Anne Ayres

Anne Ayres (born January 3, 1816, London, England—died February 9, 1896, New York, New York, U.S.) was the first American Protestant religious, who cofounded a sisterhood in the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Ayres moved to the United States with her family in 1836 and settled in New York City. Until 1845 she supplemented the family income by teaching daughters of well-to-do families. In the summer of that year she heard William Augustus Muhlenberg, an Episcopal clergyman, preach on “Jephtha’s Vow” at St. Paul’s College and determined upon a life of religious service. On All Saints’ Day, November 1, 1845, she was consecrated Sister Anne, a “sister of the Holy Communion,” by Muhlenberg.

Because religious communities for women had been abolished by Protestants during the Reformation in the 16th century, there were no existing orders in the Episcopal church in the United States or in the Church of England. The few women who joined Sister Anne in conducting a parish school and doing charitable work among the poor were formally organized in 1852 as the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion, with Sister Anne as “First Sister.” The sisters adopted regulation dress but no habits and, instead of vows, made pledges of service, renewable in three-year terms.

In 1853 they opened a small infirmary, and five years later they moved to the new St. Luke’s Hospital, built by Muhlenberg’s efforts. Sister Anne directed both housekeeping and nursing work at St. Luke’s until 1877. In 1865 she joined Muhlenberg in opening St. Johnland on Long Island, New York, a rural refuge for the poor, handicapped, orphaned, and homeless, and she remained there after leaving the superintendency of the hospital.

The sisterhood came to be known sometimes as that of St. Luke and St. John. In 1867 Sister Anne published Evangelical Sisterhoods; in 1875–77 Evangelical Catholic Papers, an edition of Muhlenberg’s writings; and in 1880 The Life and Work of William Augustus Muhlenberg. She was unwilling throughout her life to have her work appear as anything more than a part of his mission of social service. The sisterhood she helped found survived until 1940.