Perry F. Rockwood

Perry Francis Rockwood (March 23, 1917 – March 7, 2008) was a Canadian fundamentalist Christian minister and radio broadcaster, who founded the weekly People's Gospel Hour program in 1947 on a station in Truro, Nova Scotia. His broadcast eventually reached a worldwide audience.

Rockwood was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1943, but subsequently criticized the denomination over doctrinal issues in a series of sermons preached in November 1946 at the Truro church where he was pastor. As a result, he was charged by Presbyterian officials in January 1947 with "divisive action". He then formed an independent church and began his radio ministry, which continues to the present day: the People's Gospel Hour broadcast now consists of newly recorded music and spoken segments by staff, accompanied by reruns of archived sermons preached by Rockwood during his lifetime. A year later, Rockwood decided he wanted to be a minister and enrolled at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. He worked his way through the Baptist-controlled university by doing odd jobs, such as waiting tables and having a summer factory job.

Upon graduation from Acadia University in 1940, Rockwood enrolled at The Presbyterian College, Montreal, the denomination's seminary for aspiring ministers. When he arrived by train at Montreal's Windsor Station, the poor young man had no money for transportation to the seminary or even to claim his trunk at the railroad station. Facing a two-hour walk to the college bereft of his possessions and feeling sorry for himself, he began to cry, Rockwood admitted in his autobiography. He pastored his first church in the rural village of Thorburn, Nova Scotia, that year. In November–December 1946, the then 29-year-old pastor preached a four-part series of sermons, denouncing what he called the "apostasy" of the Presbyterian Church and its seminary theologians for condoning liberal Protestantism's denial of the virgin birth of Jesus and Christ's resurrection. November 10: "The Church sick unto death doctrinally" November 17: "The Church sick unto death educationally" November 24: "The Church sick unto death ecumenically at home" December 1: "The Church sick unto death ecumenically abroad"

In response, Rockwood was brought up on charges of "following a divisive course" by the Halifax-Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Presbytery before a Presbyterian ecclesiastical court. When he subsequently resigned in March 1947, Rockwood published Farewell, the last sermons he preached as minister of the 300-member St. James Presbyterian Church. A replacement minister for the church was appointed in September of that year by the Halifax-Lunenburg Presbytery.

Ecclesiastical trial and controversy

Rockwood was charged by the Halifax-Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Presbytery with conduct "unbecoming a minister of the Christian church", misinterpretation of the Bible, and an "attempt to split the Presbyterian church", referring to his call to "stand firm and indeed separate ourselves from all unbelief as the church drifts from her faith-moorings". In his defense, Rockwood said, "When the church departs from the Bible it is up to us to point out the error, irrespective of consequences, to maintain the truth and the purity of the church". The unusual public church trial created a national sensation, with the Toronto Star carrying the story of the trial on its front-page and a Canadian Press dispatch reporting, "the tense drama is creating Dominion wide interest". The following Sunday, March 9, outspoken Canadian fundamentalist minister Thomas Todhunter Shields preached a sermon defending Rockwood at Toronto's Jarvis Street Baptist Church, entitled, "Rev. Perry F. Rockwood — a Hero of the Faith, or a 'Fundamentalist'-Fanatic?" and the Gospel Witness journal of March 27 published the texts of Rockwood's controversial sermons in their entirety.

The ecclesiastical court hearing the charges in March 1947, found Rockwood guilty of divisiveness and ordered him to recant and burn his sermons. Rockwood refused, choosing instead to resign from the denomination, announced March 20, 1947. It was "not an easy decision to make", he wrote later, knowing that resignation meant losing his position as pastor of a large church with a good salary and pension, along with free housing. Other like-minded ministers preached sermons on the controversy, such as "Ought Perry Rockwood to have spoken?", advertised at a church in Edmonton. Presbyteries around Canada expressed differing views on the outcome: the Brookville, Ontario, Presbytery unanimously passed a resolution calling Rockwood's censure "contrary to the traditions of Presbyterianism". In Montreal, on the other hand, the Presbytery repudiated what it called "agitation in the Church".

In the weeks following his resignation, Rockwood preached to large crowds in Canada and the U.S., addressing an audience of 4,000 in Toronto alone. In the New York City area, he preached at the behest of evangelist Jack Wyrtzen.

People's Gospel Hour Following his separation from the Presbyterian denomination, Rockwood formed an independent church in Truro, first meeting in a high school auditorium. With the support of Shields, a small building was then acquired for "The People's Church", as it was called. The following year, the church began to send out missionaries and, after four years, had raised $26,000 for missions.

Rockwood began broadcasting on a local radio station, CKCL-AM, on September 7, 1947. His weekly half-hour People's Gospel Hour broadcast of Christian music and fundamentalist sermons eventually reached a worldwide audience. He started publication of a monthly magazine, The Gospel Standard, and wrote numerous books, printed and distributed from Halifax. In 1953, a U.S. office was opened in Boston.

Books A prolific writer, Rockwood's books include his autobiography, Triumph in God: the life story of radio pastor Perry F. Rockwood. The Coming Antichrist Protestants Awake! The Power of the Blood The King is coming! After death what? Is the KJV God's Word for Today? Did God write a book? Coming events: a survey of last-day events 섭리로 보존된 성경 : 올바른 영어성경 선택의 길잡이 (Korean: "A Guide to Choosing the Right English Bible", ) The Holy Spirit: In the World Today What is wrong with the Protestant church? Is Jesus Christ really coming again? The King is coming!

Personal life and legacy Rockwood met his future wife, Ena Mae Coulstan, while he was studying at Acadia University and they married on September 8, 1942. He died on March 7, 2008, and is buried in Halifax. The organization also produces a 15-minute daily program, Prophecy For Today, heard Mondays through Fridays. The Gospel Standard pamphlet continues to be published monthly by the organization he founded at its Halifax headquarters.