Henry Feyerabend
Encyclopedia
Henry Feyerabend was a Canadian
Seventh-day Adventist
evangelist
, singer, and author
, who is best known in Canada for his work with It Is Written
, and in Brazil
as a singer with the Arautos do Rei (the Portuguese
King's Heralds).
, New Jersey
, to a German
father and the daughter of German immigrants to Canada. Both of his parents were devout Seventh-day Adventists. He was the youngest of three children. At the age of four, his family moved to Waldheim
, Saskatchewan
, where his mother had been born.
In Saskatchewan Feyerabend met a preacher uncle who quickly became a favourite of his; this uncle would later inspire Henry to follow in his footsteps. Another inspiration Henry cited was the Voice of Prophecy
radio broadcasts, where Henry became acquainted with H. M. S. Richards
and The King's Heralds.
Feyerabend went to Canadian Union College
where he took the first three years of a degree in Theology
. While there he sang as part of a men's quartet that represented the school. After his third year, he ran out of money and took a teaching position in Saskatoon
, where he met his wife, Emma Martin. They were married in 1953. The following year he took a combined teaching and pastoral position in Massachusetts
, which he spent two years. He then completed his education at Atlantic Union College
while pastoring a church to pay his way. While pastoring that church he got his first opportunity to preach a weekly radio show.
, which he accepted. He and his wife travelled to Brazil by boat, arriving in Sao Paolo. His first post was as a departmental secretary in Florianópolis
, Santa Catarina
. Feyerabend spent his first few months adapting to the culture and learning Portuguese in Sao Paolo, before travelling on to Florianópolis. While in Florianópolis Feyerabend held a number of evangelistic meetings, a tradition he would continue for much of the rest of his life.
In 1962, Feyerabend received a call from the Voz da Profecia
, inviting him to start a mens quartet for their radio program. This quartet was named the Arautos do Rei, mimicking the name of the Voice of Prophecy's male quartet in America, The King's Heralds. The Voice of Prophecy was led by Pastor Roberto Rabello, and the quartet followed him all around Brazil as he held evangelistic meetings. While Feyerabend was on furlough in Los Angeles, he heard a new spiritual
called I'll be There in the Morn'n. Henry brought the music back with him to Brazil, where another member of the quartet, Joel Sarli, translated the lyrics into Portuguese and called the translated song Alvorada. The song instantly became a hit—thousands of records were sold within the first month, and twenty years later it remained a best-seller. The Voz da Profecia and the Arautos do Rei remained popular for many years afterwards, attracting overflow crowds everywhere they went. While working with the Voice of Prophecy, Henry's daughter Judy was born.
In 1967, Feyerabend left the Voice of Prophecy to become a full-time evangelist for the South Brazil Union. He stayed in this position for two years, holding evangelistic meetings in places like Anápolis
and Rio de Janeiro
.
held by George Vandeman
and the It Is Written
team, which he accepted. The stay in Toronto soon became permanent; while working on the evangelistic series, Iracy Botelho, a Brazilian pianist who Feyerabend had brought with him discovered that Toronto had a sizeable Portuguese community. Through her and Feyerabend's efforts, an Adventist Portuguese speaking church was established in Toronto. They also began airing the Voz da Profecia radio broadcasts on a Toronto radio station.
In 1971, Feyerabend attended Andrews University
where he received a Master of Arts degree. After finishing in 1972, he returned to Toronto to continue his work among the Portuguese community. The next year in 1973, he started a Portuguese-language television show on City TV
. It started as a five-minute segment of a much larger Portuguese show, before evolving into Destiny, a half-hour show on Sunday evenings. This broadcast would continue until the mid-80s.
expanded to Brazil and asked Feyerabend to assist them. The contacts made during this time led to Mark Finley
inviting Henry to become the director of It Is Written Canada. It Is Written was soon nationally televised weekly in Canada, with Feyerabend as preacher. Under Pastor Feyerabend's direction, It Is Written grew into a program watched by two million Canadians every week.
After returning to Canada after the Brazilian meetings, Feyerabend began working with his assistant pastor for the It Is Written telecasts Shawn Boonstra to attempt to do a similar series in Canada. The series was titled Revelation Speaks Peace and occurred in October and November 2002. The uplink site was Dalhousie University
in Halifax, and over 600 sites across the world broadcast the series nightly. Due to a bout with cancer shortly before the series began, Pastor Feyerabend was not able to speak as much as he wanted to during the series, turning the pulpit over most nights to Shawn Boonstra.
