Aimee Semple McPherson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aimee Semple McPherson
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Sister Aimee (early 1920s)
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Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy
October 9, 1890 Salford, Ontario, Canada
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| Died | September 27, 1944 (aged 53) |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Glendale) |
| Known for | Founding the Foursquare Church |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Semple (1908–10; his death) Harold McPherson (1912–21; divorced) David Hutton (1931–34; divorced) |
| Children | Roberta Semple Salter (1910–2007) Rolf McPherson (1913–2009) |
Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (born Kennedy; October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944) was a Canadian Pentecostal evangelist. She was also known as Sister Aimee. In the 1920s and 1930s, she became a famous media personality. She is best known for starting the Foursquare Church.
McPherson was a pioneer in using radio to share her religious messages. She also used radio to ask for donations. She made her weekly sermons at Angelus Temple exciting, using stage techniques. Angelus Temple was one of the first very large churches, called a megachurch.
During her time, she was the most famous Protestant evangelist. She even became more well-known than Billy Sunday. She held public faith healing events where thousands of people attended. McPherson believed the United States was founded and supported by divine inspiration. This idea influenced many religious leaders who came after her.
McPherson's way of preaching and her charity work had a big impact. She also helped different Christian groups work together. These efforts greatly influenced Charismatic Christianity in the 20th century.
Contents
Biography
Aimee's Early Life
Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy was born in Salford, Ontario, Canada. Her parents were James Morgan and Mildred Ona Kennedy. Her mother, Mildred, worked with the poor at Salvation Army soup kitchens. This gave Aimee early exposure to religious work. As a child, she would pretend to be in the Salvation Army with her friends. She even preached sermons to her dolls.
As a teenager, Aimee explored different interests, which was common for young people. In high school, she learned about the Theory of Evolution. She started asking questions about faith and science. She felt the answers she received were not enough. She wrote a letter to a Canadian newspaper. In her letter, she questioned the teaching of evolution in schools. This was her first time being in the public eye. People across the country responded to her letter. This marked the beginning of her strong beliefs about creation.
Marriage and Family Life
In 1907, Aimee went to a revival meeting. There she met Robert James Semple, a Pentecostal missionary from Ireland. She decided to dedicate her life to Jesus and became a Pentecostal. She was very impressed by Semple and his message. After a short time, they married in August 1908. Robert worked in a factory and preached at a local Pentecostal church. They studied the Bible together. Then they moved to Chicago and joined William Durham's Full Gospel Assembly. Durham taught Aimee about interpreting speaking in tongues.
They went on a mission trip to China. Both of them got malaria. Robert also got dysentery and sadly died in Hong Kong. Aimee recovered and gave birth to their daughter, Roberta Star Semple. On the ship back to the United States, she held religious services and classes.
After she got better in the United States, Aimee worked with her mother in the Salvation Army. In New York City, she met Harold Stewart McPherson, an accountant. They married in 1912 and moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Their son, Rolf Potter Kennedy McPherson, was born in 1913.
During this time, Aimee felt a strong calling to preach. She struggled with sadness and worry. In 1914, she became very sick with appendicitis. Aimee later said that after an unsuccessful operation, she heard a voice telling her to preach. She said that after she accepted this challenge, she could move in bed without pain. In 1915, her husband came home and found that Aimee had left with the children. A few weeks later, he received a note inviting him to join her in her preaching work.
Harold McPherson followed her to bring her home. But he changed his mind after seeing her preach. He joined her in evangelism, setting up tents for meetings. They sold their house and lived in their "Gospel Car." Harold wanted a more stable life. He returned to Rhode Island. In 1918, he asked for a separation. Their divorce was finalized in 1921.
McPherson married actor and musician David Hutton in 1932. They separated in 1933 and divorced in 1934. McPherson later said she regretted this marriage for religious and personal reasons. She later turned down a marriage proposal from gospel singer Homer Rodeheaver in 1935.
Beginning Her Ministry
Aimee McPherson became known for interpreting speaking in tongues in Chicago. She felt she could not be happy as just a housewife. In 1913, she began preaching. She held tent revivals across the country. McPherson quickly gained many followers. She often had to move to bigger buildings to fit the growing crowds. She used the excitement of Pentecostal meetings. However, she avoided the wild chaos where people would shout or tremble. McPherson set up a separate tent for such intense displays of religious feeling. This made her main services more welcoming to larger audiences.
In 1916, McPherson toured the Southern United States. She did this again in 1918 with her mother, Mildred Kennedy. She would stand on the back seat of their car and preach through a megaphone.
