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Pillar of Fire Church

 
Wikipedia: Pillar of Fire Church
Bishop Alma White (1862-1946) Founder, Pillar of Fire Church

The Pillar of Fire Church (POF) is a Christian denomination headquartered in Zarephath, a religious commune in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey.[1] The church hosts six congregations in the United States with numerous international missions and also operates three Christian radio stations, four schools, and two colleges.[2]

It was established by Bishop Alma White in 1901 in Denver, Colorado as the Pentecostal Union. She and her husband, Reverend Kent White, separated when he became part of the Azusa Street Revival of Pentecostalism. She eventually changed the name of the group to Pillar of Fire, to avoid any link to the Pentecostal movement.[3] Adherents were referred to as holy rollers, and "holy jumpers", because of their religious frenzy.[4][5][6][7]

The Pillar of Fire name comes from Exodus 13:21-22 which states: "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." The church's theological position is self described as Wesleyan-Arminian.[8]

Contents

Beliefs

The central beliefs of the Pillar of Fire Church are as follows: Biblical inerrancy, Trinitarianism, the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit, the "universal depravity of the human race," the necessity of "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," belief in "justification by faith and in Christian perfection, or entire sanctification, as a second definite work of grace," the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and premillennialism.[9]

Congregations

Pillar of Fire chapel in Zarephath, New Jersey
Assembly Hall service circa 1965 in Zarephath, New Jersey

Six US congregations

  • Alma Temple, Denver, Colorado
  • Belleview Community Chapel, Westminster, Colorado
  • Coastside Community Chapel, Pacifica, California
  • Pillar Community Chapel, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Pillar of Fire Church, Los Angeles, California
  • Zarephath Christian Church, Zarephath, New Jersey

International missions

They include Liberia, started in 1941 by John Potee;[10] India, started in 1985 by Joseph Raju.[11] and Costa Rica, started by Pastor José Monge in 1998.[12] Other missions include: Malawi, and Nigeria.

  • The oldest of their missions is in London, England, established in 1904 by Alma White. The mission organized a Charitable Trust on 19 September, 1992, and was registered as a charity in December 1992 (Charity No. 1015529). In response to a complaint received by the Charities Commission in 2002, an inquiry was held, the charitable trust dissolved and transferred its assets to the U.S. organization, and the charitable trust was removed from the registry as it had ceased to exist.[13][14]
  • In 1996, Reverend Moses Peter K. Phiri, a native of Malawi who was raised as a Muslim, was ordained as a pastor by Bishop W. Konkel. The Pillar of Fire Church has 43 congregations in Malawi, with a total membership just short of 5,000 in 43 congregations.[15]

Schools

Primary and secondary

Colleges

Media

Pillar of Fire, November 25, 1914

Radio stations

Periodicals

  • Pillar of Fire
  • The Dry Legion
  • The Good Citizen
  • Rocky Mountain Pillar of Fire
  • London Pillar of Fire
  • The British Sentinel
  • The Occidental Pillar of Fire
  • Woman's Chains
  • Pillar of Fire Junior
  • Pillar of Fire Bay Chronicle

Notable members

General Superintendents

Other leaders and notable members

Orland A. Wolfram (1912-1987)
  • Reverend Elsworth Bradford
  • Reverend S. Rea Crawford
  • Reverend Russell Croucher
  • Bishop William Cruver
  • Reverend Robert Cruver, Jr.
  • Reverend Branford Clarke
  • Reverend Pauline White Dallenbach
  • Ralph Friedley
  • Bishop Wilber Konkel
  • Bishop E. Jerry Lawrence
  • Reverend William Portune
  • Reverend L. Ray Sharpe
  • Reverend William Sunday Sharpe
  • Reverend William Staats
  • Reverend A. R. Stewart
  • Reverend Gertrude Wolfram
  • Reverend Orland Albert Wolfram (1912-1987) was a minister who left the church in 1960 to begin an independent evangelical mission, Mision Biblica, in Guatemala.[31] He was born 1912 in Zarephath, New Jersey, to Gertrude Metlen (1888-1959) and Albert Wolfram (1877-1962). Both were missionaries in the Pillar of Fire Church. Gertrude Metlen was the daughter of Venora Ella Bridwell and David Evan Metlen of Dillon, Montana. Gertrude had the following siblings: Bruce Joseph Metlen; Genevieve E. Metlen; and Dale E. Metlen; all of them died without spouses and offspring in Montana. Gertrude and Albert had married in 1909.[31] Orlando had two siblings: Donald Justin Wolfram (1919-2003) who was the fourth General Superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church from 1984 to 2000; and Gordon W. Wolfram (1922-1992). Orland died in Guatemala in 1987.[32]
  • Reverend Kathleen Merrell White
  • Reverend I. L. Wilson
  • Reverend Nathaniel Wilson
  • Reverend L. S. Wolfgang

