New Book Releases from Visiting Professors
New book from visiting professor Dr. Michael Wilkinson (Co-authored with Dr. Linda M. Ambrose)
After the Revival: Pentecostalism and the Making of a Canadian Church
Early Pentecostal revivals swept through Canadian communities, big and small, in the early 1900s. Reports abounded of worshippers falling down at the altar, speaking in tongues, having dreams and visions, and experiencing divine healing. Tent meetings inspired curious onlookers to witness these phenomena for themselves. Following these revival meetings, Pentecostals organized, built churches, and expanded across the country, while many churches were beginning to decline. How did these Pentecostal "holy rollers" move from the fringe to take centre stage in Canada's religious landscape? Why is a religious group rooted in the early twentieth century, tied to Methodism and the Holiness movement, still so popular among followers from all walks of life, especially Indigenous peoples and new Canadians? In After the Revival Michael Wilkinson and Linda Ambrose ask these and other questions, arguing that the answers are tied to Pentecostalism's continued organizational efforts. Since 1919, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) has worked to establish order and steady growth by managing financial and material assets, offering programs designed to attract families and youth, and training leaders. While Pentecostalism sometimes reflects broader cultural trends and at other times resists them, the PAOC has grown steadily to become one of the largest evangelical denominations in Canada. Addressing broader questions about how religious movements organize, establish an identity, and develop a subculture that flourishes, After the Revival explores the fascinating history of Pentecostalism in Canada and the ways the church, represented by the PAOC, engages with Canadian society.
New book from visiting professor Dr. Martin Mittelstadt (co-editor, Caleb Howard Courtney):
Canadian Pentecostal Reader: The First Generation of Pentecostal Voices in Canada, 1907–1925
The term ‘North American Pentecostalism’ may now be shelved beside other phrases that have lost their meaning. With the publication of the Canadian Pentecostal Reader, there is Canadian primary source material ready at hand to challenge the prevailing idea of a homogeneous continental Pentecostal experience that originated at the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles. Mittelstadt and Courtney have made available in one book the earliest newsletters of Canadian Pentecostalism (1907–1925), with each publication introduced by sections on ‘The People’ and ‘The Publication.’ The historical background work is commendable and revealing: the authors have uncovered little-known Canadian pioneers and their publications. Within these pages you will hear Pentecostal themes delivered with a Canadian accent. These emphases reflect the northern sensibilities of Canadian Pentecostals influenced not only by those south of their border but also by those across the pond in Britain. Canadian Pentecostalism owes a debt to the authors for their commitment to the pain-staking transcription process from original publication to book format. They deliver to us the standard resource for early Canadian Pentecostalism.