This is the first blog post by guest blogger Emilee Johnson
When we think of the Reformation, many names may come into our minds. Names like John Calvin, John Knox, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale. After digging deeper you may run into more names like George Gillespie, John Hus, Patrick Hamilton, and Samuel Rutherford. We hear much about the men of the Reformation, but what about the women? What role did they play?
In my studies of history, I’ve observed that we hear more about men than women. Why is this? God made us women with a different role than men which is equally important but definitely different. Think about it; Calvin had a mother and so did Luther. Though we don’t hear about these women, I think these must have been godly women. God gave men the dominion mandate. They are the ones God has appointed to subdue the earth for His glory. The role of women is to help them in that calling. We are the supporters of God’s tools. One of our roles includes the crucial job of bringing man-kind into the world and bringing them up.
I would like to talk about a woman of the Reformation who beautifully lived out this role much to the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom. Her name was Katherine Willoughby. Katherine was the wife of first Charles Brandon then Richard Birdie and lived in Grimsthorpe Castle during the English Reformation. She was a noble lady formally known as the Duchess of Suffolk.
Katherine was a woman of hospitality. 1 Peter 4:9-10 says “Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” She took this seriously and welcomed many great men including Hugh Latimer, Thomas Cranmer, Martin Bucer, and others into her family’s home. These men found Grimsthorpe Castle to be a haven of rest. They would talk and plan of how to continue the Reformation. Friendships were formed between these men and together they worked to spread the truth of the Scriptures. We can see in the example of the Willoughbys that hospitality can change the world. The people that you invite into your home and have meaningful conversations with over supper can potentially affect thousands, just as it did in England.
Katherine did not only welcome these men of God into her home but she also ministered to them and helped them in their work. For example, when Bucer, who was John Calvin’s mentor, lay sick in her home, Katherine acted as his scribe and copied down what he wanted to spread from the word of God to the English people. Currently the history of Europe is printed on the internet. During the Reformation however, books were widely distributed and read. The publishing and passing out of literature spurred on the Reformation. Because of this, it was extremely important that the Bible and its teaching were passed out to the people. Katherine knew this and so funded the publishing of the famous Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. This book has and continued to inspire Christians to stand firm in the faith because of those who have gone before.
Katherine was also a godly mother. She diligently taught her children the Scriptures and reformed faith. She also taught them to love and honor the reformers whom frequented their home. At ages 13 and 15, two of her sons wrote poems honoring these godly men at their deaths.
Richard and Katherine Birdie’s youngest son, Peregrine Birdie who was better known as Lord Willoughby was a man of God and fierce warrior. He once defended the French Huguenots against a Spanish army which was 25 times his size. His incredible courage came only from God and in the middle of the battle, Lord Willoughby kneeled and prayed to God for His will to be done and deliverance. The Lord answered his prayer and the Spanish were routed.
At this time, there was a 16 year old boy by the name of John Smith who was enchanted by the courage of Lord Willoughby. He visited Grimsthorpe Castle as a boy and was under the Willoughby’s influence. Later when John Smith had helped by the grace of God to establish the first permanent English settlement, he acknowledged that all of his courage and determination had come from Lord Willoughby.
Isn’t this amazing! A godly wife who loved Jesus Christ and the Scriptures with all of her heart invited godly men into her home and built friendships which spurred the English Reformation. She also diligently taught her children the Scriptures who went out and lived out their faith boldly and defended Christians. This in turn influenced John Smith who was one of the instruments God used to establish America.
So maybe this is the very first time that you have ever heard of Katherine Willoughby. For all she did, she is not very famous. This brings up one last point I would like to make. Matthew 6:20-21 says, “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Our goal should not be to be great in the eyes of men. Man’s opinion is nothing compared to God’s. Our names may be remembered for a while, but most of the time they will be forgotten. Our name is never forgotten to God. This is what we see with Katherine Willoughby. Her name is unknown to many but God used her mightily for his kingdom because she joyfully lived in the role He laid out for her.
So what can we learn from Katherine Willoughby? First of all, search the Scriptures for our role as women. The Scripture is not only inerrant and infallible, but it is also all sufficient. That includes revealing to us how we are to live our lives. We must also diligently serve our fathers and husbands whom God has put over us. We must furthermore cheerfully exercise hospitality because it is commanded of God. Our family has enjoyed having many families to our home over the years. It has been such a blessing! The Lord has taught us much through these families and hopefully we have been a blessing in return. We may not see any fruit from God’s work through us immediately or in our lifetime, but He has a plan. He knows exactly what He is doing and will accomplish His will no matter what. He will take our feeble attempts and use them for His glory in ways we can never imagine, just as God did with Katherine Willoughby.
