Arlene White Lawrence

Arlene Hart White Lawrence (November 11, 1916 – November 10, 1990) was a bishop and the third president and general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church, a Protestant denomination which in 1966 operated church congregations, missionary homes, radio stations, publishing operations, farms, schools and colleges from 54 properties around the world.^[1] The denomination was founded in Denver, Colorado, by her grandmother, Alma Bridwell White, the first woman to become a bishop in the US.^[2][3][4] She believed that "activities such as gambling and dancing take time from the really important activities of life".^[5] She was the president of all three church radio stations, KPOF in Westminster, Colorado; WAWZ in the Zarephath section of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey ; and WAKW in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[6]

Arlene White Lawrence
Lawrence, c. 1965
3rd General Superintendent of Pillar of Fire International
In office 1975–1984
Preceded by	Arthur Kent White
Succeeded by	Donald Justin Wolfram
Personal details
Born	Arlene Hart White (1916-11-11)November 11, 1916 Zarephath, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	November 10, 1990(1990-11-10) (aged 73) Belle Mead, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting place	Fairmount Cemetery
Spouse	Evan Jerry Lawrence (1918–1983)
Children	Arthur Lawrence Verona Lawrence Friedley
Parent(s)	Arthur Kent White Kathleen Merrell Staats
Relatives	Alma White, grandmother Horace White, brother Constance White, sister Pauline (White) Dallenbach, sister

Biography

She was born on November 11, 1916, the daughter of Kathleen Merrell and Arthur Kent White (1889-1981).^[3][5] Her siblings include Horace White (1920-?) who married Evelyn and lived in California; Constance White (1924- ) who married David Brown; and Pauline White (1927-2019) a pastor, who married Robert B. Dallenbach, a bishop in the church in Denver.

She married E. Jerry Lawrence, a bishop in the church.^[3]

She was one of the first people to broadcast on the local Pillar of Fire radio station, KPOF in 1928. She and her sisters sang as the White Sisters Trio, with Arlene accompanying the Trio on the violin.^[7]

She attended schools in Westminster, Colorado, and graduated from Alma White College in 1941. She later earned a master's degree from Columbia University.^[8]

In 1943 she was ordained as an elder in the Pillar of Fire church, and was consecrated as a bishop in 1974. Her father, Arthur Kent White, retired in 1975. She became president and general superintendent of the church, and she retired in 1984.^[8]

She died on November 10, 1990, at her home in the Belle Mead section of Montgomery Township, New Jersey, and was buried in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.^[7][8]

Publications/media

• Come Along (1956)
• Lady Blue Bell's Forest Banquet (1973) Vantage Press, 44 pages
• Weekly News and Notes column in the Pillar of Fire magazine
• Hosted Saturday morning children's bible story program on WAWZ-FM

References

1. "Religious, Educational and Benevolent Activities of the Pillar of Fire Movement". Pillar of Fire Church. 1966. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
2. Lindley, Susan Hill (1996). You Have Stept Out of Your Place. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-25799-2. ... when she was succeeded by her son Arthur and subsequently, her granddaughter Arlene White Lawrence.
3. "Bishop Arthur White, 92, Dies. Headed Pillar of Fire Church". The New York Times. September 18, 1981. Retrieved 2007-07-21. Bishop Arthur K. White, president and general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, New Jersey, died Monday at his home in Zarephath. He was 92 years old.
4. Mead, Frank Spencer (1990). Handbook of denominations in the United States. Abingdon Press. ISBN 0-687-16572-5. Later her granddaughter, Bishop Arlene White Lawrence, became president and general superintendent, and was succeeded in 1984 by Donald J. Wolfram. ...
5. Greenberg, Lenore (August 24, 1975). "Faithful Savor Rural Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 'Activities such as gambling and dancing take time from the really important activities of life' Bishop Arlene Lawrence declared during a recent ... Mrs. Lawrence is the granddaughter of Alma White and the daughter of Arthur K. White, senior Pillar of Fire bishop and still active in church affairs at the ...
6. Federal Communications Commission reports. Federal Communications Commission. 1985. Retrieved 2009-07-07. Bishop Arlene Lawrence is the president of all three corporations and Rev. E. Jerry Lawrence is the vice president of these three entities. ...
7. "Services tomorrow for church leader. Ex-president of Pillar of Fire remembered". Denver Post. November 13, 1990. Retrieved 2007-08-21. Services for Arlene White Lawrence, who once headed the Pillar of Fire Church ... Mrs. Lawrence, who died Nov. 7 at her home in Belle Meade, New Jersey, was 73. ... Mrs. Lawrence was one of the first people to broadcast on the local Pillar of Fire radio station, KPOF, started in 1928. She and her sisters sang in the White Sisters Trio. She wrote two books, one a travelogue and the other a book for children. Mrs. Lawrence was born in Zarephath on Nov. 11, 1916. She was reared in Denver and Zarephath and finished high school at the church-owned Belleview College here. She later graduated from Alma White College in Zarephath and earned a master's degree at Columbia University. She married the Rev. E. Jerry Lawrence , who died in 1983. ...
8. "Pillar of Fire Bishop Dies". Rocky Mountain News. November 14, 1990. Retrieved 2009-07-05. Arlene White Lawrence, Bishop and former president and general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church, died last Wednesday in her home in Belle Mead, N.J. She was 73. ... Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery. Bishop Lawrence was the granddaughter of Alma White, who founded the Pillar of Fire church in Denver in 1901. Born Nov. 11, 1916, in Zarephath, N.J., Bishop Lawrence divided her youth between New Jersey and ...