I'LL THINK OF SOMETHING

 

MARCHING TO ZION

 

 

 

THE CHICAGO LITERARY CLUB

 

 PRESENTED NOVEMBER 28, 2011

 

 

Todd S. Parkhurst

 

© Todd S. Parkhurst 2011

 

 

 

MARCHING TO ZION

261 E. 62nd St. in Chicago is an inconspicuous address tonight. It's a side door to Hyde Park High School, at the corner of  62nd St. and Stony Island Boulevard. On the east side of Stony Island is Jackson Park, where the Chicago World's Fair was being held in 1893.

But in 1893 there was a wooden building at that address just a few steps outside the entrance to the World's Fair; and 117 years ago tonight, over 2000 late-arriving people clamored to be admitted to the building  called The Little Wooden Hut. That building was officially the world headquarters of the International Association of Divine Healing, Rev. Alexander Dowie Pastor, and the 2000 outsiders would be refused admittance because at least 2000 or more earlier- arriving people already filled the building to overflowing. Some had come to jeer, and some had come to cheer, but many had come to have their souls saved; and some had come to literally have their lives saved by the one of the greatest Pentecostal apostolic, charismatic evangelistic Faith Healing preachers Chicago has ever had.

For 60 years, Rev. John Alexander Dowie ministered in the Power of Elijah, the Spirit of John The Baptist, with the Heart of a Shepherd, the Zeal of an Evangelist, and the Message of a Prophet. This I know, for he said so himself.

Here I beg your pardon--and your mercy. I offer no advocacy for or against what Rev. Dowie said or did 100 years ago. It's history. It's important. I'm. Just. Saying.

John Alexander Dowie was born on May 24, 1847 to educated and devout Christian parents in Edinburgh Scotland. At the age of 13, his family moved to Australia where he began working as a salesman in his uncle's shoe shop. At the age of 20 he was called to the Christian ministry and returned to Scotland to study at Edinburgh University. In 1872, he returned to Australia and accepted a pastoral call to a small church near Sydney. Through the 1870s and 1880s, he continued his ministry in ever larger churches; he built  a tabernacle; and in 1878 he discovered the power of divine healing.

"Though he be dead yet he speaketh" according to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 4. And so tonight I shall let him speak for himself upon several occasions, for his words were mighty and his deeds are engraved in Chicago and Illinois and the history of Protestantism. Here is his description of that event:

"At noon, I sat in my study in the parsonage of the Congregational church in a suburb of Sydney Australia. My heart was very heavy, for I had been visiting the sick and dying beds of more than 30 of my flock, and I had cast the dust to its kindred dust in more than 40 graves in a few weeks. Where, oh where was He who used to heal his suffering children? No prayer for healing seemed to reach his ear, and yet I knew His hand had not been shortened. Still it did not stay from death even those for whom there was so much in life to live for God and others. Strong men, fathers, good citizens seized with a putrid fever, suffered nameless agonies, passed into a delirium, sometimes as convulsions, and then died. And oh what little girls and boys were left to many a widow, orphaned. Then there were many homes where, one by one, the little children, the youths and the maidens, were stricken, and after hard struggling with vile disease, they too lay cold and dead. It seemed sometimes as if I could almost hear the triumphant mockery of Satan ringing in my ears, while I spoke to the bereaved ones the words of Christian hope and consolation. Disease, the vile offspring of  Satan, was defiling and destroying the earthly temples of God's children, and there was no deliverer.

"And there I sat with sorrowful bowed head for my afflicted people, until the bitter tears came to me. Then I prayed for some message, and oh, how I longed to hear a message from The Man of Sorrows and Sympathies. And then the Words of the Holy Ghost Inspired in Acts10:38 stood before me, all radiant with light, revealing Satan as that defiler, and Christ as the Healer. My tears were wiped away, my heart was strong, I saw the way of healing, and the door thereto was opened wide, and so I said, 'God help me now to preach that word to all the dying round, and tell them how 'tis Satan is still the  defiler, and Jesus still delivers, for He is just the same today.'

