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Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944)Aimee Semple McPherson ( October 9, 1890– September 27, 1944), also known as "Sister Aimee" or simply "Sister," was an evangelist and media sensation in the 1920s and 1930s, founder of the Foursquare Gospel Church.
1 Early life
Born Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy in Salford , Ontario, Canada she was the daughter of James Morgan Kennedy, a widower and devout Methodist, and Mildred Ona Pearce, 36 years his junior, who had been hired to nurse his wife during her terminal illness. (The age difference had caused a scandal in their small town, prompting the couple to elope to Michigan.)
Her mother had been orphaned at an early age, and raised by a couple who worked with the Salvation Army. As a result, Aimee was raised in an atmosphere of strong Christian beliefs. As a teenager, however, she became an avowed atheistAtheist" redirects here. For the music group, see Atheist (band). Atheism is the condition of lacking theistic belief. Etymology The term atheism (French atheisme from athee meaning atheist, from Greek atheos, meaning godless : a-, without; + , theos, mea, and began her public speaking career at the age of 13 in this context, writing letters to the newspaper defending evolutionThis article is about biological evolution. For other possible meanings, see Evolution (disambiguation). Evolution generally refers to any process of change over time. However, in the context of the life sciences, evolution is a change in the genetic make, debating local clergy, etc.
Robert and Aimee Semple, 1910
She met her first husband Robert James Semple, a PentecostalThe Pentecostal movement within Protestant Christianity places special emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Pentecostalism is similar to the Charismatic movement, but developed earlier and separated from the mainstream church. Charismatic Christians, missionary from IrelandThe island of Ireland ire in Irish, Airlann in Ulster Scots) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Irelan, in December 1907 while attending a revival meeting at the urging of her father. After her conversion and a short courtship, they were married on August 12, 1908. Shortly thereafter, the two embarked on an evangelical tour, first to EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se and then to ChinaThis article is on the geographic and cultural entity. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation). China ( Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , Hanyu Pinyin: Zhongguo, Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo) is a country in continental East Asia with some oute, where they arrived in June, 1910. Shortly after they disembarked in Hong KongThe Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or Hong Kong (, pinyin: Xinggng, WG: Hsiang-kang, Cantonese IPA, Jyutping or Penkyamp: hoeng1 gong2, meaning Fragrant Harbour , is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of Chi, however, they both contracted malariaMalaria ( Italian: bad air ; formerly called ague or marsh fever in English) is an infectious disease which causes about 500 million infections and 2 million deaths annually, mainly in the tropics and sub-Saharan Africa. The protozoan cause of malaria was. Robert Semple died of the disease on August 19, 1910. Aimee recovered and gave birth to a daughter, Roberta Star Semple, on September 17, after which she returned to the United States.
Her mother "Minnie" had, in the footsteps of her foster parents, remained active with the Salvation Army, and after a short recuperation Aimee joined her in this work. While so occupied in New York, she met her second husband, Harold Stewart McPherson, an accountant. They were married on May 5, 1912, and they had a son, Rolf Potter Kennedy McPherson , born March 23, 1913.
