BOOK REVIEW
FEMINIST PILLAR
OF FIRE:
THE LIFE OF ALMA WHITE
BY SUSIE CUNNINGHAM STANLEY
Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press, 1993, xiv + 164 p., $12.95,
pbk.
Reviewed by Steven Wagner, adjunct professor of history at
Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana.
Though a denomination with the radical name Pillar of Fire
may seem like it would have little in common with our own, there
are, in fact, several points of similarity. Elmer T. Clark in his book,
The Small Sects in America (1937 edition), discusses the Pillar Of
Fire immediately after The Missionary Church Association (p.78).
Both groups were considered premillenial Wesleyans and "peculiar" for their extreme positions. Much of what we read in
Stanley's Feminist Pillar of Fire can easily be related to the
struggles the early women ministers of The Missionary Church
Association (and the Mennonite Brethren in Christ) must have
experienced.
Alma White (1862-1946)was afundamentalist feminist bishop.
These three terms are almost mutually exclusive today. But for
White, they were the natural results from her sanctification
experience. The combination of her enormous energy and the
inability of the Methodist Church to find a place for her, led her
to establish a new denomination where she attempted to reconcile
these beliefs. Stanley, former professor of church history and
women's studies at Western Evangelical Seminary and currently
a professor at Messiah College, details the major events in White's
life so the modern reader can understand how this woman
logically evolved. We see a picture of a woman who truly believed
she was following God's will for her life. This devotion led to her
sacrificing many things. But she also performed great works for
God's Kingdom.
White established a mission in Denver in 1896. This mission
led to her founding the Pentecostal Union (the name was later
changed to Pillar of Fire) in 1901. After her split from the
Methodist Episcopal Church, she routinely denounced the denomination for forsaking holiness doctrine and conforming to the
world's standards. In 1908, White and her group demonstrated
their commitment to separation from the world by forming a
Christian commune in Zarephath, New Jersey. By 1914,the Pillar
of Fire had adopted vegetarianism, deeming meat eating as
detrimental to their physical, moral and spiritual welfare. In
1918, White was consecrated as bishop by William Godbey,
making her the first woman bishop in the United States. She
established Woman's Chains, a leading feminist publication from
1924to 1970.She also published several other periodicals, including one in England. She authored over thirty books and hundreds
of articles. She pioneered radio ministry with the purchase of
KPOF (Denver) in 1927 and WAWZ (Zarephath) in 1931.
Stanley does not, however, neglect White's weaknesses. We
see her as a product of the times. Her excessive patriotism led to
her anti-Catholic and pro-Ku Klux Klan views. These views were
common in the United States in the 1920's and 30's. Furthermore,
she separated from her husband in 1909 when he embraced
Pentecostalism and advocated speaking in tongues. Also, her
strong desire for autonomy is detailed. This perhaps is the
greatest distinction between her and the Ministering Sisters of
our own denomination. The earlier forms of the Missionary
Church allowed an official outlet for women called into the
ministry. Alma White did not perceive one in her contacts with the
hierarchyof the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was not content
to start a mission and allow it to be consolidated into the main
body, controlled by someone else. In fact, she filed a legal complaint against her husband when she realized that he and his
denomination were planning to take financial control of the Pillar
of Fire away from her.
The importance of Stanley's biography is to awaken in us an
understanding of the trials and ministries of women in the late
1800's and early 1900's. It should intrigue us to look more
thoughtfully at the importance of women in the early part of our
own denomination. Everek Storms refers to the first 25 years in
the Mennonite Brethren in Christ church as "The Great Expansion" (History of the UMC 60). Much of this expansion was the
result of women ministers especially in the "city missions" which
resulted in new churches.
Though the Pillar of Fire Church is not a dominant denomination, they have been used by God to further his kingdom. Readers
of this biography can understand how God called this peculiar
woman to His own purposes despite the feelingof the times against
women ministers.
BOOK NOTE
WESLEYANIHOLINESS WOMEN
CLERGY:
A PRELIMINARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
BY SUSIE CUNNINGHAM STANLEY
Portland, OR: Western Evangelical Seminary, 1994, 43 p.,
$3.00, pbk.
Reviewed by Steven Wagner, adjunct professor of history at
College, Mishawaka, Indiana.
. Bethel
Susie Stanley has compiled a helpful, though preliminary,
bibliography on women clergy in the Wesleyan Holiness movement. She categorizes these bibliographies with useful headings.
These headings are 1)Autobiographies, Letters, Diaries, Papers;
2) Biographies; 3) Biographical Sketches; 4) Scriptural Defenses
of Women Clergy; 5) Women's Sermons; 6) Theses, Dissertations;
7) General Articles and 8) Newsletters.
The dominant Wesleyan Holiness groups appear to be well
represented. Members of the Salvation Army, Church of the
Nazarene, Church of God (Anderson),Free Methodist Church and
the Wesleyan Church can find many entries for their denominations.
Unfortunately, readers looking for Missionary Church references will find little help. For this, one should look to Everek
Storms' What God Hath Wrought (1948) and Eileen Lageer's
Merging Streams (1979). Even in these sources, one will find only
a couple of references in each. Realizing we have had over 500
Ministering Sisters in the precedents of the Missionary Church,
it does not seem likely that we have an adequate bibliography. In
fact, most of the references we have concern themselves with
women missionaries, who were not counted in with the 500.
Undoubtedly, we have little knowledge of the impact these women
ministers must have made in the early days of our denomination.