Wednesday, October 9, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 9th of October 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

One of the happy challenges of having this program now in its 6th season of daily shows with new listeners is that sometimes I avoid a character or issue because I feel like “I’ve covered that before.” Still, then I hear from new listeners who don’t know about such-and-such and so-and-so.

But, in the spirit of this season’s “big names and big events” shows, it’s hard to pass the 9th of October without bringing up the character who might be, in all of the 20^th-century church history (a wild and wooly century!), the most interesting character I’ve covered. In fact, she was the topic of the 5^th-ever weekend edition, and you can find a link to that show in the transcript: https://www.1517.org/podcast-overview/2022-02-26 

She was one of the first celebrities in 20th-century American culture. From her church just outside of Hollywood, she was reportedly contacted by the likes of Charlie Chaplin for staging questions. At her height, she was preaching two dozen times a week, with her Sunday night service complete with a menagerie of animals from nearby backlots to bring Bible stories to life. She was, of course, Aimee Semple MacPherson, born on this day in 1890.

Born an only child in Ontario, Canada, she was swept off her feet by an itinerant preacher- the Irishman Robert Semple, who picked up the new Pentecostal teaching coming out of Kansas (that would spread over the globe within the century). The two were married, and she accompanied him on a trip around the world- she filled in for him in London and was a hit. In China, Aimee became pregnant, but Robert soon died, and Aimee made her way back to the States.  She began preaching across the United States, driving a car with her young daughter in tow. By 1921, she was in Los Angeles, where her Angelus Temple would grow to over 5,000 in weekly attendance. She was the first woman to have a license to run a radio station, her KFSG, and started L.I.F.E. Bible college, which was the birthplace of the Foursquare denomination.

In May of 1926, she made headlines when she disappeared. Her supposed kidnapping and murder made headlines, and she was mourned nationally in a way that led one commentator to note that there was seemingly more to do for Sister Aimee than President Warren Harding, who had died in office early in that decade.

A month later she would appear in the border town of Aqua Prieta- she had an unlikely story about being kidnapped by Steve, Jake, and Mexicali Rose and had freed herself and travelled across the desert to find a phone. This was demonstrably false.

Word was that her mental state had deteriorated. Word was that she was stepping out with the station manager.

Sister Aimee moved forward; after the news died down, she continued to use her church as a center during the Great Depression. She helped convince the government to open an old air base to house and feed the homeless, and she had doctors and dentists volunteer their time for free clinics.

Beyond the kidnapping controversy, she was back on top again- but a second divorce and third marriage, along with the mental stress of her celebrity and increased work load, weighed her down again. In 1944, while on a preaching tour in Oakland overdosed on sleeping pills and died at the age of 54.

Despite her past, she was mourned again, and her Foursquare church would go on to influence, among others, Chuck Smith, who was a Foursquare minister before starting Calvary Chapel.

Perhaps she is another historical object lesson in the price of fame- but her work as a female pastor and celebrity in early 20th-century Hollywood suggests that she was playing well above her head, and ultimately, fame seems to have eclipsed her ministry- despite her church doing good work in the community her own personal failings- and perhaps by propping the church on her own personality- she would ultimately meet her demise. Her story has been told under veils of fiction various times (see the Perry Mason reboot and Penny Dreadful), and she has been the subject of numerous books. Today, we remember a famous, complicated, and ultimately tragic figure- Aimee Semple MacPherson, born on this day in 1890.

 

The last word for today is from Matthew, the 5th chapter and the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount:

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

    for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

    for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

    for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

    for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

    for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

    for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 9th of October 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who loves foursquare, but not with bubblies, Pac Mans, or around-the-worlds… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who never figured out the riddle of the slicee. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.