Jane Floy Mather’s Leap of Faiths
An appreciation of two letters from her mother
In a recent blog (“On any given Sunday…”) we cursorily noted that Stephen and Jane were both confirmed at the Episcopal Redeemer Church in Chicago on the same day--March 5, 1899.
Stephen Tyng Mather’s parents
were married at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan. Stephen’s middle name was in honor of the officiant at that marriage.
Stephen and Jane were married at St. James Methodist Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Jane’s grandfather was the Reverend James Floy D.D., a prominent Methodist theologian. Jane’s two brothers graduated from Wesleyan University. Methodism formed the foundation of the family’s religious experience.
From two letters in the archives, we can see that Jane’s mother, Sarah Floy, gave her daughter reassurance at a moment of intense personal and spiritual consequence: Should—and could—she give up her lifelong religion and join with her husband in his? What would that mean for her in this life—and the next?
From Sarah Floy’s first letter…
“I cannot urge you as I feel you are able to judge for yourself, and with the help of the Holy Spirit…think about it quietly and slowly asking for God’s help to show you the way, and trusting absolutely that he will, and then if you and Stephen can decide to go together, resolved to live up to your promises, surely He will never fail you as long as time shall last…”
And from the second…
“You know I am not speaking without knowledge, as I have trodden the same path, and realize all it has cost you, but surely no happiness can be greater than to walk together the same way, helping each other on the way to eternal life…May God bless and keep you both…Lovingly, mother.”
