Mary Lee Cagle

Who was Mary Lee Cagle?

Mary Lee Cagle was one of the first influential women and pastors in the Church of the Nazarene. She was married to the Rev. R. L. Harris, and took over his work upon his death. In 1894 Cagle and Harris organized a fourteen member church in Milan, Tennessee called New Testament Church of Christ. The church placed special emphasis on holiness. The influence of this movement that the Cagle-Harris church started in Milan quickly spread into Arkansas and Texas. In November 1904 the Milan New Testament Church of Christ met in Rising Star, Texas to agree to a church union with the Independent Holiness Church. Over the following year, a joint committee adopted the merger and took on the name "Holiness Church of Christ" Mary Lee Cagle was present at the meeting at Pilot Point, Texas.