"A loud ring and several loud raps at the outer door, a rush of feet, and then at my door two panting messengers who said, "Oh come at once, Mary is dying; come and pray." With such a feeling as a Shepherd has to hear that his sheep are being torn from the fold by a cruel wolf, I rushed from my house, and entered the room of the dying maid. There she lay groaning, grinding her clenched teeth in the agony of the conflict with the destroyer, the white froth, mingled with her blood, oozing from her pained and distorted mouth. I looked at her and then my anger burned. "Oh,' I thought, "for some sharp sword of heavenly temper to slay this cruel foe, who is strangling this lovely maiden like an invisible serpent, tightening his deadly coils for a final victory.'

"In a strange way it came to pass; I found the sword I needed was in my hand, and in my hand I hold it still, and never will I lay it down. The doctor, a good Christian man, was quietly walking up and down the room, sharing the mother's pain and grief. Presently he stood at my side and said, 'Sir, are not God's ways mysterious?'  Instantly the sword was flashing in my hand, the Spirit's Sword, the Word of God. "God's way!' I said, pointing to the scene of conflict, 'How dare you, Doctor, call that God's way of bringing His children home from earth to heaven? No sir, that is the devil's work, and it is time we called on Him who came to destroy the work of the devil, to slay that foul destroyer, and to save the child. Can you pray, Doctor, can you pray the prayer of faith that saves the sick?' At once, offended by my words, my doctor friend was changed, and saying, 'you are too much excited, sir, 'tis best to say, God's will be done.' He left the room. Excited! The word was quite inadequate, for I was almost frenzied with divinely imparted anger and hatred of that foul destroyer, and the disease which was doing Satan's will. 'It is not so, I exclaimed, 'that the will of God sends such cruelty, and I shall never say God's Will be Done to Satan's works which God's Own Son came to destroy, and this is one of them. 'And was not God with me? And was not Jesus there and all his Promises true? I felt that it was even so, and turning to the mother, I inquired, 'Why did you send for me?' To which she said 'to come and pray, to pray for my child that God may raise her up. 'And so we prayed. What did we pray? I cannot now recall the words, but words are in themselves of small importance. The prayer of faith may be a voiceless prayer, a simple heartfelt look of confidence into the face of Christ. Still, asking God to aid me now, I will endeavor to recall it.

I cried:  'Father, help! And Holy Spirit teach me how to pray.  Lead us, oh,   Jesus, Savior, Healer, Friend, Our Advocate with the Father. Hear and Heal,  Eternal One! From all disease and death deliver this sweet child of thine. I rest upon the Word. We claim the promise now, Thy Word Is True, 'I am the Lord that healeth thee.' So healeth now. Thy Word is true, 'I Am the Lord, I Change Not.' Unchanging God, then prove Thyself the Healer now. Thy Word Is True, 'these signs shall follow them that believe, and in my Name they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.' And I laid hands in Jesus' Name on her, and I claim this promise now. Thy Word is true, 'the prayer of faith shall save the sick.' Trusting in thee alone, I cry Oh save her now, for Jesus sake, Amen!'

And lo, the maid lay still in sleep, so deep and sweet that the mother said in a low whisper, 'Is she dead?' 'No,' I answered in a whisper lower still, 'Mary will live, the fever is gone. She is perfectly well and sleeping as an infant sleeps.  Smoothing the long dark hair from her now peaceful brow, and feeling the steady pulsation of her heart and cool, moist hands, I saw that Christ had heard and then once more, as long ago in Peter's house, 'He touched her and the fever left her.' Turning to the nurse I said, 'Bring me at once, please, a cup of cocoa and several slices of bread and butter.' Beside the sleeping maid, we sat quietly and almost silently until the nurse returned, and then I bent over her and snapping my fingers said, 'Mary!' Instantly she woke, smiled, and said "oh sir, when did you come? I have slept so long, then stretching out her arms to meet her mother's embrace, she said 'Mother, I feel so well.' 'And hungry too?'I said, pouring some of the cocoa in a saucer and offering it to her when it cooled. 'Yes, hungry too,' she answered with a little laugh, and drank and ate again and yet again until all was gone. In a few minutes she fell asleep, breathing easily and softly. Quietly thanking God we left her bed and went to the next room where her brother and sister also lay sick of the same fever. With these two we also prayed, and they were healed. The following day all three were well and in a week or so they brought me a little note and a gift of gold, two cufflinks with my monogram, which I wore for many years. As I went away from the home where Christ as the Healer had been victorious, I could not but have somewhat in my heart the triumph of song that rang to heaven, and yet I was not a little amazed at my own strange doings and still more at my discovery that he is just the same today.