In 1917, she started a magazine called Bridal Call. She wrote articles about women's roles in religion. She described the connection between Christians and Jesus as a marriage. The magazine helped make Pentecostalism a lasting religious presence in America. It also took women's roles seriously.
In 1919, newspapers first noticed her in Baltimore. She held evangelistic services at the Lyric Opera House. There, she performed faith-healing demonstrations. Baltimore became a very important place for her early career.
Career in Los Angeles
In 1918, McPherson moved to Los Angeles. Her mother, Mildred Kennedy, rented the 3,500-seat Philharmonic Auditorium. People waited for hours to get into the crowded venue. After her meetings, attendees built a home for her family. At this time, Los Angeles was a popular place for vacations. Instead of traveling all over the United States, McPherson decided to stay in Los Angeles. She attracted audiences from both visitors and the city's growing population. Her ministry to tourists helped her message spread across the nation.
For several years, she traveled and raised money. She wanted to build a large, domed church in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. She named it Angelus Temple, after the Angelus bell and angels. McPherson did not want to owe money. She found a construction company willing to work as funds were raised "by faith." They started with $5,000 for the foundation. McPherson brought together many different groups to fund and build the church. For example, she sold chairs for the Temple seating. Robert Parrish described attending one of her services in his book 'Growing up in Hollywood'.
She raised more money than she expected. So, McPherson changed the plans and built a "megachurch". The project cost about $250,000. Costs were kept low because building materials and labor were donated. The church was dedicated in 1923.
The number of members grew to over 10,000. Angelus Temple was advertised as the largest single Christian church in the world. Church records show that the Temple received 40 million visitors in its first seven years.
Even though she had some connections with Pentecostals, her beliefs were interdenominational. This means they were open to different Christian groups.
Charitable Work
McPherson created a church organization to help with both physical and spiritual needs. She encouraged people to get involved in charity and social work. She said that "true Christianity is not only to be good but to do good." The Temple collected donations for helping people in need. This included aid for a disaster in Japan and a relief fund for Germany. Men released from prison were helped to find jobs by a "brotherhood." A "sisterhood" sewed baby clothes for mothers who were struggling.
In June 1925, an earthquake hit Santa Barbara. McPherson stopped a radio broadcast to ask for food, blankets, clothing, and emergency supplies. In 1928, a dam broke, causing a flood that killed up to 600 people. McPherson's church led the relief efforts. In 1933, an earthquake struck Long Beach. McPherson quickly arranged for volunteers to offer blankets, coffee, and doughnuts. She convinced fire and police departments to help with distribution. Doctors and dentists worked at her free clinic. This clinic also trained nurses to care for children and the elderly. To prevent power from being shut off to homes in winter, a special fund was set up with the utility company.
In 1927, McPherson opened a commissary at Angelus Temple. This was based on her childhood experience with the Salvation Army. The commissary offered food, clothing, and blankets. She became very active in creating soup kitchens and free clinics during the Great Depression. She fed an estimated 1.5 million people. Volunteers filled commissary baskets with food and other items. They also included Foursquare Gospel literature. When the government stopped the free school-lunch program, McPherson took it over. Her giving "helped a huge number of people."
McPherson did not separate people into "deserving" or "undeserving." Her temple commissary became known as a helpful and welcoming aid center. It helped more families than other public or private groups. Her programs helped people who were not residents, like migrants from other states and Mexico. This caused some issues with California state rules. Even though the temple guidelines were later changed to fit these policies, helping families in need was always the main goal.
Ministry Style
Creative Preaching
In August 1925, McPherson flew a plane to Los Angeles for her Sunday sermon. She knew this would get a lot of attention. So, she arranged for her followers and the press to be at the airport. The plane had a problem after takeoff, and the landing gear broke. The nose of the plane hit the ground. McPherson used this experience for a sermon called "The Heavenly Airplane." In it, the devil was the pilot, sin was the engine, and temptation was the propeller.
Another time, she described being stopped by a police officer. She called the sermon "Arrested for Speeding." She dressed in a traffic cop's uniform. She sat on a police motorcycle and blared the siren. One person who was there wrote that she drove the motorcycle to the pulpit. She slammed the brakes and shouted, "Stop! You're speeding to Hell!"
McPherson had a small team of artists, electricians, and carpenters. They built sets for each service. An orchestra played religious music. McPherson also created detailed sacred operas. For one show, The Iron Furnace, based on the Exodus story, Hollywood actors helped get costumes.
