Above from the top: Inside the Tabernacle where as many as 1,500 people sat or stood for revival services during March 1915 in Alma; the Tabernacle as constructed in early March; how the location of the former Tabernacle looks today in February 2024.

    Shortly before America entered World War I,  thousands of people in Gratiot County responded to its most significant religious revival up to its time. Known as the Alma Union Evangelistic Meetings, these meetings were termed “the greatest evangelistic services ever in this part of Michigan.” These extended revival services were held in a Tabernacle on Prospect and Superior Streets on Alma’s west side in March 1915.

              The building of the Tabernacle was a feat in itself. Frank Pollasky allowed construction on his property rent-free;  Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist churches sponsored the services, as did the Church of Christ. To create a building that seated 1500 people, volunteer workers started construction on the morning of Monday, February 28, under the direction of Henry Soule. Amazingly, by Wednesday evening, the Tabernacle was finished and dedicated.

              The Gratiot County Gas Company provided the lights inside, and six stoves heated the large building. Decorated banners hung overhead, and football blankets, donated by the Alma College Athletic Association, kept people warm as they sat on the wooden benches.

              Evangelist Elmer P. Loose and song leader Haldor Lilleanas led the services. Both men were well-known to Midwest churches before World War I. Loose finished a similar revival meeting in Iowa before coming to Alma. Lillenanas wrote over 700 songs, and many churches nationwide used his music.

              The first ten days of meetings were the talk of the county as an estimated  9,600 people flocked to Alma. Thirty minutes before the services began, it was standing room only, and anyone who got up even for a moment lost their seat. The choir loft was overcrowded, and people used any available place to stand during each two-hour service.

              Although Evangelist Loose did not give his first formal altar call until the first Saturday evening, many walked the aisles to the front to take Loose’s hand “to get in the game for Jesus Christ.” The number of services varied, with sometimes two or three taking place daily.  

              The number of conversions during the meetings astounded the community. By March 20, over 400 were saved, and the Alma Record commented that the “community was stirred as never before.” On one Monday evening, 44 people went down the aisles; on another Sunday, 80 went forward. By March 25, over 700 people had been converted, and by the close of the meetings, the numbers rose to 900.

              As March came to a close, so did the meetings. Evangelist Loose had not stipulated a fee for his services, only relying on the generosity of the people after paying for all expenses. Starting the last Sunday, those in attendance responded and gave offerings toward the costs of the meetings, the Tabernacle, and the evangelists. In the end, the subsequent offerings paid for them all.

              The results of the Alma Union Evangelistic Meetings were substantial. At least 500 people attended each service with most averaging 1,100 to 1,200. The week following the closing of the revival, the Alma churches that sponsored the meetings opened their doors to welcome new converts on four different nights. After the revival services ended on Prospect and Superior Streets, organizers ordered the Tabernacle auctioned off to the highest bidder, with orders to remove it within ten days. Henry Soule was the high bidder at $600 and soon took down the large building.

     Today, this location, on the southeast corner of East Superior and Prospect Streets, sits diagonally from the Alma Church of God. Reflecting on the times in 1915,  some described these religious meetings as the “greatest religious expression that the people of Alma have ever known.”

Copyright 2024 James M Goodspeed