Much to the relief of the entire Lent Madness global public, the Supreme Executive Committee has reconciled -- temporarily -- which means the Saintly Smackdown will proceed after Saturday's all-t00-real April 1st scare. Yes, there WILL BE a 2017 Golden Halo winner.
So let's get back to the holy business of saintly competition! Today, we continue with the final matchup of the Saintly Sixteen as Amelia Bloomer faces Fanny Crosby. To get to this round, Amelia dispatched Philipp Melanchthon while Fanny got the best of G.F. Handel. The winner will join seven other saintly souls to make up the Elate Eight. Who will Amelia or Fanny be joining? Just to refresh your memory, that would be Stephen, Augustine of Canterbury, Franz Jaggerstatter, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Raymond Nonnatus, Martin Luther, and Florence Nightingale. One of this group will, soon enough, be crowned in (extra special) glory.
Amelia Bloomer
Amelia is remembered in the church as a woman who saw women as equal and valued members of the body of Christ. She worked tirelessly in her life to invite the Church and the State to recognize the dignity of women. She was a journalist, voting rights advocate, and temperance leader, among her many roles.
Amelia Bloomer began her prophetic ministry in the temperance movement. She saw the results of alcohol consumption -- violence, men squandering their pay on alcohol instead of food, and health issues. She wanted it eradicated from all aspects of society, including food. She responded to criticism made by a prominent wife of an elected official that one could not bake holiday treats without the addition of brandy, saying, “That lady must be a wretched cook indeed who cannot make apple dumplings, mince pie, or cake palatable without the addition of poisonous substances.”
She advocated for less-restricting fashions for women, seeing the style of the day as oppressive and damaging. When criticized by men for advocating for women wearing the style of pants that would bear her name, bloomers, she quipped, “Let men be compelled to wear our dress for awhile and we should soon hear them advocating a change.”
Amelia worked tirelessly for suffrage, and she pushed for the right of women to hold elected offices. Her mind and wit, quick and sharp, frequently pointed out the absurdities of the arguments for the continued disempowerment of women in government. Women, argued the majority of elected male leaders of the day, were created to submit to laws, not to make them. She countered, “It will not do to say that it is out of woman's sphere to assist in making laws, for if that were so, then it should be also out of her sphere to submit to them.”
She added, to the clergy who argued gender discrimination was God’s holy will, “Man represents us, legislates for us, and now holds himself accountable for us! How kind in him, and what a weight is lifted from us! We shall no longer be answerable to the laws of God or man, no longer be subject to punishment for breaking them.”
In her newspaper The Lily, Amelia created a forum addressing serious issues concerning women, and gave them a voice. Bloomer said of her paper, ”It is woman that speaks through The Lily. It is upon an important subject, too, that she comes before the public to be heard.”
The forum she gave to women to speak, to be heard, and to be empowered continues to nurture all who demand dignity. Her words still ring true, and still challenge us.
-- Laurie Brock
Fanny Crosby
Fanny Crosby is easily given the appellations of “mother of modern American congregational singing” and “Queen of Gospel Song Writers.” Her more than eight thousand hymn texts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries make her among the most prolific hymn writers of all time. More remarkable than her myriad compositions is that she wrote all of her hymns while blind.
Far from seeing her blindness as a burden and affliction, Crosby noted that “it seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow, I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me." Indeed, her faithfulness required no sight: “if I had a choice,” she said, “I would still choose to remain blind… for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed savior.”
Hymn-writing for Crosby wasn’t a matter of making money, or earning a living. She noted that she always began her work in prayer: “I never undertake a hymn without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration.” Evidently the work of working and re-working lyrics didn’t burden Crosby, either. “It is not enough to have song on your lips,” she said, “you must also have a song in your heart.” Crosby’s prayerfulness was not without practicality, though – and while her hymns have often been criticized for being overly sentimental, one can’t deny the honesty she brought to her own life of prayer: “God will answer you prayers better than you think,” she wrote. “Of course, one will not always get exactly what he has asked for....We all have sorrows and disappointments, but one must never forget that, if commended to God, they will issue in good....His own solution is far better than any we could conceive.”
