America 250 Semiquincentennial Bible Celebration

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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Today on Celebrate the Bible, we’ll look at Aimee Semple McPherson. She was a Los Angeles evangelist and founder of the Angelus Temple. This temple is the white-domed landmark in Echo Park. She was extremely well-known in the 1920s and 1930s. Surpassing the popularity of even Billy Sunday.

It is said that, at one time, up to 10% of the population in Los Angeles held Temple membership.

My interest in Aimee stemmed from her pioneering efforts: she was one of the earliest to use radio to bring her services to listeners beyond the Los Angeles area. Due to radio being such a new method of communication, it was possible — at the time — for her broadcasts to be picked up as far away as New Jersey and Long Island, New York, if conditions were right.

Aimee Semple McPherson was certainly a radio pioneer, founding 500-watt KFSG, the first full-time Christian radio station in America.

I’m not going to use this episode to tell the story of Sister Aimee, (as she was known). You can find out all you need to know about her online with a simple search.

What I would like to do, however, is show and tell about a few selected pieces from my Celebrate the Bible collection.

Now, if you are listening to this as a podcast, and you would like to see the photos of these items, please go to celebratethebible250.com. Simply type “Aimee” (that’s A-I-M-E-E) into the search box. You can find the search box at the bottom of the page.

I’m going to feature a few items that might not be commonly found on the usual collecting sites, like Ebay.

The first is an unused ticket to one of her Biblical performances in the Temple. This one is for The Rock of Ages musical tableau and revival sermon. This was held on a Sunday evening at 7 p.m., but no date is given.

These tickets do come up on Ebay every so often, and can be quite expensive. There is one listed there now for over $700 (US). Fortunately, I built up my Aimee collection before her memorabilia became in such demand. I have several tickets in the collection.

Here is a very rare item showing a cut-out of Aimee. It announces her appearance at the Chicago Coliseum, daily 2:30 – 7:30 p.m. beginning June 16. On the reverse it states, “Don’t miss one of the these great meetings. Jesus’ power falls; sinners repent; the sick are healed; seekers gloriously baptized with the Holy Ghost. The old Amen Corner and Hallalujah Chorus sing out once more in praise of the Lord.”

Next we have a program from one of her many Biblical productions, called Regem Adorate “Worship the King”. She would write both the story and script. It’s interesting that she began this particular Christmas story with the act of Creation itself. She did not start with the birth of Jesus. She stated in her program: “Whereas the customary Christmas Oratory begins with the Annunciation and Nativity, ‘Regem Adorate’ opens in the Book of Beginnings. It gives the story of Creation and Fall, setting forth the tragedy of the ages and the need for a Redeemer.”

Here is a photo from her production, which would take place in front of over 5,000 seated in the Angelus Temple.

Next is a Certificate of Annual Appointment. It was issued by the International Church of the FourSquare Gospel and her radio station KFSG. It is from the year 1941, and is the only piece of memorabilia in my collection that contains her signature. You can see it in the lower right hand corner of the photograph.

Aimee wasn’t afraid to get out there and get in front of the people. In one instance, while in Chicago, she visited bars and saloons. She walked in, got up on a table, and began to preach the gospel to the drinking crowd.

Here, we see her doing an advertisement for Crosley electric refrigerators! This was from an issue of the Crosley broadcaster magazine of 1934.

Aimee was born in Salford, Ontario Canada on October 9, 1890. She passed into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior on September 27, 1944 at 53 years of age.

She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale, California. 60,000 mourners paid their respects during a three-day wake at Angelus Temple

Well, that’s all I have for this broadcast. I have so many other items related to Aimee Semple McPherson. However, our time — at least for this episode — has come to a close.

So, until we meet again, and for celebratethebible250, this is Francis Douglas.

If you would like me to give a presentation at your church, school, gallery, or organization, please let me know. My contact information is below.

The topic I cover is the History of the Christian Holy Bible in America.

Your group will not only learn about it. They will also see, on display, pages from the most significant Bibles in American history.

I will be available for Southern New Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Northern Delaware.

CONTACT (for presentation inquiries only please):

Available for Southern New Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Northern Delaware.