KKK and subsequent repudiation

The Good Citizen, July 1926

From at least 1922 until at least 1928, Bishop White and the Pillar of Fire Church held a close and public association with the Ku Klux Klan that was unique for a Christian denomination.[21][33][34][35][36] They allowed the Klan to hold meetings or cross burnings on at least several of the church's numerous properties including Brooklyn, New York, Bound Brook, New Jersey, Longmont, Colorado,[37] and Westminster, Colorado.[38] Bishop White participated directly in some of these meetings. During this time, the Pillar of Fire Church published The Good Citizen, a monthly 16 page political magazine and three books, The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy, Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty, and Heroes of the Fiery Cross, all of which heavily promoted the Klan and its agenda in the 1920s. Ideologically Bishop White promoted the concepts of women's equality, anti-Catholicism, antisemitism, nativism, and white supremacy.

The church has since repudiated the connection to the KKK at their website in 2009:

Much talk has also arisen over her brief but significant association with the KKK, which has also been publicly condemned and repented of by the POF leadership with a request for full forgiveness. Despite these and other errors in its history, the Lord in His grace and mercy has chosen to bless the ministry.[39]

And in the local paper in 1997:

We regret, repudiate and repent, and ask for full forgiveness for anything in our past that is short of Christian standards based on God's Word, following Jesus' model prayer that teaches us to ever pray and forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. (Luke 11:4) We specifically regret mistakes and bad judgement by previous generations or anyone in our membership of the past.[40]

While the Pillar of Fire's repudiation characterized its association with the Klan as brief, it continued for at least several decades to promote its ideologies of intolerance for religious and racial minorities and of equality for white Protestant women. These ideologies were important drivers, at least initially, for the church's partnership with the Klan. In 1943, 21 years after the church began publicly working with the Klan, it republished Bishop White's pro-KKK books as a three volume set under the name Guardians of Liberty with volume two having an introduction by Bishop Arthur White, Alma's son and second General Superintendent. The non-specific language of the repudiation lacks acknowledgement of these ideologies and further lacks the assumption of responsibility for any specific behaviors. The repudiation is also silent about the church's current position regarding Bishop White's and the Pillar of Fire's historical ideology which ultimately led it to work closely with the Klan. The Pillar of Fire continues to honor Bishop White in the call letters of its radio station WAWZ (Alma White, Zarephath), it's Denver church building - Alma Temple, and in the name of its San Francisco Bay Area school Alma Heights Christian Academy. However, Alma's name was removed from the college and the now closed high school at Zarephath, NJ.

Timeline

Missionary Homes
Pillar of Fire Church
as of 1966
Properties of the
Pillar of Fire Church
as of 1966

Further reading

Books

Periodicals

  • New York Times; June 15, 1922; Letters to the Editor; p. 15. Letter from A. Stevens "May I suggest among the twelve greatest American women: Mother Lathrop of the Home for Sufferers and Bishop Alma White of the Pillar of Fire Church."
  • New York Times; May 7, 1923; p. 15. "Armed Men Guard Services At Church: State Troopers at Pillar of Fire Temple While Bishop Alma White Preaches."
  • New York Times; April 16, 1926; p. 21. "Woman Bishop Calls For Fashion Revolt: Head of Pillar of Fire Church, on Mission to England, Blames Men for 'Cruel' Styles."
  • New York Times; August 25, 1928; p. 20. "Pillar of Fire Church in Camp."
  • Chicago Tribune; October 10, 1928; p. 21. "Bishop Alma And Aimee May Do Some Spiritual Sparring"
  • New York Times; August 16, 1930; p. 13. "Pillar of Fire Bishop Back."
  • New York Times; August 24, 1936; p. 10. "Revival Sect Hails Depression As Boon: Pillar of Fire Group's Founder, 74, Reports Peak of Prosperity to 1,200 at Meeting."
  • Time; November 22, 1937; Legalists & Charismatics. "A woman, Mrs. Alma White, is bishop of the pentecostal Pillar of Fire church, in Zarephath, New Jersey"
  • Time magazine; December 18, 1939; Bishop v. Drink. "'We've been over to Alma Temple and signed the pledge and joined the Dry Legion Crusaders. We shall never drink a drop, and when we're old enough we are going to vote the wicked stuff out of existence.' Author of these plays, written for radio and church performance, and acted last week on the platform in a church in Boulder, Colorado, was a masterful, mannish-voiced gynotheocrat, Bishop Alma White, 77."
  • New York Times; August 23, 1950; p. 33. "2,000 Revivalists Gather in New Jersey As Pillar of Fire Meeting Nears Climax."
  • New York Times; August 24, 1975; p. 60. "Faithful Savor Rural Life"