"In 1882, I was called to an almost precisely similar case in Melbourne. The child was instantly healed, a girl. From that moment the ministry came in Power. In some years I have prayed as many as 50,000 times, and in others as many as 78,000 times in one year. ."

During the next five or six years, Dowie launched his own independent ministry and founded the International Divine Healing Association. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Australian Parliament and gained widespread fame, and opposition, for his views on liquor and Temperance.  

He and his wife and their two children, William Gladstone and Esther, left Australia  and arrived in San Francisco on June 7, 1888. Dowie immediately began to minister to suffering humanity there. In one case, Rev. Dowie knelt at the feet of an aged woman and put her diseased foot in his hand and prayed for her healing, saying to her: "in Jesus' Name, rise and walk." She arose and walked several times across the room. Both she and her daughter, who was an unbeliever, were restored to God. As they were leaving, Rev. Dowie said, "you have left something behind, your crutch." "I don't need it anymore; I am healed," the old woman said. Then she walked away without it, more than eight blocks to her daughter's house.

Rev. Dowie and his family arrived in Chicago around 1891. In 1892 he decided to make Chicago his permanent headquarters. They took up residence in an apartment on 12th St. and launched American chapters of the International Divine Healing Association.

By 1893 he had established The Little Wooden Hut, and was conducting daily evangelistic Divine healing services across the street from the entrance to the Chicago World's Fair and adjacent Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Many people who attended these meetings testified to being divinely healed, and his ministry grew rapidly as he gained popularity among common people. Shortly thereafter he opened Healing Homes throughout the city to accommodate hundreds of people who came to receive physical healing, spiritual counsel and training in the Christian Faith. He started his publication Leaves of Healing in 1894, which was printed by his own Zion Publishing House. He began conducting services in a spacious Zion Tabernacle in Chicago and in 1895 organized the Christian Catholic Church.

But Chicago newspapers attacked him as an impostor, and major controversies, lawsuits and arrests arose from his stands against doctors, the use of any and all pharmaceutical drugs, the consumption of any pork products, and membership in secret societies such as Freemasonry. He openly criticized crooked politicians, corrupt corporations and liberal clergyman. The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance requiring Rev. Dowie to take out a license for conducting a hospital or sanitarium, but he refused to do so. As a result, he was arrested over 100 times in 1895. Frequently he was taken from the platform while delivering his sermons and put in jail. But the as the arrests became routine, his attorneys and supporters learned to bail him out promptly, and he was often back in the pulpit within a few hours.

In 1896, he founded the Christian Catholic Church, using the term Catholic as a synonym for Universal.

By the late 1890s he had become such a dynamic influence upon Chicago citizens that he had baptized over 10,000 converts and had over 40,000 subscribers to Leaves of Healing. Thousands of testimonies to his faith healing works were recorded during the ensuing years, and many people sent him their discarded crutches and other implements of infirmity. He often placed these items on walls as evidence of the success of his healing methods.  He secured a lease on the Chicago Coliseum and spoke to capacity crowds of 12,500 people each week.

By 1899, political and social opposition to his work persuaded Dowie that it would be necessary to establish an isolated, utopian community to advance his plans and ministry. In 1900, Dowie considered acquiring property near the town of Pullman, but abandoned those plans because the area was, he decided, swampy. He later unveiled plans for the acquisition of property and building of the city of Zion Illinois about 40 miles north of Chicago, adjacent the Wisconsin-Illinois Border and Lake Michigan.  Over the next few years, he and his organizations gradually acquired some 6000 acres, comprising an area of about 10 square miles.

