Includes bibliographical references and index.

On one level this book tells a very particular story - of a church started by a charismatic woman born just 16 years after the Emancipation Proclamation which not only survived the death of the founder, but also institutionalised power-sharing by female and male elders. On another level, it tells a more universal human story of institution building, establishing community, and pursuing a life of faith while negotiating rapidly changing and often adversarial social realities.

Call -- City tales -- Saints tales -- Becoming saints -- Family -- Response.