Pentecostalism Archives and histories Talk given at the British Library 22 March 2010 By Professor William K Kay Glyndwr University, Wrexham
Structure What is Pentecostalism and how have scholars told the story? How can this story assist in the building of an archive?
What is Pentecostalism? The answer determines how we tell the story For our purposes, Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within 20 th /21 st century Christianity which resulted in: Many new denominations New styles of worship Emphasis on divine healing Emphasis on charismatic gifts
Pentecostalism The story has various starting points: India, Korea, but the most common and persuasive is Azusa Street, Los Angeles, in April 1906 The Azusa St revival lasted till about 1912 W J Seymour its leader has become an icon for black Pentecostal churches
Leaders of Azusa St
Pentecostalism The 1907 British outpouring of the Spirit began in Sunderland in an Anglican parish (Revd Alexander Boddy) Boddy started a magazine, Confidence, in 1908 and an annual Whitsun Convention that ran 1908-14 He also started the Pentecostal Missionary Union (PMU)
Sunderland
Pentecostalism The earliest Pentecostal church in England was built in Bournemouth in about 1909 The first indigenous British Pentecostal denominations were the: (Welsh) Apostolic Church (1916) Elim Pentecostal Church (1915) Assemblies of God in Great Britain and Ireland (1924)
Pentecostalism Once the denominations were formed they generated a paper trail of: Minutes Posters Magazines [Redemption Tidings, Elim Evangel, Riches of Grace] Financial reports Letters Diaries, and so on
Pentecostalism The three denominations continued their existence through until the 1950s, when they were joined by the Church of God, which originally came with immigrants from the Caribbean In the 1960s, the charismatic movement began. Michael Harper s Fountain Trust (1964) started, promoting the charismatic movement with Renewal magazine. Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement influenced each other
Charismatic movement In the 1960s, the charismatic movement began. Michael Harper s Fountain Trust (1964) started, promoting the charismatic movement with Renewal magazine. Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement influenced each other
Michael Harper (1931-2010) Much of the material from the Fountain Trust is held at the Donald Gee Centre since Michael was a trustee But he also placed a quantity of material in the library at Lambeth Palace
Charismatic movement in the west Liturgical and renewing impact on UK churches David Wilkerson writes The Cross and the Switchblade (1963) 13
Pentecostalism Thus there are certain points in the history of Pentecostalism which are more important than others, and therefore more interesting to archivists: 1. The beginnings 2. The start of the earlier denominations 3. The start of the Church of God 4. interaction with the charismatic movement
1 st Wave Timeline 2 nd Wave 3 rd Wave Azusa St 1906 Sunderland 1907-14 Elim 1915 Welsh Apostolics Assemblies of God 1924 Campaigns and crusades WW II Charismatic Movement 1960s Mingling of streams Apostolic networks From 1970
Resources in the UK The Donald Gee Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Research This is located in Mattersey, a village in North Nottinghamshire, in the grounds of the Assemblies of God ministerial training college (telephone: 01777 817663) The Centre is a free-standing interdenominational charity
Resources in the UK The Centre contains: Books going back to the 19 th century relating to missions (ref to Keswick) Letters from missionaries, ministers and committees, photographs A full set of Confidence A full set of Renewal Miscellaneous material relating to the Charismatic movement
Resources in the UK Revival library http://www.revival-library.org/ Beginning of PCRI project which will fund the digitisation of materials in the Donald Gee Centre. PCRI = Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative based at the University of Southern California http://crcc.usc.edu/initiatives/pcri/
Resources in the USA The Flower Centre (http://ifphc.org/ ): Assemblies of God International Pentecostal Holiness Church (http://arc.iphc.org/ ) USC, and its Internet Mission Photography Archive http://crcc.usc.edu/initiatives/impa
Website addresses of denominations in the UK Assemblies of God: www.aog.org.uk/ Elim: www.elim.org.uk/ Apostolic Church www.apostolicchurch.org/ Church of God Newfrontiers www.newfrontierstogether.org/ And many others
Books using archival resources Anderson, A H (2007) Spreading Fires (SCM) Kay, W K (2009) Pentecostalism (SCM)