                        Wave.  Marching to Zion, verses 1 and 3

Dowie and his Chief Engineer, Burton J. Ashley, laid out the plans for Zion in great detail. Lot dimensions, drainage, refuse disposal, alleys, utilities, roads, board sidewalks, parks, industrial areas, commercial areas, educational institutions, and, most importantly, a Temple, were all laid out. The Christian Catholic Church and its Shiloh Tabernacle would occupy the temple site and Gen. Overseer Dowie would be the ultimate church and community leader.

Incorporated in 1902, Zion was created as a theocracy. Dowie believed that all authority and power came from God, not from man, and that the rule of God would bring peace and blessing. Accordingly, The Christian Catholic Church owned all the property and provided all city services. Residents were granted 1100 year leases on the property, but the land titles remained with the church. The church owned the lace factory, the baking and candy factories, the building industry, the lumberyard, and a large department store that provided all the community's needs. Educational institutions were controlled by the Christian Catholic Church and served Zion children from kindergarten through college.

The Bible was the principal textbook. Zion was governed by blue laws. Doctors, drugs, liquor, tobacco and pork and pork products were prohibited. Residents violating the strictures set out in the land leases rendered the leases null and void.

Dowie wrote "Zionn denies the right of the people to rule themselves. Zion affirms the right of God to Rule the People.

"Zion is in no sense a democracy.

"Zion is not a Republic, after the model of existing Republican Institutions in America and Europe and elsewhere, in which cunning bosses abuse the people with ideas that they themselves and the world are really ruled by expert political tricksters.

" Zion is, in short, a Theocracy.

"Under no circumstances will Zion make compromise with evil, or permit a citizen to profess faith in Christ the Savior until he has fully resolved, without any conditions, to put all things right to the greatest possible extent, both with God and man.

"Every defilement, therefore, of the flesh and spirit must be instantly and absolutely put aside.

"Filthy reading, thinking and associations, filthy eating, drinking and smoking; filthy remedies, so-called, whether they be narcotics or any of the kinds of poisons; filthy companionship of every kind, must be instantly and permanently set aside.

"If there is any return to any of these, Zion will visit instantaneous and severe punishment, at the same time patiently pleading with the offender. Failing Repentance, Zion will resolutely sever the corrupt person from the Fellowship.

"Zion seeks, by patient teaching and love, through all her ministers, to train her people for the most happy and useful of lives on earth, and for preparation for heaven when the earthly life shall cease."

Dowie had visions of Zion reaching a population of more than 200,000. In the center of town was, and is, Shiloh Park. The street system is rectilinear. First Street is the farthest north, and 39th the farthest south. Radiating from the park were to be eight boulevards: Bethesda, Bethany, Caledonia, Bethel, Lebanon, Salem, Shiloh and Bethlehem. Not all of these diagonal streets were constructed. The city street plan, with its diagonals overlaid upon the rectilinear grid, thus resemble the British Union Jack--not a coincidence.

The north-south streets all have biblical names. Beginning at the Lake County, these north-south streets include Antioch, Aquila, Berea, Damascus, Deborah and Ebenezer To the west, in the residential area, are Elijah, Gilgad, Horeb,  Jordan and Mispah.

The city lots were opened for public sale in 1901. Buyers climbed 75-foot towers, one located at 25th St. and Eden Avenue, and another near the center of Shiloh Park. From these towers, people interested in acquiring a land site could view the land and choose their location. At the appointed time, first purchasers (actually, lessees) assembled under an old oak tree. At the firing of a gun, they dashed off to their chosen spots for squatters rights.

Rev. Dowie had previously reserved several lots at 1300 Shiloh Blvd. for himself, where a relatively grand home was built. The house still stands and is now cared for by the Zion Historical Society. Building proceeded rapidly in 1901 and 1902. Church-owned stores were opened on Sheridan Road, which soon became the main thoroughfare. The general store included a restaurant, departments for clothing, groceries, hardware, pottery, shoes, toys, plumbing, and other goods. "Elijah Hospice" (the Zion Hotel), a large 350 room wooden structure, was completed in 1901. Across from the hotel on the west side of Sheridan Road, an Administration Building was built to house the city's general offices. Gen. Overseer Dowie's office, the City Council Chamber, secretaries offices, library, law offices and architect rooms were located on the second floor.

