Mark A. Matthews (September 24, 1867 – 1940) was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, from 1902 until his death. He was a leading city reformer, who investigated red light districts and crime scenes, denouncing corrupt politicians businessmen and saloon keepers. With 10,000 members, his was the largest Presbyterian Church in the country, and he was selected the national moderator in 1912. He built a model church, with night schools, unemployment bureaus, kindergarten, an anti-tuberculosis clinic, and the nation's first church-owned radio station. Matthews was the most influential clergymen in the Pacific Northwest, and one of the most active

Social Gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean en ...

ers in America.Dale Soden
Matthews, Reverend Mark (1867-1940)
HistoryLink, January 13, 2007. Accessed online 7 February 2009. He was an enigmatic figure, holding views in common with both

Christian fundamentalists Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

and liberals, especially the Social Gospel movement. He battled corruption (especially in the person of Seattle mayor

Hiram Gill Hiram C. Gill (August 23, 1866 – January 7, 1919) was an American lawyer and two-time Mayor of Seattle, Washington, identified with the "open city" politics that advocated toleration of prostitution, alcohol (drug), alcohol, and gambling.David ...

) and encouraged social services. There is a statue of him in Seattle's

Denny Park Denny Park is a park located in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It occupies the block bounded by John Street and Denny Way on the north and south and Dexter and 9th Avenues N. on the west and east. History Denny Par ...

. In line with his Progressive leanings, Matthews was an advocate of the

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

. In his writings, he extended the Temperance platform of abstinence from alcohol to include other vices and associated institutions. He is quoted as saying, "The saloon is the most fiendish, corrupt, hell-soaked institution that ever crawled out of the slime of the eternal pit. ... It takes your sweet innocent daughter, robs her of her virtue, and transforms her into a brazen, wanton harlot.... It is the open sore of this land". Unusually for a prohibitionist, Matthews opposed

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. He also supported limitations on the immigration of Asians. Born in

Calhoun, Georgia Calhoun is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, Gordon County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,949. Calhoun is the county seat of Gordon County. Histor ...

, in a family beset by

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

poverty, Matthews grew up in the environment of Southern revivalism and, later, post-

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

radical agrarian politics. His religious education was largely informal, but by 1886, at age 19, he was a preacher, first in Georgia and later in Tennessee. In 1902, he moved to Seattle to become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. He married Grace Jones in 1904; they were to have two children, Gwladys and Mark Jr. As pastor from 1902 to 1940, Matthews built his church into the country's largest

church; at its height, it had 10,000 members. He helped create such institutions as

Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center is a public hospital located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is owned by King County and managed by UW Medicine. Overview Harborview Medical Center is the designated Disast ...

and the organization that began as the Seattle Day Nursery and is now

Childhaven Childhaven is a nonprofit organization that serves children (0–13 years) and their families who have experienced adversity and trauma in King County, Washington, United States. The agency runs several programs: Early Learning, Counseling Servi ...

, an institution to treat child abuse. He established KTW Radio in 1922, the first church-owned radio station in the U.S. First Presbyterian also spun out branch churches, including University Presbyterian Church, which continues to be a major institution to this day.

Notes

External links

Pistol-Packing Parson: Mark Matthews and Protestant Culture in the Pacific Northwest

Photographs including Mark A. Matthews from University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Mark A 1867 births 1940 deaths Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers American temperance activists People from Calhoun, Georgia American anti-corruption activists American anti-suffragists Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links