References

  1. ^ "Contact Us." Pillar of Fire International. Retrieved on October 20, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Alma Bridwell White". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9126064/Alma-Bridwell-White. Retrieved 2007-08-21. "Née Mollie Alma Bridwell. American religious leader who was a founder and major moving force in the evangelical Pentecostal Union, which split from mainstream Methodism in the early 20th century. Alma Bridwell grew up in a dour family of little means. She studied at the Millersburg (Kentucky) Female College and in 1882 moved ..." 
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Bishop Alma White: Founder of Pillar of Fire Dies at 84". Associated Press. June 27, 1946. "Bound Brook, New Jersey, June 26, 1946 (Associated Press) Bishop Alma White, founder of the Pillar of Fire Church and author of thirty-five religious tracts and some 200 hymns, died here today at the headquarters of the religious group at near-by Zarephath. Her age was 84." 
  4. ^ "How They Jump, Where They Jump, When They Jump, Why They Jump, and Who They Are". New York Times. August 18, 1907. 
  5. ^ "Bound Brook Mob Raids Klan Meeting: Thousand Hostile Citizens Surround Church and Lock In 100 Holy Rollers.". New York Times. May 2, 1923. "Bound Brook, New Jersey, Wednesday, May 2, 1923, Until the arrival of eight State troopers to reinforce the local police here at 1 o'clock this morning about one hundred members of the Holy Rollers were locked up in their church, the Pillar of Fire, in Main Street, surrounded by a mob of nearly 1,000 hostile citizens, several hundred of whom broke up a meeting held by the Holy Rollers to organize a Klan here last night." 
  6. ^ Mitchinson, Cyril Edwin (1927). The Babbitt Warren. http://books.google.com/books?id=wIIa_yVC9KAC&q. 
  7. ^ "Poor Aimee". Time (magazine). Monday, October 22, 1928. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732031,00.html?promoid=googlep. Retrieved 2007-08-21. "Worst of all, there came a rival female evangelist from New Jersey, a resolute woman with the mien of an inspired laundress—the Reverend "Bishop" Mrs. Mollie Alma White, founder and primate of the Pillar of Fire Church. Bishop White, who has thousands of disciples ("Holy Jumpers") in the British Isles, clearly regarded Mrs. McPherson as a poacher upon her preserves or worse." 
  8. ^ Pillar of Fire Church: Doctrinal Statement in Brief, accessed August 31, 2006
  9. ^ "Pillar of Fire: What We Believe.". Pillar of Fire Church. http://www.pillar.org/what_we_believe.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-14. 
  10. ^ Pillar of Fire, International - Missions: Liberia, accessed August 30, 2006
  11. ^ Pillar of Fire, International - Missions: India, accessed August 30, 2006
  12. ^ Pilar de Fuego Costa Rica, Quienes Somos, accessed September 15, 2006
  13. ^ Charities Commission (March 16, 2005). "Pillar of Fire, Registered Charity No. 1015529". Press release. http://web.archive.org/web/20030820152740/http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/investigations/inquiryreports/pillar.asp. Retrieved 2006-08-30. 
  14. ^ "The Pillar of Fire Mission". Christian Science Monitor. May 21, 1920. "London, England. Mrs. Alma White, president of the American organization 'The Pillar of Fire,' which aims at curbing present tendencies in women's dress, and supports a 'dry' program, recently opened her ..." 
  15. ^ Pillar of Fire, International - Missions: Malawi, accessed September 1, 2006
  16. ^ "Local Church and Partner in Ministry.". Pillar of Fire. http://www.almaheights.org/about/ministry.htm#pillar. Retrieved 2007-09-25. "Our school and church belong to a group of national and international ministries founded and directed by the Pillar of Fire, International. The Pillar of Fire provides us with oversight, advice, and material support, and gives us opportunities to participate in congregational, educational, media, and missions ministries around the world." 
  17. ^ An Overview of Eden Grove Academy School, accessed August 30, 2006
  18. ^ Somerset Christian Academy: History, accessed August 30, 2006
  19. ^ Sycamore Grove School: A Ministry of the Pillar of Fire Church, accessed August 30, 2006
  20. ^ a b c Institutions that have closed, merged, or changed their names, accessed September 3, 2006
  21. ^ a b "Klan Buys College Close to Princeton". The Harvard Crimson. October 31, 1923. http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=422729. Retrieved 2009-07-06. "Bishop Alma White, the founder of the Pillar of Fire Church, and an author of various religious works, is President of the institution under the new regime. In an interview for the Princetonian today Bishop White deplored the present indifference of the undergraduate to the Klan and predicted that in the near future "it will sweep through the intellectual student classes as through the masses of the people."" 
