Joyce Lee Retirement Celebration

Joyce Stuart (Lee), one year old

Dear Friends:

You are invited to a celebration of Joyce Lee’s faithful service to the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). Joyce is slated to retire as FPHC Archivist on March 28, 2013.

Please join Joyce’s colleagues and friends for victuals and merriment on March 28, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, at the Branch Café, Assemblies of God National Office, 1445 North Boonville Avenue, Springfield, Missouri.

Joyce will have dedicated just under 26 years and 11 months of her life to preserving and promoting our Pentecostal heritage. She worked approximately 55,972 hours at the FPHC, during which she oversaw the creation of almost 90,000 catalog records. She assisted countless thousands of researchers by phone, letter, email, and in person. The FPHC became the largest repository of Pentecostal treasures in large part due to Joyce’s meticulous attention to detail and skilled bibliographic organization. Most importantly, though, Joyce’s passion for archiving flowed from her faith. In her work and throughout her life, she has shown a love for God, His Church, and His people. The world needs more Joyces.

If you have any questions, please contact Jeanine Bartels, Administrative Coordinator for the FPHC.

Jeanine Bartels
Administrative Coordinator
Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
Phone: 417.862.2781 Ext. 4400
Email: jbartels@ag.org

2012 in review

The WordPress.com prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 18,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 4 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Symposium Slated for Springfield, MO, September 17-18, 2012

A symposium honoring the late Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr., is scheduled to be held in Springfield, Missouri, September 17-18, 2012. James O. Patterson, Sr. (1912-1989) served as Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, from 1968 to 1989.

The Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Symposium will celebrate the centenary of Patterson’s birth and also will dedicate the Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Collection. Patterson’s widow, Mother Mary P. Patterson, deposited Bishop Patterson’s personal papers at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in Springfield, Missouri, in the national offices of the Assemblies of God, is the largest Pentecostal archive and research center in the world.

Four Church of God in Christ dignitaries will be participating in the Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Symposium:

•Mother Mary P. Patterson
•Bishop Lemuel Thuston (Kansas East Jurisdiction, COGIC)
•Dr. David Daniels (the foremost COGIC historian)
•Sara Jordan Powell (Gospel music artist and founder of the COGIC Fine Arts Department)

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

Monday, Sept 17, 2012
10:30-11:30 am
Honoring the Centenary of the Birth of Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr.
Speaker: Bishop Lemuel Thuston
Location: Central Bible College chapel, 3000 N. Grant Ave., Springfield, MO 65803

3:30-5:00 pm
Reception for Mother Mary P. Patterson, David Daniels, and Sara Jordan Powell
Location: Assemblies of God Theological Seminary Great Hall, 1435 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, MO 65802

Tuesday, Sept 18, 2012
8:00-9:00 am
Dedication of the Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Collection
Speaker: Dr. David Daniels
Location: Assemblies of God National Office chapel, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802

Mother Mary P. Patterson organized an earlier event, held on July 19 at the Tower Center in Memphis, commemorating the centenary of Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr.’s birth. The event made the front page of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.

The Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Collection is an important part of the expanding collection of African-American Pentecostal treasures at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. These historical materials provide the basis for ongoing research and reflec­tion about our shared Pentecostal heri­tage and are attracting increasing num­bers of students and researchers to Springfield.

The Patterson collection takes its place alongside other significant collections, including the original Azusa Street newspapers and Smith Wigglesworth’s original sermon notes. In the last year, ten major research collections were deposited at the FPHC, including collections assembled by these scholars, church leaders, and institutions: Pentecostal historians Grant Wacker, William W. Menzies, and Steve Durasoff; Hispanic-American Pentecostal pioneer H. C. Ball; German-American Pentecostal pioneer George H. Rueb; Bethany University; and African-American Oneness collector Robert James McGoings, Jr.

The dedication of the Patterson Collection is not just about archiving history. Mother Mary P. Patterson believes it has much broader implications. The 2011 edition of AG Heritage magazine (p. 73) reported the following:

Mother Patterson believes that establishing the Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Collection at the FPHC is part of a larger divine plan. “My husband worked to build bridges between the Church of God in Christ and other churches. I believe this could be a catalyst for significant bridge-building between our Pentecostal churches. God is bringing things together in a miraculous way.”