But of the words all the words Fanny Crosby may have written, it is her hymns that have stirred the hearts of millions of Christians in the United States and around the world. Her best known hymn, “Blessed Assurance,” speaks of the promise found in following Jesus:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
-- David Sibley
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204 comments on “Amelia Bloomer vs. Fanny Crosby”
Fanny Crosby gets my vote again. I admire Amelia Bloomer's accomplishments, but she strikes me as more of a secular hero who happened to be a faithful church member. Mind you, I'm not judging her motivation or the sincerity of her faith...it's just that most of what she did could have been done by a talented, dedicated non-Christian. I'm also disappointed that she received more votes than Melanchthon, my personal Reformation hero...but I'll try not to let that be the reason for my vote. 😉
Edwina, it's at the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY. Linkie: https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/amelia-bloomer.htm
Didn't vote for either in the first round. (Too much of a music lover not to go with Handel, also voted for Melancthon as the patron saint of sidekicks and second bananas.)
Voted for Amelia Bloomer this time, because of her strong advocacy of women's equality.
I saw her involvement in the temperance movement as a drawback, though. In my view, the fact the temperance movement promoted abstinence - rather than intelligent drinking - as the only alternative to problem drinking led to a situation in most English-speaking countries in which a high level of binge drinking is found in a high proportion of those who choose to drink. And the main long-term effect of Prohibition in the US was to entrench organised crime as an influential institution in the wider society. (I think Ms. C. would have had similar opinions to Ms. B., however, so the temperance thing was a non-issue for me in the end, really.)
I also had large problems with Ms. Crosby's hymns. Yes, they're written to catchy, heart-warming tunes, but I think the words of what we sing in worship are also as important as the tunes. Do we really believe that a Jesus-shaped God would consign people to be fuel for an eternal BBQ ... just for getting their theology wrong? Do we really believe that a Jesus-shaped God would demand a substitutionary blood sacrifice as the only alternative to being fuel for an eternal BBQ? These are the messages that Ms. C.'s hymns convey.
I believe that God is Love ... radical, unconditional Love! I see Ms. C. as putting far too many conditions on God's love.
Hard choice today.
Both were amazing women but Amelia got my vote
Sentiment can be treacherous, but sometimes I see it a a God-given guide when decisions are tough. When I thought of "Blessed Assurance I remembered my devout father-in-law, whose love of "Blessed Assurance " prompted my equally devout but also liberal, service-oriented husband, John, to request it for his funeral. And in proud continuation of John's advocacy for persons with disabilities. our granddaughter Moira, eight years old, just taught herself Braille so she could teach blind children. Thanks be to God!
Wow! Moira is impressive, Mary!
Oh I'm so disappointed! Although Amelia is a worthy soul, my heart and vote was for Fanny. Her saying "the first face [she] would see will be that of Jesus," brought tears to my eyes. And Blessed Assurance remains my favorite hymn. What a love-filled beautiful soul she was!
This was an easy choice for me today. I wish I could vote more than once for Amelia. She did so much for women.
Fanny had me at ". . . when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed savior."
I started reading those words and started singing them. That said (or sung), I had to stick with Amelia. She's a gal whose actions captured my heart!
Grateful beyond measure for the incomparable efforts of Amelia Bloomer. Yes, she truly is a saint. However, the God-inspired words given to Fanny Crosby for hymns that speak to the soul cause me to vote for Fanny. I'm a church organist, who didn't grow up singing Fanny's songs in my Episcopal church. However, somewhere along the way, I married another organist (Episcopalian) who grew up Southern Baptist. I learned from him to cherish the hymns of Fanny Crosby. Now, playing for a small UCC congregation, I have personally witnessed the transforming power of her songs.
Raise a glass to Amelia Bl....oh, wait...never mind
LIKE!
Yes, a Lutheran college in the early 60s--skirts only. Thanks, Amelia (although it took awhile for my college to catch up).
I was blind, but now I see. I get Amelia's importance, but Fanny Crosby has my heart.
Amelia. For my Great Great Grandmother Mary Jane Williams who had ten children and was a member of the WTU. Also because , as a woman and a feminist I owe so much to the Suffragettes!