Shiloh Tabernacle, a wooden structure, was completed in 1902 and had a capacity of 8000 people. Initially it was filled to capacity many times.

Rev. Dowie's home, Shiloh House, is a three-story, 25 room mansion finished in 1902 at a cost of $90,000. The north side of the house includse servants quarters such as maids rooms, kitchen and other facilities. The south side, with its own private staircase , has an office/study for Rev. Dowie, and bedrooms for Gladstone and Esther (never used). On the first floor is a kitchen, a spacious dining room, a parlor, a large reception hall and a living/music room. The Dowie family furniture, books, clothing, and other possessions can be viewed and studied. The house is now open to the public  as a museum and  meeting  facility through the  efforts of  the Zion historical Society.

Dowie owned everything in Zion personally, although settlers were offered 1,100-year leases (i.e., 100 years to usher in the Kingdom and 1,000 for Christ's millennial reign — after that, seemingly, you were on your own). The leases specifically forbade gambling, dancing, swearing, spitting, theaters, circuses, the manufacture and sale of alcohol or tobacco, pork, oysters, doctors, politicians — and tan-colored shoes. The city police carried a billy club on one hip and a Bible on the other; their helmets were adorned with a dove and the word "PATIENCE."

John Alexander Dowie
"The Rev. John Alexander Dowie,
General Overseer of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion,"
c. 1903

 

 

 

 

 

Just before the Dowie family moved to Zion, tragedy struck. Esther, then 16 years old, secretly decided that her social life, and her life in general, would be improved if she curled her hair. Three thoughts rapidly occurred to her in succession:

1. She needed a curling iron.

2. Her strict father might not approve of her new and modernized look, but

3. If she suddenly appeared at, say, the dinner table with this new look, what could he do?

What could possibly go wrong with this plan? (You may have had experience with teenage logic of this sort.)

Esther thereupon betook herself to a nearby hair salon and acquired the desired curling iron. The salesman then explained that, in order for the curling iron to work properly, it should be heated. So Esther bought a small alcohol-fueled heating lamp.

Esther hurried home. Fully aware that her father would never, under any circumstances, permit alcohol in the house, she tiptoed into her room adjacent Rev. Dowie's study. To postpone domestic strife as long as possible, she locked the door. She then prepared the iron  and the heating lamp. Her nervous hands shook as she lit a match to light the lamp.

In her excitement, she knocked the lamp on the floor, the lamp broke, and flaming alcohol spilled over her dress and the floor. She became a flaming torch.

Esther's screams brought Rev. Dowie and his wife instantly to Esther's door. But the door was locked and they could not open it. By the time the horrified parents were able to break through the door, Esther was burned over 90% of her body.

Esther, in mortal agony, remained alive throughout the afternoon, and died that evening on May 14, 1902.   Faith healing failed.

A day later, Rev. Dowie described his beloved daughter's last words:

"Our daughter was our treasure, so deeply and lovingly lodged in our hearts. She was taken away by one act of disobedience, and one act alone. I cannot find another, even single, act of disobedience in her life. She said, 'I am so sorry I disobeyed you. You have forgiven me, and God has forgiven me, and I know it in my heart and I am ready to go meet Jesus and God. I am not afraid. Tell my brother Gladstone to love God and to serve Him and to obey Him and to obey you, father, whom God has given to Gladstone to rule over him.' Then Esther crossed the river and passed away from our sight, but not from our hearts."

Soon after moving to Zion, Rev. Dowie and his wife began to travel extensively, evangelizing in England, Switzerland, France and Germany, and returning to Australia and New Zealand. At the height of his power and influence, Dowie was worth several million dollars and claimed 50,000 followers, 6,000 of whom lived in Zion City.

 

In 1901 Dowie proclaimed himself "Elijah the Restorer" and began to wear High-Priestly robes. This caused many followers to fall away; the subsequent decrease in income combined with the expenses of building Zion marked the beginning of Dowie's slide into bankruptcy. It was at this time that rumors of his polygamous teaching and activities, use of alcohol, and extravagant lifestyle began to gain currency, not only in the world, but also within the Church. Certain it is that the travels of Rev. Dowie and his entourage were expensive, and Zion became increasingly hard-pressed to fund his travels and activities.

