Canadian Pentecostal Research Articles

Canadian Pentecostal Reader

Canadian Pentecostal Reader

Canadian Pentecostal Reader: The First Generation of Pentecostal Voices in Canada (1907–1925), by Martin W. Mittelstadt and Caleb Howard Courtney

Canadian Pentecostal Reader: The First Generation of Pentecostal Voices in Canada (1907–1925), by Martin W. Mittelstadt and Caleb Howard Courtney

Canadian Pentecostal Reader: The First Generation of Pentecostal Voices in Canada (1907–1925) ed. by Martin W. Mittelstadt and Caleb Howard Courtney

Canadian Pentecostal Reader: The First Generation of Pentecostal Voices in Canada (1907–1925) ed. by Martin W. Mittelstadt and Caleb Howard Courtney

Discreet Proto‐Pentecostals: The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America

Much recent work has been undertaken on the beginnings of Pentecostalism in North America, and its antecedents in the nineteenth century. These efforts have outlined the theological contributions of the Holiness movement, revivalism, and nineteenth‐century healing movements. One group that has been largely overlooked is the Edward Irving influenced Catholic Apostolic Church, which has been seen as making a minimal contribution as a precursor to Pentecostalism in general; it has especially been seen as peripheral in the Americas. This article will use contemporary newspapers and recently digitised primary sources to argue that the Catholic Apostolic Church was a significant force in the pre‐history of American and Canadian Pentecostalism, with hundreds of followers in key cities, regularly exhibiting prophecy and glossolalia throughout the second half of the nineteenth century.

Canadian Pentecostals, The Trinity, and Contemporary Worship Music: The Things we Sing, by Michael A. Tapper

Canadian Pentecostals, The Trinity, and Contemporary Worship Music: The Things we Sing, by Michael A. Tapper

The New Canadian Pentecostals, by Adam Stewart

The New Canadian Pentecostals, by Adam Stewart

Orality and Context in a Hermeneutical Key

This paper shows that pentecostal hermeneutics (Latina/o–Canadian hermeneutics specifically), is fluid, dynamic, and participatory, and follows a narratival approach to the reading of the biblical text. Instead of perceiving the Bible as containing a foreign story, for pentecostals the Bible narrates their own journey of faith, as they seek communion with God. As an expression of the popular character of pentecostalism, this paper highlights the elements of orality, participation, experiential contextuality, and scriptural pneumatology as key hermeneutical principles in engaging the biblical text. I argue that for pentecostals reading the Bible is not a mere exercise, but rather it is a sacramental space of the Spirit by which people listen to the message of good news. Pentecostal hermeneutics can be better understood as a conversation with the text so as to tease out the divine voice and its relevance for Christian living. In order to show how these elements are interwoven, I will engage the Latina/o–Canadian pentecostalism, as a example of the complex and fluid character of pentecostal hermeneutics.

On the Edge of War and Society: Canadian Pentecostal Bible School Students in the 1940s

During World War II the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada put forth arguments on behalf of bible college students concerning military service exemptions, chaplaincy appointments, and veterans’ benefits. The paper deals specifically with the Rev. J.E. Purdie, Principal of the Western Bible College in Winnipeg, his efforts on behalf of his students, and one particularly complex case where attempts were made to have the student exempted from serving, and failing that, to have him appointed as a military chaplain. After the young man’s premature release from service, Purdie argued that he should be entitled to veteran’s benefits to pay for his bible college training. What initially appeared as a bid to protect the individual rights of one young conscript was in fact part of a much larger effort as Pentecostals asserted their right (and by extension the right of other marginal religious groups) to be included in the broader liberal framework in Canada. This case study is significant because it addresses themes of public religion, specifically how Pentecostals challenged the ‘liberal order framework,’ by attempting to carve out recognition for themselves among the religious groups that were acknowledged as legitimate players in Canada’s public affairs.

The Evangelical Sexual Marketplace: An Ethnographic Analysis of the Exchange and Conversion of Erotic Capital in an Evangelical Church

Since the development of the early church, sexual ethics and the regulation of heterosexual relationships have been integral parts of Christian religious practice. Evangelical Christian communities are no exception to this pattern of regulation. In particular, this article makes three key arguments regarding Evangelical sexual practices. First, heterosexual relationships and marriage have become one of the most important (if not the most important) aspects of Evangelical religious and social practice, surmounting both Baptism and the Eucharist. Second, those in the Evangelical sub-culture tend to find several qualities more or less attractive in a potential mate, some of which differ from those outside the sub-culture. Finally, within many Evangelical churches a defined social space—a sexual marketplace—exists where individual agents exchange and convert this commodity, among others, to attract potential marital partners. The author derives these conclusions from the ethnographic observations and interviews he conducted while attending an urban Canadian Pentecostal Church in 2009 and 2010.

