Who's Who in Pentecost > Parent, Bishop L.A.


26 Jan 2021

 

 

Bishop L.A. Parent

Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ

1899 - 1979

Born on April 13, 1899. The first General Superintendent of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, Bishop L.A. Parent, received the Holy Ghost 100 years ago today. His great-nephew, Rev. Raymond Woodward, reminisces the foundations.

"I made a personal pilgrimage of sorts today, to a nondescript spot on the side of a country road in Upper Queensberry, New Brunswick. 100 years ago, the Round Top Church stood on this spot. There's nothing much left now. A fire destroyed the wooden structure years ago, and trees have grown up, nearly obscuring what used to be.

All that remains is the foundation.

I climbed in among those trees today, and stood on the spot where my great uncle Leonard Parent received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, in a revival meeting between Christmas and New Year's. It was Tuesday, December 28, 1920. That day, and that spot, forever changed the spiritual trajectory of our family, and I am forever grateful.

He was the one who taught my father the Bible in his teenage years, and four generations later we're still in love with that life-changing truth. He was the first Apostolic preacher in our family, but not the last one by a long shot. His memory is precious to me. I possess one of his treasured Bibles, and I have some childhood memories made richer by a few cherished photographs. My mother tells me that I sometimes sound like him when I teach Bible Study on a Wednesday night. I love that.

People drive by that nondescript spot on the side of that country road every day, totally oblivious to how the world changed when Leonard Parent stood there, 100 years ago today. There's nothing much left now. He died in 1979, my senior year in high school. Time has marched on, nearly obscuring what used to be. Bishop Parent transitioned to his eternal reward on August 21, 1979.

All that remains is the foundation."

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