AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON

Aimee Semple McPherson was a powerful influence in the development of American religion. Joining the Pentecostal church when she was seventeen, she preached in tents and saloons, on street corners, and in concert halls before founding her own church, the five-thousand-seat Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. Evangelism reached its zenith when the charismatic Sister Aimee stepped up to the pulpit, dressed in costumes that complemented her dramatic illustrated sermons. Besides being an acclaimed speaker and evangelist, Aimee Semple McPherson wrote religious operas, befriended celebrities, traveled the world, and fed and clothed the poor. During the 1920s and 1930s, even a string of personal tragedies, including scandals, failed marriages, an alleged kidnapping, lawsuits, and public criticism, did not destroy her religious zeal. Her soul-saving and unforgettable healings became the foundation for the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel that today claims some 3.5 million members worldwide. This is the story of Sister Aimee, the sensational twentieth-century woman who enriched the lives of millions.