McPherson said that theater and film were bad. But she used their techniques in her services. She was the first woman evangelist to use movie-like methods to make church services more exciting. Serious messages were given in a funny way. Animals were often part of the shows. McPherson gave up to 22 sermons a week. Her Sunday night services were so big that extra trolleys and police were needed to help with traffic. To pay for the Temple and its projects, collections were taken at every meeting.
McPherson preached traditional Christian ideas. But she used modern methods, like radio, movies, and stage acts. She attracted some women who liked new ideas. However, others were put off by the difference between her message and her presentation style.
After World War I, the debate between traditional and modern religious views grew. Traditionalists believed their faith should guide every part of their lives. Despite her modern style, McPherson agreed with the traditionalists. She wanted to remove modern and non-religious ideas from homes, churches, and schools.
McPherson's revival events from 1919 to 1922 attracted more people than any other touring event in American history. She broke attendance records set by Billy Sunday. She often used his temporary tent structures for her meetings. One revival was held in a boxing ring. During the boxing event, she carried a sign that said "knock out the Devil." In San Diego, the city called in the National Guard to control a crowd of over 30,000 people.
Faith Healing Ministry
McPherson's ability to attract crowds was also greatly helped by her faith healing presentations. According to an early writer about McPherson, the evangelist said that when she touched sick or injured people, they got well. This happened because of God's power in her. During a 1916 revival in New York, a woman with severe rheumatoid arthritis was brought to the altar. McPherson touched her and prayed. The woman then seemed to walk out of the church without crutches. McPherson's reputation as a faith healer grew. People came to her by the tens of thousands. News outlets widely covered McPherson's faith-healing practices. This was a big part of her early success. Over time, she did less faith-healing. But she still held weekly and monthly healing sessions. These remained popular until her death.
The Foursquare Church
McPherson published a weekly newspaper called Foursquare Crusader. She began broadcasting on radio in the early 1920s. In April 1922, she became the first woman to preach a sermon over the radio. In 1924, she opened KFSG, a radio station owned by the Foursquare Gospel Church. She was the second woman to get a broadcast license from the Department of Commerce. This department oversaw broadcasting at the time.
In October 1922, she explained her idea of "Foursquare Gospel" in a sermon. This idea represents four parts of Jesus Christ's ministry: Savior, Baptizer with the Holy Ghost, Healer, and King.
McPherson welcomed people of all races to her tent meetings and church services. Once, some Ku Klux Klan members attended a service. After the service, their hoods and robes were found on the ground nearby. She is also recognized for helping Hispanic ministries in Los Angeles.
War Years
In the 1930s, McPherson and the Foursquare Gospel Church explored Pacifism, which means believing in peace and opposing war. McPherson also thought about Gandhi's ideas on pacifism. Clinton Howard, who led the World Peace Commission, was invited to speak at the Temple. In 1932, she supported the idea of reducing weapons. Foursquare leaders were worried about fast changes in military technology. They created a rule that allowed different views on military service. Two views were accepted: that one could fight for a good cause, or that killing others, even in war, could harm one's soul. McPherson watched world events leading up to World War II. She believed that the apocalypse and the Second Coming of Christ were near.
All-night prayer meetings began at the Temple in 1940 as Germany took over parts of Europe. She asked other Foursquare churches across the country to do the same. She sent President Franklin Roosevelt's secretary, Stephen Early, her plans. Many officials, including the governor of California, expressed their thanks.
When World War II started, McPherson changed her view on Christian pacifism. This was a popular idea in the Pentecostal movement. She said, "It is the Bible against Mein Kampf. It is the Cross against the Swastika. It is God against the antichrist of Japan...This is no time for pacifism." The Temple itself became a symbol of helping the war effort at home. Its white dome was painted black. Its stained-glass windows were covered in case of air raids. To encourage saving gasoline and rubber, McPherson drove a horse and buggy to the Temple.
Rubber and other drives were organized. Her radio station gave unlimited airtime to the Office of War Information. She asked listeners to donate two hours a day for tasks like rolling bandages. Money was raised to provide military bases with comfortable furniture and radios. Newsweek magazine wrote an article about McPherson in 1943. They called her "The World's Greatest Living Minister." The article noted she had collected 2,800 pints of blood for the Red Cross. Servicemen in her audience were specially honored. The highlight of her services was when she read the National Anthem. McPherson gave autographed Bibles to visiting servicemen. She wrote:
What a privilege it was to invite the servicemen present in every Sunday night meeting to come to the platform, where I greeted them, gave each one a New Testament, and knelt in prayer with them for their spiritual needs.