Patterson is excited about the broader implications of this archival relationship. She states, “I am entrust­ing the Assemblies of God to help preserve and promote my husband’s materials. I want to send a signal that our two churches can and should cooperate in areas like education and historical archives.”

Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. often quoted Mark 12:37: “And the common people heard Him gladly.” According to Mother Patterson, the symposium in Springfield will pro­vide “an opportunity for the ‘common people’ — not just leaders — from the churches to rub shoulders and to get to know each other.”

The Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Symposium is free and is open to the public. An oral history video interview is also scheduled to be recorded with symposium participants. Gospel music artist Sara Jordan Powell will provide sacred music for the two chapel services. For additional information about the symposium, contact the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center by email (archives@ag.org) or toll free by telephone (877-840-5200).

The Apostolic Messenger (Winnipeg, Canada)

A. H. Argue

The FPHC now has The Apostolic Messenger (Winnipeg, Canada), an early and very rare Canadian periodical published by Andrew H. Argue, digitally available online: http://bit.ly/ApostolicMessenger

Please let us know if you have any copies of The Apostolic Messenger (Winnipeg, Canada) to preserve!

Bill and Doris Menzies

William and Doris Menzies

Dr. William W. Menzies and his wife, Doris Dresselhaus Menzies, both went to be with the Lord in the past few months.

Bill Menzies was widely known in Pentecostal and evangelical circles as a statesman, building bridges across denominational and racial divides. He was one of the organizers of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and was the first editor of the society’s journal, Pneuma. He was also one of the editors for the Full Life Study Bible and a consulting editor for Christianity Today. He held teaching and administrative positions at Central Bible College (Springfield, Missouri), Evangel University (Springfield, Missouri), the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (Springfield, Missouri), California Theological Seminary (Fresno, California) and Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (Baguio City, Philippines).

Menzies’ dissertation at the University of Iowa became the benchmark history of the Assemblies of God, Anointed to Serve (GPH, 1971). He was a prolific author, authoring or editing standard textbooks such as Understanding the Times of Christ (GPH, 1969), Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective (GPH, 1993) and Spirit and Power (Zondervan, 2000).

Menzies’ two sons, Glen and Robert, went on to earn their doctoral degrees and have become respected educators in the Assemblies of God. Glen and Robert authored the following accounts of their parents’ lives and ministries, which they read at their funerals.

The Story Behind the Foot Washing at the 1994 “Memphis Miracle”

Click here to listen to Donald Evans tell the story behind the foot washing at the Memphis Miracle

Certain segments within early Pentecostalism – most prominently the Azusa Street Revival (1906-1909) in Los Angeles, California – promoted a vision of “brotherly love” across the racial divides. However, this interracial vision was quickly eclipsed as Pentecostals set out to organize churches and did so largely along cultural and racial lines. When the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America – an umbrella organization for Pentecostal denominations – was formed in 1948, its founding members were all mostly-white denominations.

Recognizing the need to heal the racial divisions within Pentecostalism, church leaders came together in Memphis on October 18, 1994 and dissolved the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America. The next day the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA) was formed by both white and black denominations. The meetings surrounding this monumental act of racial reconciliation came to a climax when, on October 18, a white Assemblies of God pastor, Donald Evans, approached the platform. He tearfully explained that he felt God’s leading to wash the feet of Church of God in Christ Bishop Ithiel Clemmons, while begging forgiveness for the sins of the whites against their black brothers and sisters. A wave of weeping swept over the auditorium. Participants sensed that this was the final seal of the Holy Spirit’s approval from the heart of God over the proceedings. This event, which became known as the “Memphis Miracle,” is a significant milestone in the annals of Pentecostal history.

