Jessie Penn-Lewis Papers

SC-99
Penn-Lewis, Jessie, 1861-1927
1 Boxes (0.42 linear feet)
1892-1922 (bulk:1900-1922)

Introduction
The papers of Jessie Penn-Lewis, author and lecturer, highlights the correspondence, writing and travels of this noted Keswick speaker.

Provenance: The papers of Jessie Penn-Lewis were given to the Wheaton College Special Collections beginning in 1999 and were received from Rev. Brynmor Pierce Jones.

Restrictions: There are no restrictions on this collection. Duplication may be restricted if copying could cause damage to items.

Collection Description
The papers of Jessie Penn-Lewis occupies approximately .5 linear feet and highlights the correspondence, writing and travels of Penn-Lewis. The collection is organized into two major series, Correspondence and Publications. Each of these series is sub-divided even further into a half-dozen sub-series each.

Correspondence is the largest portion of the collection and covers a time period of 1900 to 1922. Correspondence sent and received is represented, as well as secondary correspondence and fragments. There is a portion of materials relating to Rev. H.S. Kimura, a noted Japanese evangelist.

Publications are various and focus upon church-related matters, as well as education-related and speaking engagements. Some of the materials in this series are more ephemeral or secondary and not necessarily publications by Penn-Lewis.

Biographical/Historical Sketch
Born Jessie Elizabeth Jones in 1861 in South Wales and grew up in a Methodist family that had Calvinistic leanings. The wife of a British civil servant, Penn-Lewis was physically frail but a spiritually robust woman. She ministered with Evan Roberts in the great Welsh revival (1904-1905). Her ministry stressed the centrality of the cross of Christ in the life and experience of the Christian.

Penn-Lewis traveled internationally to take her message to audiences in Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, the U.S., and India. She was a frequent speaker at the Keswick Conventions and started the Llandrindod Convention in Wales, and later the Matlock Conferences. Penn-Lewis’ writings have encouraged missions, particularly through regular contributions to "The Overcomer," which she founded, in 1908.

Penn-Lewis’s later writings began to focus upon matters of spiritual warfare. Together with Roberts, Penn-Lewis wrote War on the Saints, a work that describes the work of demons in the lives of Christians.

One of Penn-Lewis’ spiritual influences was reformed South African writer and fellow Keswick speaker Andrew Murray. Her life became linked to spiritual giants of her generation, like F. B. Meyer and D. L. Moody. Penn-Lewis also influenced others. Frank Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group and Moral Re-Armament, credited Penn-Lewis with helping him out of his depression after hearing her speak at a Keswick Convention.

Penn-Lewis died in 1927.

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