My name is Zoey and I really like Amelia because she wanted women to be considered equal. I like that a lot.
Zoey, that is a wonderful reason. I'm glad you are voting and I'm glad you are telling us why you vote the way you do. You will grow up to be a strong and equal woman, too.
Zoey, that is a wonderful reason! You are going to grow up to be a mighty woman!
Inspired by the debate over temperance, I remembered that last year we were given a recipe for a “Yellow Fever” cocktail in honor of the nuns who fought yellow fever in the south. Believe it or not, there is a “Suffragette” cocktail from 1909, and I have paired it with a 1920 non-alcoholic “prohibition classic,” so that we may continue to debate theology in a civilized manner.
Here’s the Original Suffragette Cocktail printed originally in the San Francisco Call. “The suffragette cocktail is the newest American drink,” the San Francisco Call wrote on July 4, 1909. “Any other kind of a cocktail makes a man want to go home and beat his wife. The new drink has exactly the opposite tendency. . . . One makes a man willing to listen to the suffragettes’ proposition. Two convince him that it has some merit. Three make him a missionary, willing to spread the gospel abroad, and four make him go home and wash the dishes.”
Here’s the recipe: “Cilo gin, French vermouth and Italian vermouth in equal parts to make a gill, mix in a cocktail glass, add a dash of orange bitters, twist in two strips of lemon peel and serve.”
(According to dictionary.com, a “gill” is ¼ pint. I do not know if that is the sense here.)
For those “equally attractive non-alcoholic options” required by forward-thinking dioceses and vestries, try this simplified peach syrup from Bertha Stockbridge’s 1920 prohibition classic “What to Drink”: simmer 10oz of peach slices with 8oz of water and 8oz of sugar for 30 minutes, then strain.
Whichever option you choose, know that you'll be invigorated to debate the trinity with St. Athanasius (old "Contra Mundum" himself, whom we denied the Golden Halo previously). Enjoy. Though we might not be eating meat or chocolate during Lent, no one said we couldn't have a cocktail.
I may have to try that! I may also put it up on my cookbook blog, if it's okay with you, St. Celia.
You have forced me to cite my sources! The Suffragette cocktail comes from this source: https://vinepair.com/booze-news/suffragette-cocktail/. Note that the article was published online Nov. 7, 2016. (No pre-election sub-tweeting going on there!) The second one comes from an article in the Guardian on temperance-era drinks: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2016/feb/11/alcohol-free-why-temperance-drinks-are-making-a-comeback. Help support the Guardian!
Thank you! Both are bookmarked, and will be blogged as soon as I've tried them.
Aleathia, thank you for reminding this high church Anglican (Southern Baptist raised) of that wonderful hymn.
"O victory in Jesus, my savior forever"!
I voted Crosby. I summed this up to a coworker as "Bloomer doing worldly work for God, versus Crosby doing Godly work for the world" My opinion is that the latter is greater.
As the daughter of one alcoholic, the sister of another and acquainted with many others both active and recovering, I have a lot of sympathy for the heart behind the Prohibition movement. It didn't serve its purpose, addiction and greed being what they are, but the goal is understandable. That being said, I'm still awaiting a last moment surge of genuine votes for courageous, vulnerable, feisty, loving songwriter Fanny Crosby.
Amelia Bloomer. Pants.
This was a conundrum since I voted for both ladies in the first round. While Amelia did great things, mostly she worked in the political realm. Fanny's hymns were great works of faith. So I voted for the lady of faith.
I didn't think this would even be a contest. Fanny's hymns has touched so many lives. My husband wanted Fanny to go all the way. He was brought up singing her hymns.
Another tough choice! Amelia for me as I see her work as still needed in many parts of the world.
I envy those of you who grew up in the Episcopal Church. I only came to it about 20 years ago. I grew up a Southern Baptist. I must confess I enjoyed Fanny Crosby's hymns. They are easily singable. I love our TEC hymnal, which I think has hymns that are more beautiful and have more depth. But if you remember Fanny's hymns with some affection, you might want to check out this site. I've sorted it in order of the frequency of the use of the hymns. It's kinda her Hit Parade. http://www.hymnary.org/person/Crosby_Fanny?sort=desc&order=Instances