February 25 is the day designated to remember Elizabeth Fedde. I had never heard of her before. Still we have far more information on Deaconess Fedde than we have on St. Matthias, the new 12th disciple that I posted yesterday.
Her daily diary of her work among the Norwegian immigrants in Brooklyn lets the reader in on the work of a Gospel centered minister of our Lord labored among the poor. It also provides insight into the conditions of immigrants in a latter days of the 19th century. Her diary is readily attainable online.
Elizabeth was born on Christmas Day in 1850 in Norway. She first turned down the suggestion that she train to be a deaconess. She wanted no part of being one of those women she saw on the streets wearing the deaconess uniforms. However, the idea played on her mind until she entered deaconess training in 1873. It’s amazing how the Lord won’t let go of us once he wants us to do some ministry for him. In 1878 she began work in an especially primitive and harsh environment. The nine months of winter were unrelenting in their severity.
On her 32nd birthday she received a letter from her brother-in-law in Brooklyn challenging her to come and work among the Norwegian immigrants, particularly the sailors who found themselves away from home, lonely and with nothing to do but go to the saloons. She came at some personal cost, leaving behind a man who wanted to marry her. She arrived in April 1883 and with 8 pastors began a relief society. By 1885 she had been instrumental in setting up a 9 bed hospital and establishing a home for training deaconesses. In 1888 she was invite4d to come to Minneapolis and set up a deaconess home in Minnesota. After 2 years she returned to Brooklyn.
In 1896 she returned to Norway and married Ole Slettebjo. She died in 1921.
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