Working Miracles
The Drama and Passion of Aimee Semple McPherson
AUTHOR: Judith Robinson
FORMAT: 5.5 x 8.5 pb / 128 pages
ISBN-10: 1554390850
ISBN-13: 9781554390854
Devout and charismatic, Aimee Semple McPherson led millions in prayer. A pioneer in female travelling evangelism, McPherson was believed to possess a healing touch. Great masses of the sick and the burdened gathered from far and wide to hear her sermons and perhaps to be cured by the miracle worker. This is the story of one woman¹s extraordinary life full of missionary adventures in the Far East, fervent radio preaching, empire building, and spectacular pulpit performances.
Prologue
Horses clomped by in the Florida mud as the wagons hauled supplies. Voices cried out from every direction while the men grunted and groaned in an effort to quickly erect a row of sleeping tents. There was a sense of excitement and urgency in the air.
Aimee's husband, Harold, usually wired a string of electric bulbs across the top of the structures where she preached, but there was no power line here. So, for the umpteenth time, Aimee struggled to light her calcium carbide lamp. This lamp always gave her trouble when she tried to light it. Harold moved swiftly towards her, as the handful of worshippers at the alter mumbled the unintelligible sounds characteristic of revival tent meetings during World War I. Aimee didn't want to admit to Harold that she couldn't light the lamp. She gave it one last try.
Suddenly, the lamp exploded in her face - sending flames a foot high into the air singeing her hair, her eyebrows, and her eyelashes. Harold managed to put out the flames with a woollen blanket, and then frantically shoved her head into a nearby barrel of rainwater. At that moment, her pride hurt worse than her face.
The crowd was filling the tabernacle for the evening meeting. When she turned to face them everyone gasped, horrified. She realized that she was badly burned and that she was terrifying her audience. In agony, she slowly dragged herself up to the platform. Her skin was stretched so tight across her mouth that she could barely speak. Aimee cried out for God to heal her.
In the next moment, Harold noticed her skin starting to change colour. The blisters were beginning to disappear. Could it be? He moved closer to his wife to make sure. The blisters were gone. Aimee's face was completely restored.
About the Author
Judith Robinson is a freelance writer and teacher who lives in Burlington, Ontario. Her articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including The Globe & Mail, Education Forum, and The United Church Observer. She has been a book reviewer for Quill & Quire, and a freelance writer/broadcaster for CBC Radio.
She is a graduate of the Iowa Playwrights¹ Workshop where she won the Richard Maibaum Award for playwriting in 1995. Her plays have been produced in Canada and the United States. Judith teaches freelance writing courses for the University of Toronto¹s School of Continuing Studies and teaches non-fiction writing courses for the University of Western Ontario.
You can find out more about Judith on her web site at www.judithirobinson.com
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