader. Banished from Boston, she settled as a refugee from persecution for cause of conscience on Aquidneck Island near Roger Williams’s colony, an experiment in the separation of church and state. Roger Williams helped her come to his region even though he did not agree with her, out of respect for her right to have a view. She did not write, though many have put words in her mouth since — the first being her accusers during the trial for banishment. Her actions speak to her priorities so strongly that we admire her still.
Here are three of Anne’s traits that should stand out to a modern woman:
1. Self-starter: Anne taught herself with support from her father and his large library. She revered scripture as God’s revelation, and went to great lengths to absorb insights about it from respected leaders in her day, most notably John Cotton. She respected inspiration from the Holy Spirit within, even when she felt called to step beyond cultural traditions of her day.
2. Courage: Anne led a popular house-church as teacher, one that most of the women of Boston must have attended at it’s height. When men came to listen, she did not feel it was her job to stop them, leaving her open to accusations of teaching beyond that culture’s perception of her authority. She didn’t back down from what she thought was right, or her calling. In a Puritan world, that was at first interpreted as refusal to repent, and made her a target. Caught between family and colony, she chose family. When the stakes were raised to church and God, she took care to correct misattributions of her and her mentor’s positions, but the hoped for mercy previously offered her mentor was not offered to her. Possibly because she was a woman, her persistence was unbearable to proud Puritan men.
That same courage got her killed. She thought she’d always had good relationships with surrounding indigenous, and would do so again in a new region in spite of ongoing hostilities. She was killed in a massacre. It is often true that our greatest strengths lead to our greatest weakness.
3. Love: Anne was beloved as mid-wife, as much because of the sincerity of her relationships as for her physical skill. Her delivery came with welcomed compassion in a harsh world. But most of all, Anne was in love with following the heart of Jesus and was able to convey that in a compelling way when she taught, drawing unbelievably large crowds for her times. She must have operated from the core of her character.
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