The 1913 Worldwide Camp Meeting
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Assemblies of God'--- A_III'", THE ASSEMHUES OF GOO ARCt-IIVES \01.. 3, '0. I SPRI"IG 1983 The 1913 Worldwide Camp Meeting Seeking Unity, They Found Division With the "New Issue" Wayne Warner ew people today who walk through F Arroyo Seeo Park in Los Angeles have any idea that this spot 70 year.; ago W3' the scene of a hislOric Pentecostal camp meeting. Other Pentecostals of the new move ment had conducted regional camp meet ings throughout Ihe United States. But the promOter.. of this 1913 meeting had the fa ith and courage to call it the Apostolic Faith Worldwide Camp Meeting. As il turned out. it was Imly an inter national evenl. Fred Griesinger. who still live .. in Los Angeles and one of the few people around today who attended Ihe meeting. clearly remembers the exciting momh-long hap· pening. Hundreds of people Oocked to Arroyo Seco from thousand~ of miles away. More than 200 ministers- many of them well-known in the Pentecostal young Pentecostal movement into two of good water. You can pray there a~ loud movement - were there. A big 5.000-seat major groups: the trinitarians and those a!o> you like.'" tent was set up on the temporary Hal who ascribed to what was later called A woman who lived 10 nearby lIermon, lelujah Avenue. Scores of smaller tents oneness (also called Jesus Only and Jesus a Free Methodi~t ~elllement. was told the formed a te nt city arou nd the larger tent. Name). meetings were of the devil. A .. the music Many were saved. healed. and baptized in That is a story in itself. and .. houts of prai~e wafted up to her the Spirit. And a great number of these '·Iennon home, \he thought to herself. "So T he First Camp Meeting early Pentecostals left Arroyo Seco with that is the devil: well. the devi l has some T)cntccostal camp mcctings at Arroyo fire b:..m ing in theirheansand a zeal to win sweet singers." She attended the meetings £" Scco date back to thc summer of 1907, and received the baptism in the Spirit.' the world for Christ. I just a ycar after thc Holy Spirit was poured out on a group of saints in a homc and latcr I)rcpa ring ror a Historic Meeting "This meeting was proba bly the high at thc Azusa Street Mission. The camp R.J. SCali. an carly Ai'.u~a Mission water mark in the early Pentecostal mcetings continued on an irregular basis workers. was onc of the promoter., of the .-evil'a!. " - David Reed until about 1920. Arroyo Seco meetings . In 1912 he In the beginning the camp mectmgs dreamed of another meeting for the spring were started because the all-day mectings of 19 13 which would "gather HIS saints If anyone ever assembled to meet God. in the Azusa Mission were too crowded together in one place and deal with them. it was this band of Pentecostals at Arroyo and the summer heat was almost giving a unily and power that we have not Seco in the spring of 1913. unlxarable. yet known ... • The ApOJ·tolic Failh promoted the first Unknown to Scott. a powerful evan Unfortunately, for all the positive ele meeting in the May 1907 issue, descri bing gelist. Maria B. Woodwort h-Etter - who ments of the Worl dwide Camp Meeting, Arroyo Seco as a place where "the air is by this time was 69 years of age - also felt histori ans remember it as the setti ng for a fresh with thc sea breeze wh ich comes in doctrinal view which later fractured the from thc distant ocean, and there is plenty (Colllmued 0'1 p. -I) Wayn,W,,.,, widow 01 J Ro~weJl Ho .... cr. one of the THE HJ!:RITAGE LEUER founding father~ 01 the A\sembllcs of God A Very Spc<:iaJ Annhcr,ary The I-Io .... cr children (and grand r.:hddren) have been al.:tl\e in the A\ ayhc you've now.:cd that Itll'. paper <ocmblie, 01 God all ollhelr lives. Jo\eph is M In:qucntly fCillurc~ ;lnntvC"ilr1C~ of the general \ecretary: David pa,lor... Bcthcl Important .md, ~()mctJlllC~. not -.(1 IIllpor Temple. Da)'tnn. Ohio: Adele Flower Dal l.mt event-. In our h.\lury. Thi~ ."IlC I~ no ton I'" a fomler nm\l()nary 10 Spalll and exceptIOn now employed .... lIh the Foreign MI"Lons You wilt note a 70th anmvcr\.lry \wry Depanmelll. Su/anne Hower Earle i... the 01 the Worklwidc ('amp Mcclin~ In Lo~ wife of Alben Earle. a field reprcscntall\e Angelc\, Pam l:.aMlal..c gl\'C\ '.OInc v'alu for Gospel PubJi~hlllg House; another son. ahle Ilp~ on wrillng an ann1\:e",ary bool.. or the late George Hower. wa\ wper booklet f()r your durr.:h The clllumn mtendent of the Southern New England "Time "(iUTlC," iI .. u\ual, will , .. I.e you Afr lIlI(l Mr.r. Clwrles Re\nnlt/.