  22. ^ Introducing Belleview Christian College, accessed August 30, 2006
  23. ^ Somerset Christian College: History, accessed August 30, 2006
  24. ^ AM91 & Castle History, accessed September 1, 2006 - "KPOF is the oldest station of the Pillar of Fire Network, which is the oldest network of Christian Stations in the World."
  25. ^ Star 99.1 Jobs, accessed September 1, 2006 - "STAR 99.1 is a radio-ministry of Pillar of Fire"
  26. ^ 93.3 Cincinnati Ohio Christian Radio, accessed September 1, 2006 - "93.3 WAKW is a service of Pillar of Fire, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization"
  27. ^ a b "Bishop Arthur White, 92, Dies. Headed Pillar of Fire Church.". New York Times. September 18, 1981. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D71739F93BA2575AC0A967948260. Retrieved 2007-07-21. "Bishop Arthur K. White, president and general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, New Jersey, died Monday at his home in Zarephath. He was 92 years old." 
  28. ^ a b "Donald Wolfram moved souls during street services". Denver Post. http://www.belleview-college.org/at/DJWMinistry/DenverPostObit.html. Retrieved 2007-07-21. "Donald Wolfram, who was an early participant in religious street meetings in Lower Downtown Denver, died Monday of pancreatic cancer. Wolfram, 83, was a lifelong member of the Pillar of Fire Church, and as a young man, he joined other members for religious meetings in downtown Denver. The meetings resembled those of the Salvation Army, with a band and speaker. Wolfram usually played the trumpet or trombone, said his daughter, Suzanne Wolfram. Eventually, he learned to play about a ..." 
  29. ^ "Preacher, racer are two of a kind. Dallenbach brothers follow different roads that intersect with love.". Denver Post. April 30, 1990. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DP&p_theme=dp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB1D1A24D5E1A01&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2007-07-21. "It's quite a spin from Wally's life as a race-car driver to the Rev. Robert Dallenbach's small Pillar of Fire Church, where drinking, dancing and smoking are forbidden. While Wally directs Denver's Grand Prix races this August, his older brother likely will be a few blocks away, preaching at Alma Temple. The Reverend Bob wears a charcoal-gray suit and Roman collar. His 8-year-old, church-owned Ford station wagon bears license tag ... But things aren't always what they seem with the brothers Dallenbach ..." 
  30. ^ "Somerset Christian College". Somerset Christian College. http://www.somerset.edu/pages/page.asp?page_id=80731. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
  31. ^ a b "Orland A. Wolfram". Pillar of Fire Church. http://www.belleview-college.org/at/OrlandWolfram.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 
  32. ^ "Donald Justin Wolfram". Pillar of Fire Church. http://www.belleview-college.org/at/Sermons/djw/djw-obituary.html. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 
  33. ^ Neal, Lynn (June 2009). "Christianizing the Klan: Alma White, Branford Clarke, and the Art of Religious Intolerance". Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=082DB84E4E57AF966A78CA7E09C158A8.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=5635856. "White’s words and Clarke’s imagery combined in various ways to create a persuasive and powerful message of religious intolerance.". 
  34. ^ Kandt, Kristen (2000). "Historical Essay: In the Name of God; An American Story of Feminism, Racism, and Religious Intolerance: The Story of Alma Bridwell White". American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law. http://www.law.georgetown.edu/glh/publishedlist.htm. "Alma White and the Pillar of Fire were unique, however, in their public alliance with the Ku Klux Klan. In fact, the Pillar of Fire was the only religious group to publicly associate itself with the Klan.". 
  35. ^ Blee, Kathleen (1991). Women of the Klan. http://books.google.com/books?id=tcEyMwIpgRMC&dq=women+of+the+klan&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=v2WwSpPqNYeqtgPSmuDNCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false. "Bishop White’s transformation from minister to Klan propagandist is detailed in voluminous autobiographical and political writing. [Bishop] White’s anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, and racist message fit well into the Klan’s efforts to convince white Protestant women that their collective interests as women....were best served by joining the Klan." 
