Moses Dissinger (aka Mose; March 17, 1824 – January 25, 1883) was born in a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

family in Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, and known colloquially as "the

Billy Sunday William Ashley Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American evangelist and professional baseball outfielder. He played for eight seasons in the National League before becoming the most influential American preacher during t ...

of Lebanon County." He was converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

in 1842 and first licensed to preach locally in 1853. Dissinger was widowed with three young children on the death of his wife Susanna Clark Dissinger in February, 1857. In 1858, he remarried Amelia Elizabeth Stahler of Fogelsville in Lehigh County. Dissinger was a licensed minister of the East Pennsylvania Conference of

Jacob Albright Jacob Albright (also spelled Jakob Albrecht; May 1, 1759 – May 18, 1808) was an American Christian leader, founder of Albright's People (''Die Albrechtsleute'') which was officially named the Evangelical Association (''Evangelische Gemeinscha ...

Evangelical Association The Evangelical Church or Evangelical Association, also known in the late 1700s as the New Methodist Conference and in the early 1800s as the Albright Brethren, was a "body of American Christians chiefly of German descent". It was Wesleyan theolo ...

from 1854 to 1879. Dissinger was characterized as a "fighting parson" for the style of his sermon deliveries in

Pennsylvania German The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate region of Germany ...

and English. From 1879 until his death in 1883, he served in the Kansas Conference of the Evangelical Association in

Douglas County, Kansas Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 118,785, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kansas. The county ...

. Dissinger preached without notes and relied on an extensive memory of biblical texts and hymns. He was recorded as having a sharp tongue, occasionally carrying a club in the pulpit to make theatrical points, and hurling insults during sermons at audiences he considered unreceptive.

References

*Harry Hess Reichard,
Pennsylvania German Dialect Writings and Their Writers
' (Lancaster: Pennsylvania German Society, 1918. *Thomas R. Brendle,
William Rittenhouse and Moses Dissinger, Two Eminent Pennsylvania Germans
' Proceedings and Addresses (Pennsylvania German Society v. 58, 1959) *Joseph F. DiPaolo,
A Very Singular Man: The Rev. Moses Dissinger of the Evangelical Association
" ''Methodist History'', 53:1 (October 2014).

External links

Grave
in

Clearfield, Kansas Clearfield is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the ...

1824 births 1883 deaths German-American history Pennsylvania Dutch people People from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania American writers in Pennsylvania Dutch Pennsylvania Dutch culture German language in the United States Converts to Methodism Methodist ministers History of Christianity in the United States American people of German descent American evangelists {{US-Christian-clergy-stub