Agnes Sanford


Agnes Mary Sanford was an American Christian writer.
Sanford holds a significant place in Church history for the twentieth century. As a child of Presbyterian missionaries in China, she was taught the doctrine of Cessationism, which declared that miracles—especially healing—had been temporary for the New Testament Church and then had immediately ceased. Through her ministry and books, she demonstrated that miracles and healing still occur. Additionally, Agnes is recognized as the founder of the Inner Healing Movement, a type of prayer geared toward healing of memories and emotions. She became the wife of the Episcopal priest Edgar L. Sanford. Because of her membership in the Episcopal Church, Agnes had a profound effect upon Christians who otherwise might not accept the validity of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the continuation of the Gifts of the Spirit. Agnes published her first book, The Healing Light, more than a decade prior to the recognized emergence of the Charismatic Movement, and it is often considered a classic in its field. Written from a scientific and metaphysical perspective, it appealed to a wide audience by connecting with those seeking a balanced, mediated position. It had already circulated enough by the 1960s to be considered by some to be the movement’s main source for a practical theology of healing prayer. Agnes became a regular speaker at Camps Farthest Out conferences and has often been referenced by well-known authors, such as Francis MacNutt, John Sandford, and Leanne Payne. These factors together resulted in her having a foundational impact on the early Charismatic Movement. In these respects, Agnes became a significant and foundational part of the Renewal Movement in the first half of the twentieth century.

Education

Agnes attended the Shanghai American School as a teenager before leaving to the United States to attend Peace College, a Presbyterian women's college in Raleigh, NC. After three years there, she received her certificate in education. Since the teaching certification only allowed her to teach in North Carolina, she then applied and was accepted at Agnes Scott College in Georgia. She planned on receiving her bachelor's degree, but after learning she would be required to take courses in math, science, and French, she switched to a non-degree "special" student so she could take additional courses in writing, poetry, and art during her final year. She finished in 1919 and returned to China where she taught English at the Presbyterian mission station before teaching at St. Mary's School in Shanghai and then the Soochow Academy, both Episcopal schools in Shanghai. It was at the latter that she met and married her husband, Edgar Sanford.

Publications

Agnes is most known for founding the Inner Healing movement, a process she described as the healing of memories.