The Great Awakening of Sarah Osborn and the Female Society of the First Congregational Church in Newport

Abstract

In this article, Kujawa provides a profile of perhaps an atypical eighteenth century woman. Equally active in church, home, and community, Sarah Osborn left a deep impression upon Newport. Going beyond the repetition of daily events, Sarah and other evangelical women like her used journal-keeping and letter-writing as a means of communicating with God and integrating their spiritual experiences. Always searching for a spiritual interpretation behind daily events, and concerned with providing an example for others, Sarah Osborn valued literary expression not only for what it did for her, but also for the way it assisted others on their spiritual pilgrimage Sheryl Kujawa received a Ed.D. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Boston College. She is a priest at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, and an adjunct faculty member at Union Theological Seminary.