\ DI\trict. and Roswelll-lowerdied in 1941 had, In JO-year .. lop ... In evenh In our while attending Central Blblc College. hl\IOI) And in Ihl~ colulIlli I 'MlIlt to Iell Mary Alice Reynold ... ' healing a hun pray for her E\.'angeJi\t Ramsey wa .. min you about .1 \pccial annivcI"ial) dred year\ ago thi!> i>prlng wa., for real She IMering In Ihe area ;11 thaI time. and it was Annlvcr,aric\ \crvc ii, (cmUldef'" or lived another 35 year\ and IIlfluenced the Goel al work III our t1l',[ory. lind In many hl\ practice 10 pray for the sid ~p iritual hves of counlles\ people 111- m,la!l{"C\ mtroducc a new generation to Mr\. Reynold ... quickly accepted the cludlng some of the founder~ of the Ihc\C thrillmg event,. Calling allcntl(m to ,uggesllOn She later told about her meet Assembhe.. of God. IIlg wllh Ihe evangeJt\!. "When Mr Ram the event... ,ueh iI\'1 I;hur(:h anmvCI"\ary Her in ... piring experience is Just one \ey ,mointed me. I urged Ihm he not only or a monurncnl:ll Gcncrul Councilor re more rea\on I like 10 recall annivcr--aries. vival meeting will help U\ keep our pray for Ille bodily. but my ~p irilUal wel hi .. tory in focu\, Recalling the-.c \pecial fare also." The next day 'he wa!. o\'erjoyed (We are indebted to Tom Slevin. While c\.'en1\ will aIM) hclp u .. lo apprcciate those when she realited that ~he had been healed hmd. Indiana. who researched the Indi dear p'Olleer-- who biOI/cd a trail m the both body and ~oul anapolis newspapers for thi!. S10ry. Alice early years of the Pente(.:ostal Illovement. Naturally. when ,L well-known family Reynolds '-lower gives a full account of has thi~ kmd of an experience. word ... oon Recently I was remmded of a remark her mother'~ healing in her delightful get ... around The editor of the III(J/wwI'olis ilble healing which happencdju" a century book. Grace for Grace.) ~,.. ago thi .. ~prmg. No. the A\-.cmhlies of Journ(ll (who wa ... a Iriend of Charles God I~ not 100 year.. old But the event I Reynold,) came to the home and inter want you 10 know .. boul had a lot to do viewed the former invalid who wa\ now up Azusa Mission Papers With the hiler founding and development and taking care of hou~ehold Given to AIG Archives of the A\\Cmblie~ of God respon\ibilltici>. Here i.. how it happened. The editor"s long and detailed account. A rare collection of an early Pentecostal "Another ('ure By Faith," was published paper. TIll' Apostolic Fm',h, was recently ary Alice Reynold.... thc wife of a on Ihe Journal's front page. March 24. presented to the Assemblies of God M well·known real esale agent III 1883. The ,tory was also reponed III the Archive~ by relatives of the fonnerowner. Indianapol,.,. had been an Invalid for a hulimwpolis New!" on the same day. And the late Rachel Sitclove. year Doctor\ had tried every mean~ at on the next day a brief story, along with The AW1Jlolic Fllitll was publi\hcd by theirdi\posal to help her. but she gradually othernew\ from Indianapolis. appe,Lred on William J. Seymour ,md thc Azu!.a Strcet grew wor,c, page one of the Nt'II' York Times: Mission. Los Angcle\. from I 906 to 1908. Mrs Reynolds was a member of a " Mn. Ch(lrle.~ E. Re\'lIolds. a Melhod Thc paper wai> then publi ... hed in Portland. Methodist church but admitted that .. hc i.fl ladl' of this ci'-\'. lI;m';lIg ill the best Oregon, by Florence Crawford. Donating the paper, to the Archives wa... hardly a model member. God had not .l'Ociery. (I siJler of GOI'ernor Porter" s IJri left her. however. and lie wa!> aboUI to do \'(I1e secretar\,. ""'IOIII/CeS til{/( .Ihe was were the Fred Corum and Lawrence -.olllething thaI would bring glory to 1ft .. curetl bl'/lIIth lind I)rarer ofa 1II111(1(/Y of 15 Bakcwell families. Mr.. Lily E. Corum. name even through a .,tory In the New Jellrs stlltl(/i1lK . The cllre II'IIS effected 011 Wilmmgton. Mas sachu~e u s. widow of York Tlme.\ March 4, Ihe Rei'. Mr. Ramse\' (III IfIwt Fred Corum. presented the papen 10 One evcning in March 1883 during a welled el'(lIIgelist. beillg 'he llssistallt.·· Wayne Wamer. director of the Archives. most dl\Coumging tllne. Mary Reynolds' The ~Iory publi~hcd in the Indianapolis The copies given to the Archives were thoughts turned 10 God.