Dowie had no use for Islam — although the extent of his animus remains a point of controversy among various Muslim sects even today. In the summer of 1903, this animus brought a well-publicized challenge to an Islamic prayer duel to the death, or Mubahila, from the Indian subcontinent: "Whether the God of Muhammadans or the God of Dowie is the true God, may be settled...he should choose me as his opponent and pray to God that of us two, whoever is the liar may perish first.... I am an old man of 66 years and Dr. Dowie is eleven years younger; therefore on grounds of age he need not have any apprehension.... If the self-made deity of Dr. Dowie has any power, he shall certainly allow him to appear against me and procure my destruction in his lifetime." Dowie's Punjabi challenger, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was a remarkably well-matched opponent: he too had founded his own sect, Ahmadiyya, and believed himself a reincarnated prophet — in his case, Hazrat Eisa Ibne Maryam (a.k.a. Jesus Christ).

Whether the Almighty took any interest in their contest, its rules leave no doubt about the winner: in short order Dowie was deposed (amid rumors of a dalliance with a Mrs. Hofer and financial malfeasance) and suffered a stroke. In 1907, Dowie died — a year before Ahmad.

Put into receivership, Zion City remained a theocracy until 1935 under a new General Overseer, the Rev. Wilbur Glenn Voliva. Property values and income plummeted when the Zion Church collapsed, but municipal finances were kept robust through fines generated at the city line by a vigorous policing of unsuspecting motorists for offenses such as use of makeup, carrying liquor, smoking, and whistling on Sundays.

Rev. Voliva posted verbose warning signs at the Zion city borders. One huge billboard read "No gentleman, knowing that the use of tobacco has been strictly prohibited in this city from the very beginning of its existence will use tobacco within its borders. This is the headquarters and the private home of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church of Zion. He established it and we will fight for it in the name of the Lord of hosts The God of the Armies of Zion. Wicked men imagine they can defy us. Outsiders and Buttinskis have no business or any rights within the city and they will not be permitted to butt in on any matters. Notice to all visitors: whenever and wherever you see a man using tobacco either smoking or chewing you are hereby informed that that man is an enemy of Zion. Last Warning: None other than Zion families should enter this city. The day is not far off when you will wish you had heeded this Warning. This city was established for Zion people and Zion people only, and the war will go on day and night until the city is fully redeemed and the Zion flag floats over every foot of ground and over every single doing. God the Almighty in his own way and time will bring these things to pass. Eventually all who do not line up for God in Zion will have to go. Just as well go now and keep out of trouble. There  are thousands of cities of the world where you can go and live. Go, and go quickly.   W. G. Voliva."

In 1906, the congregation had revolted against Dowie's leadership and elected Rev. Voliva head of the church, which Voliva then renamed to the "Christian Catholic Apostolic Church." He kept tight control of his some 6,000 followers, which made up the community, even to the point of dictating their choice of marriage partners. The city of Zion was effectively controlled by the church. All of the real estate 1,100 year leases were subject to many restrictions and subject to termination at the whim of the General Overseer. Religions other than the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church were effectively banned - visiting preachers from rival sects were harassed and hounded out of town by the city police force.

Rev. Voliva diversified Zion Industries, an industrial concern owned by the church that manufactured Scottish lace, to include a bakery which produced the popular Zion brand fig bar cookies and White Dove chocolates.

Rev. Voliva gained nationwide notoriety by his vigorous advocacy of the proposition that the earth is flat. He offered a widely publicized $5000 challenge for anyone to disprove flat earth theory. The church schools in Zion taught the flat earth doctrine. His radio station broadcast his diatribes against round earth astronomy, and the evils of evolution. He was quoted about the sun:

"The idea of a sun millions of miles in diameter and 91,000,000 miles away is silly. The sun is only 32 miles across and not more than 3,000 miles from the earth. It stands to reason it must be so. God made the sun to light the earth, and therefore must have placed it close to the task it was designed to do. What would you think of a man who built a house in Zion and put the lamp to light it in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Voliva also frequently predicted the end of the world: his predictions that the end would come in 1923, 1927, 1930, and 1935 were -- incorrect.