Canadian Pentecostalism: Transition and Transformation – Edited by Michael Wilkinson

Canadian Pentecostalism: Transition and Transformation – Edited by Michael Wilkinson

The Plausibility of the Independent Origins of Canadian Pentecostalism: Winds from the North

Abstract Winds from the North showcases the role of early Canadian Pentecostals in the development of the global movement. It adds to the recent polygenetic thesis that challenges the popular notion that Pentecostalism originated largely in American revival centers, principally Azusa Street, and makes the case for diverse global points of origin. Canadian Pentecostalism exhibits unique characteristics, and its leaders made seminal and independent contributions to worldwide Pentecostalism. In addition to presenting a case for the independent origins and unique features, it highlights the role of women leaders in the early phases and spotlights the history of the Oneness and the Latter Rain movements of Canadian Pentecostalism. Though a vital addition to the field of Pentecostal research, the plausibility and necessity of independent origins and autonomous characteristics of the Canadian contribution to global Pentecostalism needs examination.

Canadian Pentecostalism: Transition and Transformation. Edited by Michael Wilkinson. McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion 49. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009. xiv+308 pp. $95.00 cloth.

Canadian Pentecostalism: Transition and Transformation. Edited by Michael Wilkinson. McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion 49. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009. xiv+308 pp. $95.00 cloth. - Volume 79 Issue 1

The Story of James and Ellen Hebden: The First Family of Pentecost in Canada

AbstractWhen Ellen Hebden received Spirit baptism on November 17, 1906, she was regarded by many as the first known person in Canada to speak in tongues. Her dramatic experience ignited a revival that launched her Toronto mission into the forefront of the emerging Pentecostal movement. Ellen and her husband, James, became prominent Pentecostal pioneers and accomplished numerous groundbreaking achievements. Yet, despite their formative role in the birth of the Canadian Pentecostal movement, the story of the Hebdens has been largely shrouded in mystery. Where did they originate? How did they come to Toronto? What happened to them after the revival had waned? These questions have remained unanswered for nearly one hundred years of Pentecostal history. This article will answer these questions and firmly establish the Hebdens as the first family of Pentecost in Canada.

CANADIAN PENTECOSTALISM: TRANSITION AND TRANSFORMATION edited by Michael Wilkinson

CANADIAN PENTECOSTALISM: TRANSITION AND TRANSFORMATION edited by Michael Wilkinson

Zelma and Beulah Argue: Sisters in the Canadian Pentecostal Movement, 1920-1990

In April 1925, The Pentecostal Testimony reported on the Argue sisters’ American Midwest tour, citing a “wonderful meeting,” and “prais[ing] God for this great meeting.” This paper traces the lives of Zelma Argue and Beulah Argue Smith, who traveled widely in evangelistic crusades in Canada and the United States. Zelma, better known in Pentecostal circles today, remained single; Beulah married a well-known Canadian Pentecostal minister and had four children. Based on the sisters’ work as portrayed in The Pentecostal Testimony (the national denominational magazine of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) 1920-1990, my paper considers the gendered aspects of the Argue sisters’ ministries, how their lives reflected themes in the larger story of North American Pentecostal women during the first half of the 1900s. Zelma Argue, born in 1900 in North Dakota, was the eldest daughter of Andrew Harvey (A.H.) and Eva Phillips Argue. Beulah was born six years later, after the family’s move to Winnipeg, where they played a major role in the Canadian Pentecostal movement. In 1939, on the death of their mother, the PT made it clear that the entire Argue family was heavily involved in ministry; they were:

The Influence of Dr. J. E. Purdie's Reformed Anglican Theology on the Formation and Development of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada

AbstractThe Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) has had many similarities with its United States counterpart, the Assemblies of God. In fact, in its early years the PAOC was affiliated with the Assemblies of God.1 Yet the PAOC was unique in that it had a friendly relationship with the Anglican Church of Canada2 vis-à-vis the Toronto low-church Anglican theological school, Wycliffe College.3 This relationship centered on one man, a Wycliffe College graduate and Anglican priest, who was asked to be principal of the first Canadian Pentecostal Bible school in 1925, a position he held until 1950. This man was James Eustace Purdie, arguably the most influential person in the formation and development of PAOC doctrine through the theological education of Pentecostal ministers.4