Dorothy Ward (1909-2007), widow of C. M. Ward, passes away

Dorothy M. Ward, the widow of Revivaltime speaker, C. M. Ward, passed away on April 17, 2007 at the Bethel Retirement Center in Modesto, California, at the age of 98.

Born on April 3, 1909, in Kansas City, Missouri, she was the daughter of Charles and Hazel Hymes. She met C. M. Ward one summer when he was preaching at Ottawa, Kansas, where she lived. They were married in a double wedding ceremony on December 25, 1929, at Ottawa, Kansas, along with Dorothy’s sister who married Leonard Palmer.

Dorothy Ward assisted her husband as he pastored and evangelized in Canada, taught at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and pastored again at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Bakersfield, California from 1945-1953. Then came the move to Springfield, Missouri, where Dr. C. M. Ward became the well-recognized voice of the Assemblies of God Revivaltime radio broadcast for 25 years.

She and Dr. Ward moved from Springfield, Missouri, to Scotts Valley, California in 1973, when he was appointed president of Bethany Bible College (Bethany University) until 1978. In 1990 they relocated to Modesto, California, where they resided at Bethel Retirement Center. Dr. Ward preceded her in death on July 12, 1996.

In 1937 one of Dorothy’s sisters-in-law died, leaving a child behind. The Wards became parents to the young girl, now Martha Jane Sherburne of Florence, Oregon. Dorothy is survived by her daughter Martha Jane; four grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren; and a sister, Ruth Williamson. She is also survived by two sisters-in-law, Barbara and Ruth Hymes; several nieces and nephews; and her devoted friend and caregiver, Ethylene Shannon.

A memorial service was held on April 24th at Bethel Church in Modesto. A final memorial will be held in Springfield, Missouri, on May 11, at 1 p.m. in the chapel at Greenlawn Funeral Home North, with burial to follow in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, where she will be laid to rest alongside her husband, C. M. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the C. M. Ward Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 7937, Stockton, CA 95267.

Additional information can be found at Assemblies of God News Service, the Santa Cruz (CA) Sentinel, April 22, 2007, and the Springfield News-Leader, May 8, 2007.

Ralph W. Harris in photos and videos

SplashCast with Flickr photos and YouTube Video.
Produced by iFPHC

Ralph W. Harris (1912-2004)

Ralph Harris, a talented youth leader, pastor and editor, was full of the zest for life and had creative genius which helped to shape and mold the Assemblies of God for decades.

Originally from Michigan, Harris graduated from Central Bible Institute with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He pastored churches in Michigan, Washington, and Missouri. In 1943, he was appointed to establish a national office in Springfield for the Assemblies of God youth program, Christ’s Ambassadors. The next year he founded Speed the Light, a highly successful youth program that gathers funds to provide transportation for missionaries.

COGIC Bishop G. E. Patterson (1939-2007)

Church of God in Christ Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson passed away Tuesday afternoon, March 20, 2007, in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 67.

The following is a statement from the Carter Malone Group, public relations contact for the Patterson family and the COGIC:

This afternoon at 4:03 p.m. at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God In Christ, Bishop G. E. Patterson, passed away as a result of heart failure. Patterson was surrounded by his wife, Mrs. Louise Patterson, and his family.

Patterson served as the leader of the fourth-largest Protestant religious denomination in the world with an estimated membership of 6.5 million members. He led the denomination since November 2000.

The memorial and funeral services will be held at Temple of Deliverance Church Of God In Christ. Local church memorial service, March 29, 7:00 p.m. — Jurisdictional memorial service, March 30, 7:00 p.m. — National church funeral service, March 31, 10:00 a.m.

Bishop Charles E. Blake, pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ has been named the interim presiding bishop of the denomination.

News reports are available online at the WMC-TV Memphis website which includes video clips, photos, and other tributes to Bishop Patterson.

Additional information can be found in the Memphis Commercial Appeal and on the Church of God in Christ, Inc. website.

“Sister Aimee” documentary airs on PBS

SplashCast with Flickr photos
Produced by iFPHC

After months of diligent research, organizing the story line, and working with a film crew, Public Television’s national broadcast of “Sister Aimee” is less than two weeks away. This film, written, produced and directed by Linda Garmon, is part of the American Experience series. It will air on PBS stations nationwide on Monday, April 2 at 9 p.m. in most markets.

A PBS website for the film includes a synopsis of the film, a gallery of photos, interview excerpts, and other features.

About a year and a half ago the FPHC learned of this upcoming documentary on the life of Aimee Semple McPherson. It is based on the book Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America by Matthew Avery Sutton (Harvard University Press, 2007). A review of Matthew Sutton’s book on Aimee can be found at the Harvard University Press website.

Linda Garmon, a producer with WGBH TV (Boston), first contacted us and came to Springfield, Missouri to do research at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center in December 2005. For two days she pored over a large number of newspaper clippings, books by and about “Sister Aimee,” issues of the Bridal Call and the Foursquare Crusader, as well as a number of tracts, photographs, and miscellaneous items relating to the popular yet controversial, charismatic Pentecostal evangelist.