The Legacy of David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

Reverend David Wilkerson, the author of The Cross and the Switchblade, as well as the founder of Teen Challenge, World Challenge Ministries and Times Square Church, was killed on Wednesday, April 27th in a head-on collision at Tyler, Texas. He died at the scene, while his wife was rushed to hospital where she remains under observation. He was 79.

A private funeral service held on May 2nd at Rose Heights Church of God, in Tyler, was attended by members of Wilkerson’s family and close friends, including evangelist Nicky Cruz. His body was laid to rest in Lindale, Texas. During the funeral service, a tribute video was shown to those who attended. To view this video, please click on: A Tribute to David Wilkerson.

Members of the church and the public will have the chance to pay their respects at a memorial service to be held at Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, May 14, 2011. There will be overflow locations once full capacity has been reached inside the church. The service will be streamed live beginning at 2:00 p.m. on the Times Square Church website. A simultaneous translation of the service will be available in 10 different languages via conference call lines, details of which will also be posted on the church’s live stream page.

Wilkerson left a lasting legacy through his evangelistic ministry which spanned four decades and included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books, but was well known for having written “The Cross and the Switchblade,” also made into a movie, which gave an account of his ministry among New York gang members and drug users. Over 50 million copies of the book have been sold and it has been translated into 30 languages. This led to the establishment of Teen Challenge which has continued to minister to those caught in addictions. Today, there are 233 Teen Challenge Centers in the United States and 1,187 total worldwide.

In 1987, David Wilkerson returned to “the crossroads of the world” to establish Times Square Church. Since then, he faithfully led this congregation, delivering powerful biblical messages that encourage righteous living and complete reliance on God.

With a strong burden to encourage and strengthen pastors throughout the world, Wilkerson has been traveling around the globe since 1999, holding conferences for Christian ministers. His last blog, posted on April 27th, ended with these words: “Stand fast in [God’s] Word. There is no other hope in this world.” See: “When All Means Fail.” David Wilkerson was living in Texas with his wife, and together they have four children and 11 grandchildren.

The Pentecostal Evangel is also working on an issue in tribute to David Wilkerson.

For an overview of David Wilkerson’s life and ministry, see: http://www.worldchallenge.org/about_david_wilkerson

Some additional posts regarding David Wilkerson can be found below:

David Wilkerson Today

Rev. David Wilkerson Killed in TX Car Crash (CBN News)

Times Square Church Founder David Wilkerson Dies in Accident (Christian Post)

David Wilkerson Killed in Car Crash (Charisma magazine)

Sudden passing of David Wilkerson (AG-NEWS)

Memorial service for David Wilkerson finalized (AG-NEWS)

“Call to Anguish” (David Wilkerson’s soul-stirring sermon on the necessity of anguish – to bear God’s heart, passion, and burden within our lives) posted on YouTube.

“Call to Anguish” (David Wilkerson’s soul-stirring sermon on the necessity of anguish – to bear God’s heart, passion, and burden within our lives) posted on YouTube.

“The Dangers of the Gospel of Accommodation” (A sermon given by David Wilkerson at an Assemblies of God Headquarters chapel service on March 10, 1998, now posted on AGTV).

A transcript of Wilkerson’s message on the Dangers of Accommodation in Enrichment Journal, Winter 1999.

“Teen challenge: 50 years of miracles” in Assemblies of God Heritage, 2008, p. 14.

Church of God in Christ tour with Mother Patterson

 

Mason Temple, Memphis, Tennessee

TOUR OF COGIC HOLY SITES (LEXINGTON AND MEMPHIS)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Mother Mary P. Patterson (widow of Presiding Bishop J.O. Patterson Sr., 1968-1989) has agreed to lead a tour of Church of God in Christ holy sites in Lexington (MS) and Memphis (TN). The tour will occur on Wednesday, March 9, 2011, the day before the beginning of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) annual meeting.

Guests will see St. Paul Church Of God In Christ (the birthplace of the COGIC), Asia Baptist Church, Saints Industrial and Literary School, the jail cell where Bishop C.H. Mason was imprisoned in 1918 for allegedly preaching against the war, and other sites in Lexington, in addition to Mason Temple in Memphis.

