Flashback Fridays – The Foursquare Gospel and Aimee Semple McPherson

Aimee Semple cutting herself a slice of Angelus-Temple-shaped birthday cake.*

Echo Park might not immediately strike people as an evangelist hot spot, but in the 1920s, it was the home base of fiery female evangelist and radio sensation Aimee Semple McPherson. She is the woman behind the Angelus Temple at the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (that giant, white amphitheater-looking building at the intersection of Park and Glendale).

Aimee was born into a farming family in Ontario, Canada in 1890. It was a religious household, but Aimee came to evangelism of her own accord. She began preaching in 1913, traveling throughout Canada and the United States and holding tent revivals. She became known as a faith healer, and became so popular that her gatherings began to fill to over capacity.

In the late 1910s, Aimee decided to settle in Los Angeles with her mother and her two children. She bought a plot of land next to Echo Park Lake which she described as “heaven on earth.” It was here that she decided to build a church from which she would spread the Foursquare Gospel, the name that she gave to her teachings after experiencing a vision.

While preaching in Oakland in 1922, Aimee had a vision similar to the one in the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel. She saw a cup, a dove, a crown and a cross and believed they symbolized (respectively) healing, baptism, the Savior and the Second Coming. She believed that these four symbols corresponded to everything that was important in society and in one’s own life. She named her teachings, with their focus on these four pillars of life, the Foursquare Gospel.

It took less than two years to build the church (1920 to 1922), and it was dedicated on January 1, 1923. It was built entirely with donations that Aimee collected from her followers which is believed to have amounted to 1.2 million dollars.

In 1925, Aimee set up a radio station devoted entirely to religious programming, KFSG, which she used to broadcast her Sunday sermons all over the country. In this way, she became a household name. However, some media attention brought her notoriety instead of devoted followers. McPherson vanished one day in May of 1926 and re-appeared about a month later. She claimed to have been kidnapped, but her story didn’t fit with the evidence found. People came up with various stories: that she had run away with a lover, that she had gone away to have an abortion or that she had done it all for attention.

Aimee was not above publicity stunts as a way to get her message out to the people. She was as well known in Hollywood as she was in American revival tents. Pete Seeger wrote a song about her. Upton Sinclair wrote a poem about her. Milton Berle claimed to have had an affair with her. She was a woman ahead of her time and one of the first media celebrities.

*I read a bit of Aimee’s autobiography, The Story of My Life, a while ago and took notes on any interesting factoids that I found. I’m bummed, because now I can’t find said notes in which I wrote down a description of the above cake. If I remember correctly, this was not her birthday cake, but the cake that was made in honor of the opening of the church. It was made using exclusively ingredients mentioned in the Bible. Yummy.

1419 replies
« Older CommentsNewer Comments »
  1. Teddy Hildebrand says:

    Strong blog. I acquired several nice info. I?ve been keeping a watch on this technology for a few time. It?utes attention-grabbing the method it retains totally different, however many of the primary components remain a similar. have you observed a lot change since Search engines created their own latest purchase in the field?

  2. Wilbur Flansburg says:

    With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has a lot of unique content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you know any solutions to help prevent content from being ripped off? I’d really appreciate it.|

  3. BankID casinon says:

    I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or weblog posts
    in this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I at last
    stumbled upon this website. Studying this info So i’m satisfied to exhibit that I’ve
    a very just right uncanny feeling I came upon just what I needed.
    I so much indubitably will make certain to do not forget this site and give it a glance on a constant
    basis.

  4. Ida Domke says:

    Hey there I am so happy I found your website, I really found you by error, while I was browsing on Digg for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a remarkable post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the superb job.|

  5. Royal Spahr says:

    Superb blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally confused .. Any recommendations? Bless you!|

  6. Maple Cylkowski says:

    I’m not sure why but this weblog is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.|

  7. Judson Yehle says:

    I’ve been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or weblog posts in this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this web site. Studying this info So i am happy to convey that I have a very excellent uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I most definitely will make sure to do not fail to remember this site and give it a look on a constant basis.|

  8. Russel Noyes says:

    Hello, you used to write fantastic, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your super writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!”To be content with what one has is the greatest and truest of riches.” by Cicero.

  9. Science says:

    Wow! This could be one particular of the most useful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Great. I am also a specialist in this topic therefore I can understand your effort.

  10. Casimira Greider says:

    I would like to point out my gratitude for your kind-heartedness in support of women who actually need help with that situation. Your real commitment to passing the solution all through became pretty insightful and has consistently encouraged professionals like me to realize their objectives. Your new useful tips and hints can mean a lot to me and still more to my peers. Thanks a lot; from all of us.

  11. Michaela says:

    Your style is very unique compared to other folks I have read
    stuff from. I appreciate you for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this
    page.

  12. Weight Loss says:

    Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog. An excellent read. I will definitely be back.

  13. my company says:

    Good day here, just became conscious of your blog through Google, and realized that it’s genuinely useful. I will be grateful should you decide maintain such.

  14. visit the site says:

    Hullo there, just turned aware about your webpage through Google, and found that it is pretty informational. I’ll like if you carry on this informative article.

  15. Affiliate says:

    I do trust all the concepts you’ve introduced for your post. They are very convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are very brief for starters. May you please lengthen them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.

  16. Simon Belser says:

    There a few interesting points on time on this page but I don’t determine if these center to heart. You can find some validity but I most certainly will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Great article , thanks so we want more! Included with FeedBurner too

  17. Tobias Sealock says:

    Hello! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Wonderful blog and wonderful style and design.

  18. my web profile says:

    Hi there, just turned out to be receptive to your wordpress bog through Google, and found that it is quite educational. I’ll be grateful for should you maintain these.

  19. Dominic says:

    Hi there mates, how is the whole thing, and
    what you would like to say about this post, in my view its really awesome designed for me.

  20. Garden says:

    Wow! This can be one particular of the most helpful blogs We’ve ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Fantastic. I am also an expert in this topic so I can understand your hard work.

  21. Home Improvement says:

    I’ve recently started a web site, the information you offer on this web site has helped me greatly. Thanks for all of your time & work. “A physicist is an atom’s way of knowing about atoms.” by George Wald.

  22. Elana Atwater says:

    This is actually interesting, You’re a particularly proficient article author. I’ve registered with your feed additionally expect finding the fabulous write-ups. Furthermore, I’ve shared your internet-site with our social networks.

  23. Margarito says:

    I’m amazed, I have to admit. Seldom do I encounter a blog that’s both educative
    and interesting, and let me tell you, you
    have hit the nail on the head. The issue is something which not enough folks are speaking
    intelligently about. I am very happy that I found this in my hunt for something regarding this.

  24. Diet says:

    Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your web site is very cool. I’m impressed by the details that you have on this website. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for more articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the info I already searched all over the place and just couldn’t come across. What an ideal web site.

  25. Janette says:

    You are so interesting! I do not think I’ve read through
    something like this before. So wonderful to find another person with a few genuine thoughts on this subject matter.
    Seriously.. thank you for starting this up.
    This web site is one thing that is needed on the internet,
    someone with some originality!

  26. Diet says:

    I really enjoy looking at on this internet site, it contains good blog posts. “A short saying oft contains much wisdom.” by Sophocles.

« Older CommentsNewer Comments »

Comments are closed.