During the course of this project, Garmon and her staff interviewed Aimee’s biographers and noted religious scholars to better present the complex and revealing portrait of one of the most significant religious figures of the early twentieth century. These interviews and insights are part of the film. Garmon’s staff also visited Angelus Temple and the archives of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in Los Angeles as well as other repositories.

While at the FPHC, Garmon was especially intrigued by any possible documentation or theories surrounding the disappearance of Aimee in 1926. And to flesh out a broader picture of Pentecostalism, she also studied primary source materials relating to the Azusa Street revival and other early Pentecostal events. According to Garmon, “Aimee was equal parts evangelist, movie star and social activist. She offered a brand of old time religion that people could connect with at a time when Americans were craving something to hold onto.”

A favorable review of the film and comments by Foursquare President Jack Hayford are included in Foursquare News Service #279.

Be sure to watch this first-class documentary!

To view the photoset of Aimee Semple McPherson at Flickr click on the link below:

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Pentecostal, History, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Asuza Street, Aimee Semple McPherson, Angelus Temple, Television, PBS, Documentary, Flickr, SplashCast
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Top Pentecostal history books in libraries

Next to Assemblies of God Heritage magazine the Bible, what is your favorite reading material? Do you have a top ten list of your all-time favorite books?

We thought it would be interesting to see which Pentecostal history books are most popular in libraries. So, we logged onto FirstSearch (aka WorldCat or OCLC, which is available at your local library) and searched for books with the following terms in their subject headings. The top ten books for each term, in terms of the numbers of libraries holding each book, are below.

Pentecostal history
1. Heaven Below : Early Pentecostals and American Culture / Grant Wacker (Harvard University Press, 2001) 878 libraries
2. Reinventing American Protestantism : Christianity in the New Millennium / Donald E. Miller (University of California Press, 1997) 847 libraries

Free Azusa Street photos on Flickr

SplashCast with Flickr photos
Produced by iFPHC

It was an unlikely location for an event that would change the face of Christianity.

In the summer of 1906, revival erupted in the newly-formed congregation meeting at the small, run-down Apostolic Faith Mission at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles. Critics attacked the congregation because its mild-mannered black Holiness preacher, William J. Seymour, preached racial reconciliation and the restoration of Biblical spiritual gifts. The Azusa Street revival, as it became known, soon became a local sensation, then attracted thousands of curiosity seekers and pilgrims from around the world. The spiritual intensity of the revival was red hot for over three years, making Azusa Street one of the most significant Pentecostal centers in the early 20th century. One hundred years later, the Pentecostal and charismatic movements — broadly construed — claimed over a half billion adherents, the second largest grouping within Christianity after the Catholic Church.

With the Pentecostal movement’s explosive growth came recognition of the Azusa Street revival as one of the most important events in recent Christian history.

The Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center holds one of the largest collections of Azusa Street-related materials. Our vault protects treasures such as a complete set of The Apostolic Faith, the newspaper published by the Azusa Street mission. We also hold a significant collection of rare photographs of the Azusa Street mission, William Seymour, and other early revival leaders.

We keep these valuable Azusa Street materials under lock and key, but — to mix metaphors — we don’t want to hide our light under a bushel! We have digitized some of our best photos and are making them available for free on Flickr. Not only can you view these photos, you can paste our Azusa slideshow into your own blog or website, or use them in a PowerPoint sermon or classroom lecture.

These photographs remain the intellectual property of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center. The free photos on Flickr contain an unobtrusive watermark (iFPHC.org). If you use the photos, our only requirements are that you leave the watermark on the image and include the following line in your website, PowerPoint, or other publication: “Image used with permission of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (iFPHC.org).” Publication-quality images without the watermark are available for purchase from the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Would you like to read the exciting news of the Azusa Street revival as it was originally published in The Apostolic Faith newspaper? We also have digitized The Apostolic Faith, which is included on the following research DVD for sale:
Assemblies of God Publications: Pre-WWII

To view the photoset of the Azusa Street at Flickr click on the link below:

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Photos, Azusa Street, Pentecostal, History, Flickr, Los Angeles, William J. Seymour, free, William Seymore
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Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research

The January 2007 issue of the Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research contains the following interesting articles:

• “The Chinese Expression of Pentecostalism” by Rev. Dr. Timothy Yeung
• “Post-1960s Pentecostalism and the Promise of a Future For Pentecostal Holiness Women Preachers” by Kristen Welch
• “Contemporary Pentecostal Leadership: The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa as Case Study” by Dr. Mathew Clark
• “The Spirit and Theological Interpretation: A Pentecostal Strategy” by Dr. Kenneth J. Archer
• “The Prosperity Gospel in Nigeria: A Re-Examination of the Concept, Its Impact, and an Evaluation” by Dr. George O. Folarin

Technorati Tags:
Pentecostal, Research, Journal, News, Website
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