Ralph Eugene Diffendorfer (August 15, 1879 – January 31, 1951) was an American

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...

man.

Biography

He was born on August 15, 1879, at

Hayesville, Ohio Hayesville is a village in Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 448 at the 2010 census. History Lemuel Boulter was the original owner of the land that the village of Hayesville was formed. Boulter sold his interest in the l ...

to Franklin Diffendorfer and Addie Leora Arnold. He was educated at

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

Drew Theological Seminary Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...

, and Union Theological Seminary. He was assistant secretary of the

Epworth League Founded in 1889, the Epworth League is a Methodist young adult association for people aged 18 to 35. It had its beginning in Cleveland, Ohio, at its Central Methodist Church on May 14 and 15, 1889. There was also a Colored Epworth League. Before ...

from 1902 to 1904, and from 1904 to 1916 was secretary of the Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada. The following year (1916–1917), he was educational secretary of the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension and the

Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church American Methodist Episcopal Mission (AMEM; also known as Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church ''MEFB was the missionary society of the Methodist Episcopal Church that was involved in sending workers to countries such as ...

. He was associate secretary of the

Centenary Commission {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension in 1918, and in 1919–1920 served as director of the

Home Missions Survey of the Inter-church world movement A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it ...

. In 1920 he was appointed secretary of the department of education of the

Committee on Conservation and Advance of the Methodist Episcopal Church A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them mor ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. In 1907, he helped Charles C. Overton design and promote the Christian flag. Christian_flag

He died on January 31, 1951, in

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming o ...

Publications

*''Child Life in Mission Lands'' (1904) *''Junior Studies in the Life of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religi ...

'' (1904) *''A Modern

Disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

of Jesus Christ—

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of ...

'' (1913) *''Thy Kingdom Come'' (1914) *''Missionary Education in Home and School'' (1917) *''The Church and the Community'' (1920) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diffendorfer, Ralph Eugene People from Ashland County, Ohio People from Madison, New Jersey Ohio Wesleyan University alumni American theologians 1879 births 1951 deaths American Methodist clergy Methodist writers