  36. ^ White, Alma (1928). Heroes of the Fiery Cross. The Good Citizen. http://books.google.com/books?id=iQ80AAAAIAAJ&q=heroes+of+the+fiery+cross&dq=heroes+of+the+fiery+cross. "I believe in white supremacy." 
  37. ^ Donato, Rubén (2007). Mexicans and Hispanics in Colorado Schools and Communities, 1920-1960. SUNY Press. p. 50. http://books.google.com/books?id=8ILlFFAsu8wC&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=%22pillar+of+fire+church%22+kkk&source=bl&ots=yPz3rkO0zG&sig=a1oUPvfDAffKgxBqBnSlnzFLSKA&hl=en&ei=6q4IS6myFpOcswOGwpjBCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCcQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=pillar%20of%20fire&f=false. "On New Year’s night in 1924, the Klan in Longmont placed an eight-foot cross with red flaming lights in front of the Pillar of Fire Church, located on the corner of Main Street and Sixth Avenue. Because the church was on private property, Klan members asserted, 'there can be no objection to its location.'" 
  38. ^ Albin, Wegner. "Westminster University Princeton of the West". http://www.co.adams.co.us/documents/page/history/westminster_university.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-21. "The church established a junior college and bible seminary there, which after 1925 was called Belleview College. The campus of the school was frequently used for meetings of the Ku Klux Klan during its hey-day in Denver, and residents recall burning crosses high on the hill." 
  39. ^ "The History of the Pillar of Fire". Belleview College. http://www.belleviewchapel.com/new/index.php/about-us/history-of-the-pillar-of-fire?ee3664fec4055f0d1c295438eea7b2bb=043bef1668076cce10734953d840c166. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  40. ^ Parsons, Monique (April 24, 1997). "Zarephath repents its past". Home News Tribune. "We regret, repudiate and repent, and ask for full forgiveness for anything in our past that is short of Christian standards based on God's Word, following Jesus' model prayer that teaches us to ever pray and forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. (Luke 11:4) We specifically regret mistakes and bad judgement by previous generations or anyone in our membership of the past." 
  41. ^ a b c d Book Review of Susie Cunningham Stanley's "Feminist Pillar of Fire: The Life of Alma White" Bethel College (Indiana), accessed September 2, 2006
  42. ^ Time Line 1900's, accessed September 2, 2006
  43. ^ a b Historic Downtown Colorado Springs, accessed September 2, 2006
  44. ^ Robert McHenry; Famous American Women: A Biographical Dictionary from Colonial Times to the Present
  45. ^ a b Historic Westminster, Colorado: The Princeton of the West, accessed September 2, 2006
  46. ^ Denver Radio: 80 Years of Change, accessed September 1, 2006 - "On March 9 [1928], KPOF went on the air and was owned by a religious movement called the Pillar of Fire.
  47. ^ New Jersey AM Radio History, accessed September 1, 2006
  48. ^ The Town of Morrison, Colorado: Pillar of Fire Church, accessed September 2, 2006
  49. ^ Robert McHenry; Famous American Women: A Biographical Dictionary from Colonial Times to the Present
  50. ^ "Fundamentalist Pillar.". Time (magazine). July 8, 1946. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778753,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-25. "[She] built a sect called Pillar of Fire — with 4,000 followers, 61 churches, seven schools, ten periodicals and two broadcasting stations. Last week, as it must even to 'the only woman bishop in the world,' Death came to the Pillar of Fire's 84-year-old founder." 
  51. ^ "Ray Bridwell White; Pillar of Fire Church Leader, Son of Late Bishop, Dies.". New York Times. November 6, 1946. 
  52. ^ a b c "Promoted to Glory: Donald Justin Wolfram, 83, Bishop". Belleview College. http://www.belleview-college.org/at/Sermons/djw/djw-obituary.html. Retrieved 2007-08-26. "Dr. Donald J. Wolfram left this life on August 25, 2003, after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 83. He was immediate past president and general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire International Christian denomination, an office he held from 1985 through 2000. He was laid to rest at Belleview Cemetery, Westminster, Colorado, on the campus where he had labored so faithfully for the Lord. Dr. Wolfram was born November 13, 1919, at Zarephath, New Jersey, to Rev. Albert and Rev. Gertrude Metlen Wolfram, pioneer missionaries in the Pillar of Fire. He was ordained to the ministry at age 16, later was consecrated a bishop, and spent his life working for the cause of Christ and holiness of heart and life." 

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