The Life and Witness of Catherine Fergeson

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
February 12th 2006

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“The Life and Witness of Catherine Ferguson”
Matthew 19:13-15

This week we continue our life and witness sermon series celebrating black history month. Our witness today is one which is not well known in American history. However, the impact of her life has had far reaching effects even if her name and work is virtually unknown.
Catherine Ferguson was born on a ship in 1779. The ship was in route to New York from Virginia. Catherine and her mother were slaves of the Williams family. The Williams were not only slave owners but they were also Presbyterians. The patriarch of the family, R.B Williams, was an elder in one of the New York City Presbyterian churches. As a result, Catherine’s religious influence came not only from her devout mother but also through the catechisms of the Presbyterian Church.
At the age of eight, Catherine was faced with a major trauma. She was separated from her mother when the Williams sold her to another family. As was the case with many, Catherine never saw her mother again. Later in her life, Catherine spoke about the terror of that moment. She said: “I remember that before we were torn asunder, she knelt down, laid her hand on my head, and gave me to God.”
A few years later, it appears that Catherine began attending a different Presbyterian church. When she was fourteen, Catherine went to the pastor and told him of her desire to join the church. After sharing her desire with the pastor, she made a public profession of faith and partook of communion. Catherine claimed the promises made on her behalf by her mother when they were last together.
About the same time that Catherine joined the church, a widow by the name of Isabella Graham joined the same Presbyterian Church. Isabella was an immigrant from Scotland. Her family was quite wealthy and very involved with benevolent causes. The details of their relationship are unclear. However, it is certain that they did know one another. In fact, when Catherine was seventeen years old, Isabella loaned her the money to purchase her freedom. Isabella then gave her a paying job to assist in her transition to freedom. Though she paid back the loan in less than a year, Catherine continued to work for Isabella until she got married.
After Catherine was married, she spent the next few years raising two children and caring for their home. However, her life took a drastic turn when illness took the life of both her young children. Shortly after their death her husband disappeared from the picture. There is no historical record or mention of him after their death.
The traumas of her early life had a significant impact on the rest of her life. The impact would have a ripple effect through the lives of countless other people. As you might imagine, there is some debate about the factuality of the claim to fame. However, Catherine Ferguson’s claim to fame is that she founded the first Sunday school in New York City.
Catherine lived in New York City during the time which followed the Revolutionary War. The aftermath of the war had devastating effects on the city. Historian Raymond Mohl writes that the war turned New York into a “ravaged and partially destroyed seaport town.” There was increased stress on the resources of the city because of the increased immigration. The city faced desperate poverty and social chaos. Faced with these realities many benevolent societies began planning their work. However, Catherine Ferguson simply got to work.
Catherine’s response was to gather as many children as she could from the alms-house and from other places and bring them into her home. She would care for them until she was able to find them a good home or until they were adults. During her life she brought forty-eight children, white and black, into her home. Catherine not only cared for their physical needs but also for their spiritual needs. Each Sunday, she would gather not only the children living in her home but any child who would normally be running the streets, into her home for religious education.
In order to support the children and her work Catherine would occasionally partner with some of the benevolent societies in the city. However, she was never afraid to refuse their “help” when it came with the expectation of control or was overtly paternalistic. Catherine would simply do what she had always done and raise money as a domestic worker. She was also known for baking the finest cakes in town. She seemed willing to do whatever it took to fulfill her God given mission.
At the Sunday gatherings, in her home, Catherine would invite traveling missionaries, pastors and other religious scholars to teach the children. They were instructed in reading and writing often using the catechism and the bible as the guide. It was not uncommon to find some of the finest educators and pastors in the city teaching in her home. These lessons continued in her home until there was simply not enough room for all the children. As a result she was approached by the local Presbyterian Church about using their space for the classes. As a result, the first Sunday school in New York City began.
For all who knew Catherine Ferguson it was evident that this was her calling in life. It was a calling by God which was forged out of the depths of her greatest pain. The loss of her mother and her own children fostered an unyielding compassion for children who were cast aside by society. Yet most amazing aspect was throughout her life she never learned to read or write. Her own limitations never got in the way of making sure the children in her care would learn what she never did.
Catherine Ferguson’s life and work is a testament to her faith in God. For more than forty years, up to the last day of her life, she continued to work for the well-being of children. Those who knew her said that wherever Catherine Ferguson lived, the whole the neighborhood changed. There was no secret to her work, it was really quite simple: The love of God had touched her heart and she shared this love with all God’s children. She made sure that no child she came into contact with would be kept from knowing Jesus.
Catherine Ferguson lived a life which embodied Jesus call to his disciples. Let the children come to me! Throughout her life she would gather them up and make sure they would know the ways of God. Because of her work, Catherine Ferguson is credited with founding the first Sunday school in New York City despite being unable to read or write.
Her life and witness is a call to all of us. Her witness calls us to take a close look at our own lives and our own sense of God’s calling in our life. It is a call to reexamine the excuses we use that stand in the way of the amazing work God has in store for us. If Catherine Ferguson had said, “No Lord, I cannot read how I can make sure the children learn?” How much poorer would the world have been? So what are our excuses? What are the excuses that are holding you back? Whatever they might be, let the life and witness of Catherine Ferguson so inspire you that today, you are willing to cast them aside and trust that God has a plan. Amen.