"No better opening had presented itself for the proselyting of new members than the Swedish community," wrote Clark and Ham in Pleasant Hill and its Shakers.
In 1855, Benjamin B. Dunlavy and George Runyon went to Bishop Hill (Henry County near Galesburg, Illinois) as missionaries. There they preached the sanctity of a female Messiah, and the doctrine of celibacy and were rewarded for their efforts by the conversion of Andrew Bloomberg and his family. In turn, Bloomberg became a missionary and over brought many converts to Pleasant Hill.
In his book The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers, Stephen J. Stein notes that Bloomberg later served as an Elder in the West Family and in 1866/1867 traveled to his homeland of Sweden to prepare a number of families who had accepted Shaker ideals.
Ten months later, Bloomberg returned with several Swedish converts. Others followed, but most stayed a short time. The ministry journal refers to these departures as the “Swede Stampede."
In 1855, Benjamin B. Dunlavy and George Runyon went to Bishop Hill (Henry County near Galesburg, Illinois) as missionaries. There they preached the sanctity of a female Messiah, and the doctrine of celibacy and were rewarded for their efforts by the conversion of Andrew Bloomberg and his family. In turn, Bloomberg became a missionary and over brought many converts to Pleasant Hill.
In his book The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers, Stephen J. Stein notes that Bloomberg later served as an Elder in the West Family and in 1866/1867 traveled to his homeland of Sweden to prepare a number of families who had accepted Shaker ideals.
Ten months later, Bloomberg returned with several Swedish converts. Others followed, but most stayed a short time. The ministry journal refers to these departures as the “Swede Stampede."
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