She spoke against Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tōjō. She also helped with war bond rallies. McPherson sold $150,000 worth of bonds in one hour in 1942. This broke previous records. She did it again in 1944. The U.S. Treasury gave her a special award. The army made McPherson an honorary colonel. Her wartime activities included sermons that connected the church and love for one's country. She believed that if the Allies did not win, churches, homes, and everything Christians held dear would be destroyed.
McPherson's strong support for the United States' war strategy led to some criticism. The line between the church as a separate moral authority and the government became unclear. The internment of Japanese Americans in camps was overlooked. She also did not allow her church to support Christians who remained pacifists. Church members and leaders were expected to be willing to fight. At her suggestion, the Foursquare Gospel Church removed its pacifist rule.
Death
On September 26, 1944, McPherson went to Oakland, California. She planned to give a series of revival sermons, including her popular "Story of My Life" sermon. The next morning, at 10:00, McPherson's son found her unconscious in her hotel room. There were pills and a half-empty bottle of capsules nearby. She died by 11:15. It was later found that she had called her doctor that morning. She complained of feeling sick from medicine. But her doctor was in surgery. She then called another doctor who sent her to a third doctor. However, McPherson lost consciousness before she could reach the third doctor.
The autopsy showed she died from a heart attack.
45,000 people waited in long lines, some until 2 a.m. They wanted to see the evangelist's body, which lay in state for three days at the Temple. It took 11 trucks to carry the $50,000 worth of flowers to the cemetery. Her former assistant pastor, Rheba Crawford Splivalo, her daughter Roberta, and her mother Mildred Kennedy were also there.
McPherson is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. After her death, her son Rolf McPherson led the Foursquare Gospel church for 44 years.
Legacy and Influence
After her death, the mostly negative way the media showed her continued. This became the main way many people remembered McPherson. Robert P. Shuler, who had been critical of McPherson, later wrote that she had many flaws. However, he believed she ultimately had a positive and lasting impact on Christianity. He recognized that her appeal came from connecting with everyday people. She also had a talent for preaching in simple terms. Her legacy continued through the thousands of ministers she trained and churches started worldwide. McPherson helped change evangelical Christianity. She made it relevant to American culture and personally meaningful for listeners.
McPherson influenced later ministers. These included child preacher Uldine Utley and Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, who started the Christian Men's Network. Writer Matthew Sutton said that McPherson helped prevent traditional Protestantism from being replaced by new scientific and philosophical ideas. Liberal Christianity, which was growing in the late 1800s, saw Bible miracles as old superstitions or metaphors. McPherson's faith-healing ministry promoted the idea that miracles could still happen in modern times.
McPherson's ecumenical approach helped Pentecostals explain their faith. They could do this within the context of historic church doctrine. Mainstream churches learned about different beliefs regarding gifts of the Holy Spirit. They borrowed Pentecostal revival techniques. These included showing emotions, praising God, and sharing personal stories. This led to the Charismatic Movement.
McPherson challenged what people expected from women. Her gender and divorces were a concern for many traditional churches she wanted to work with. However, atheist Charles Lee Smith noted that she had an amazing mind, "especially for a woman."
Her ongoing work to build church alliances finally paid off after her death. Foursquare Gospel Church leaders joined the National Association of Evangelicals in 1952. They also helped organize the Pentecostal World Fellowship. Pentecostalism, which was once seen as separate and on the edge of Protestantism, became part of mainstream Christianity.
The Foursquare church reported having over 7.9 million members worldwide in 2019.
Images for kids
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McPherson (early 1920s).
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Mildred Kennedy doing radio interview with deep-sea diver R.C. Crawford during search for McPherson's body in Santa Monica, Calif., 1926
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After emerging from the Mexican desert, McPherson recovers in a hospital with her family in Douglas, Arizona, 1926. District Attorney Asa Keyes stands to the far left with Mildred Kennedy (mother) next to Roberta Star Semple, middle left (daughter). On the far right, Deputy District Attorney Joseph Ryan is alongside her son, Rolf McPherson.
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McPherson surrounded by flowers, cutting into Angelus Temple cake, 1929. She used her birthday, national holidays and other events as themes for church services and gala festivities.
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The cover of a prospectus for a Lake Tahoe land deal, an unsuccessful project. A subsequent lawsuit by investors drew unfavorable publicity and the attention of the district attorney's office.
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McPherson's daughter, Roberta Semple (left); McPherson (middle); and Rheba Crawford Splivalo, assistant pastor of Angelus Temple (right), at a parade in 1935
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Congregation at Angelus Temple during fourteen-hour Holy Ghost service led by Aimee Semple McPherson, Los Angeles, Calif., 1942
See also
In Spanish: Aimee Semple McPherson para niños
