This week in Christian history: first Mother’s Day celebration, Father Damien travels to leper colony
Kathryn Kuhlman born – May 9, 1907
This week marks the anniversary of when Kathryn Johanna Kuhlman, a prominent televangelist and controversial preacher who once had a Christian talk show program on CBS, was born in Concordia, Missouri.
Kuhlman dropped out of school at age 14 to pursue a life as a traveling preacher, launching one of the first Christian talk radio programs in 1933 and having a long-running CBS program titled “I Believe in Miracles.”
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She was not without her controversies, however, as she was known to hold faith healing sessions at worship services and had her marriage to Burroughs Waltrip end in divorce when it was revealed that he had abandoned his first family.
“Kuhlman's choice to marry Waltrip cost her most of her popularity in Denver, and several employees of her ministry resigned in protest. Her friends urged her to leave Waltrip but Kuhlman believed she was in love and that God had brought them together to preach,” noted Encyclopedia.com.
“They remained on the road for several years though they met with little success, again because of Waltrip's divorce. By 1944, the marriage was over, and Kuhlman separated from Waltrip, although they did not finalize their divorce for four years.”