Like his predecessor, Rev. Voliva increasingly developed an overtly lavish lifestyle, which began to alienate his followers, especially after the hardships brought on by the Great Depression, which forced Zion Industries into bankruptcy. In 1935 Voliva tried to revive the flagging fortunes of the church by instituting the annual Zion Passion Play, along the lines of the famous production in Oberammergau. However, in 1937, a disgruntled employee set fire to the church's huge Shiloh Tabernacle, where the play took place. Shortly thereafter, Voliva was forced into personal bankruptcy. In 1942 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Voliva made a tearful public confession to his followers that he had misappropriated church funds for his personal use and committed other misdeeds. Shortly thereafter on October 11, 1942 he died (he had previously stated that he would live to 120 due to his diet of Brazil nuts and buttermilk) and the church all but dissolved. A remnant was reorganized under the leadership of Rev. Michael Mintern. It was later renamed Christ Community Church. It prospers today in Zion under the leadership of Rev. Ken Langley.

We can only wonder what Rev. Dowie, who excluded all doctors from Zion, would say or do if he were to discover that located right next door to Christ Community Church, the direct lineal descendent of his church, is the mid-western facility of Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

Zion City survives. It's municipal government is secular, and operates in accordance with the municipal laws of the State of Illinois.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Zion again attained a measure of fame, but again for a reason and purpose unimaginable by the redoubtable Rev. Dowie. Zion Nuclear Power Station was built in 1973, and the first unit started producing power in December, 1973. The second unit came online in September 1974. This power generating station is located on 257 acres  of Lake Michigan shoreline, in the city of Zion, Lake County, Illinois.

The Zion Nuclear Power Station was officially retired on February 13, 1998.  The plant had not been in operation since February 1997, after a control-room operator accidentally shut down Reactor 1 and then tried to restart it without following procedures. Reactor 2 was already shut down for refueling at the time of the incident. ComEd, the owner,  concluded that the plant could not produce competitively priced power because it would have cost $435 million to order steam generators which would not pay for themselves before the plant's operating license expired in 2013.

All nuclear fuel was removed permanently from the reactor vessel and placed in the plant's on-site spent fuel pool by March 9, 1998. Plans were to keep the facility in long-term safe storage until Unit 2's operating license expires on November 14, 2013. Decontamination and dismantlement were to begin after this date. The estimated date for closure was December 31, 2026.

 On August 23, 2010, it was announced that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission  approved the transfer of Exelon's (ComEd's parent company) license to Energy Solutions of Salt Lake City. The company will begin the 10 year process of dismantling the site, and will eventually haul away pieces of the plant to its property in Utah. The cost of this operation is expected to reach approximately 1 billion dollars. After this is complete, Exelon will resume responsibility and transfer the spent fuel into concrete casks from its current pool.

So Zion survives today. She and her citizens have survived sickness and fire,  foolishness and travail, both sacred and secular. She has survived, as have all our citizens, by patience and forbearance, by determination and fortitude.  Bad things have happened here, and good things have happened here. It's worth your while to visit Zion. In the words of Psalm 48, verses 12 and 13:  Walk about Zion, and go round about her. Tell of the  structures thereof. Mark ye well her works, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following.

Good night.

 

 

 


 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Zion City, Illinois: twentieth-century utopia

Philip L.Cook - Syracuse University Press - 1996

Out of Zion into all the world

Gordon P.Gardiner - Companion Press - 1990

Zion

Arcadia Pub. - 2007

Zion Historical Society Website 

http://zionhs.com/

 

Truth in History

http://trithinhistory.org/Dowie.htm

 

Zion Historical Society, Zion City: privately printed, undated

 

 Zion Historical Society, Zion City Structures: Printed by the Cancer Treatment CEnters of America

 

Christ Community Church website;

www.ccczion.org

 

The Theology of Alexander Dowie and the Founding of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and Zion CIty

Bruce K. Snyder  -- unpublished thesis - 2006