MILK PAIL TO PULPIT

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 284, 26 August 1922, Page 5

MILK PAIL TO PULPIT

A REMARKABLE CAREER A remarkable world-wide soul-saving campaign was inaugurated 14 years ago by a Canadian farm girl, then in her ’teens—Mrs. Aimee Semple McPherson. Mrs. McPherson arrived at Wellington last evening by the R.M.S’. Maunganui from San Francisco, accompanied by her mother and her two children, and is on her way to Australia, where she will conduct a revival campaign, extending over a period of three months.

A Dominion reporter who met Mrs. McPherson yesterday found her to be of exceedingly youthful appearance and possessing a striking personality. Born on a Canadian farm, Mrs. McPherson was “converted” at the age of 17 years, aiicl started off on her mission. _ “I had no great church to begin with,” she said reminiscently, “but now I Jiavo the largest in America. My covering was the canopy of God’s blue skv, and I only knew that I had Tiien called to preach tho Gospel, strange as that may seein. 1 left the milking pail and tho farm, and my first church was a lawn. I used a piazza as a pulpit. Finally, I was able io buy a tout? —a very old one—and then, later on a splendid tent. For two years I preached winter and summer in an enormous tent. The early struggles taught me how to be my own. tent manager, build my own seats, and put up the electric wires. “Step by step, tho work achieved Biiccess, and before long I preached in the largest building in America, with an audience of 20.000. And now as a crowning glory of the fourteen years of ministry comes a great temple at Los Angeles. I \am an ordained Baptist minister, but I work undenominationally.’' -

Questioned on the subject of faithhealing, Mrs. McPherson expressed her firm belief in the power of prayer io heal, although she wanted it known that , her specialty was obtaining “conversions.” "I would rather have one person ‘saved’ than 100 healed,” she added. "We always pray for the sick at our meetings,” she said. Prior to her departure from San Francisco, Mirs. McPherson conducted a service at a farewell gathering, the audience numbering 25,000. During the two previous weeks’ campaign she addressed no fewer than 150,000 people. Mrs. McPherson has preached in countries all over the world, and after" her visit to Australia will return to Ajmerica. She must be there during December next for the opening of her large steel and concrete temple—the largest fire-nroof church in America. Mrs. McPherson will continue her voyage to Sydney on Monday.