Three scholars will accompany the tour and provide historical commentary: Dr. Elton Weaver (COGIC historian and Assistant Professor of History, Le Moyne-Owen College); Dr. Anjulet Tucker (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Religion, Boston University); and Dr. Percy Washington (pastor of Sweet Canaan COGIC, Lexington, MS).

The March 9, 2011 tour on Luxury Motor Coach will depart from and return to the Marriott Memphis Downtown (the official SPS hotel). Departure: 8:30 am. Return: 4 pm. Cost: $65 (lunch included). SPS members should make reservations through the SPS website prior to Feb. 1. Starting Feb. 1, any remaining seats will be offered to the general public. If insufficient guests register by Feb. 15, the tour may be cancelled and all fees will be refunded. For additional information, contact Darrin Rodgers at drodgers@ag.org or toll free at 877-840-5200.

This is a rare opportunity!

Tickets for the tour may be purchased on the SPS website: http://www.sps-usa.org/meetings/registration.htm. Non-SPS members may purchase tickets on the SPS website starting on February 1.

Oral Roberts Dies

Oral Roberts preaching at tent crusade, circa 1950s

TULSA, Okla., December 15, 2009 – Dr. Oral Roberts, a legendary evangelist who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th century, died today in Newport Beach, Calif., due to complications from pneumonia. His son, Richard, and daughter, Roberta, were at his side. The founder of Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University was 91.

There will be a private family internment. Arrangements for a public memorial service in Tulsa are pending and will be announced soon.

“Oral Roberts was the greatest man of God I‟ve ever known,” Richard Roberts said. “A modern-day apostle of the healing ministry, an author, educator, evangelist, prophet, and innovator, he was the only man of his generation to build a worldwide ministry, an accredited university, and a medical school.

“Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he was not only my earthly father; he was my spiritual father and mentor. The last member of his generation in the Roberts family, he had a passion to bring healing to the sick.

“His name is synonymous with miracles. He came along when many in Christendom did not believe in the power of God and His goodness. Oral Roberts was known for sayings such as “God Is a Good God,‟ “Expect a Miracle,‟ “Release Your Faith,‟ and “Plant Your Seed for a Harvest.‟

Dr. Rolf K. McPherson with the Lord

On Thursday, May 21, 2009, Dr. Rolf K. McPherson, son of the founder and the president emeritus of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, passed away at his home in Los Feliz, California. He was 96 years old.

Rolf Kennedy McPherson was born March 23, 1913 in Providence, Rhode Island to Harold S. and Aimee Semple McPherson. As a small child he traveled to the West Coast with his mother, who evangelized her way across the country to Los Angeles, where she established Angelus Temple in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles.

Upon the death of Aimee Semple McPherson in 1944, Rolf McPherson became president of the four corporate entities she had established: Echo Park Evangelistic Association, The Church of the Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, and LIFE Bible College. In addition, he became the pastor of Angelus Temple.

For 44 years, Dr. Rolf K. McPherson led the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, expanding its ministry into 63 countries around the world; the number of churches worldwide grew to more than 19,000 (Currently there are almost 60,000 Foursquare churches and meeting places in 144 countries.). Dr. McPherson retired from the presidency of The Foursquare Church in 1988, but he remained president emeritus. He was also pastor emeritus of Angelus Temple, having retired from actively directing the affairs of the church in 1997.

He is survived by his wife, Evangeline Carmichael McPherson; his daughter, Alicia McPherson Santacroce; three grandchildren; a niece, Victoria Salter; a step-daughter, Carol Parks; and two step-granddaughters. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lorna De Smith McPherson, and a daughter Marlene McPherson LaRue.

A memorial service will be held at Angelus Temple on Saturday, May 30, at 11 a.m. A viewing will be held at Forest Lawn Glendale on the evening of Friday, May 29.

Obituaries have been posted in the Los Angeles Times, Christian News Wire, and Foursquare News Service. See also the Arrangements for the Memorial Service with addresses to send memorial contributions.

Posted by Glenn Gohr