Shortly after the Revelation Speaks Peace meetings, he retired from It Is Written Canada, while still making occasional appearances on the television show and retaining some influence behind the scenes. Shawn Boonstra succeeded him as director, and was quickly promoted to be the director of It Is Written International. Bill Santos was then chosen to run It Is Written Canada.
In 2004, the cancer reoccurred, and doctors were forced to amputate Feyerabend's leg. After the amputation, Feyerabend boarded a plane for Calgary, where he preached a sermon the next day. The cancer eventually killed him on December 12, 2006, at the age of 75. He was buried in Waldheim, Saskatchewan.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, singer, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, who is best known in Canada for his work with It Is Written
It Is Written
It Is Written is an internationally broadcast Christian television program founded in 1956 by George Vandeman. Its title comes from the Gospel of Matthew: "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" The programs are produced by the...
, and in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
as a singer with the Arautos do Rei (the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
King's Heralds).
Biography
Henry Feyerabend Jr. was born in Jersey CityJersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, to a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
father and the daughter of German immigrants to Canada. Both of his parents were devout Seventh-day Adventists. He was the youngest of three children. At the age of four, his family moved to Waldheim
Waldheim, Saskatchewan
-History:Mennonites from Manitoba and South Dakota arrived here to settle and farm in 1893. The Canadian Northern Railway arrived in 1908.-Mennonites arrive in Canada:...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, where his mother had been born.
In Saskatchewan Feyerabend met a preacher uncle who quickly became a favourite of his; this uncle would later inspire Henry to follow in his footsteps. Another inspiration Henry cited was the Voice of Prophecy
Voice Of Prophecy
The Voice Of Prophecy is a long-running Seventh-day Adventist religious radio broadcast founded in 1929 by H.M.S. Richards, Sr.. Initially aired on a single radio station in Los Angeles it has since grown to numerous stations throughout the United States and Canada and more recently has begun...
radio broadcasts, where Henry became acquainted with H. M. S. Richards
H. M. S. Richards
Harold Marshall Sylvester Richards, Sr. , commonly known as H.M.S. Richards, was a well known Seventh-day Adventist evangelist and author....
and The King's Heralds.
Feyerabend went to Canadian Union College
Canadian University College
Canadian University College is an independent publicly funded university located in Lacombe. It is sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada and is affiliated with the Association of Theological Schools...
where he took the first three years of a degree in Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. While there he sang as part of a men's quartet that represented the school. After his third year, he ran out of money and took a teaching position in Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, where he met his wife, Emma Martin. They were married in 1953. The following year he took a combined teaching and pastoral position in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, which he spent two years. He then completed his education at Atlantic Union College
Atlantic Union College
Atlantic Union College was a Seventh-day Adventist college in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. Its final year operating as an independent institution was the 2010-2011 school year following loss of accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges...
while pastoring a church to pay his way. While pastoring that church he got his first opportunity to preach a weekly radio show.
Brazil
After Feyerabend finished his degree, he received an offer in 1958 from the General Conference to go to BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, which he accepted. He and his wife travelled to Brazil by boat, arriving in Sao Paolo. His first post was as a departmental secretary in Florianópolis
Florianópolis
-Climate:Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter...
, Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
. Feyerabend spent his first few months adapting to the culture and learning Portuguese in Sao Paolo, before travelling on to Florianópolis. While in Florianópolis Feyerabend held a number of evangelistic meetings, a tradition he would continue for much of the rest of his life.
In 1962, Feyerabend received a call from the Voz da Profecia
Voice Of Prophecy
The Voice Of Prophecy is a long-running Seventh-day Adventist religious radio broadcast founded in 1929 by H.M.S. Richards, Sr.. Initially aired on a single radio station in Los Angeles it has since grown to numerous stations throughout the United States and Canada and more recently has begun...
, inviting him to start a mens quartet for their radio program. This quartet was named the Arautos do Rei, mimicking the name of the Voice of Prophecy's male quartet in America, The King's Heralds. The Voice of Prophecy was led by Pastor Roberto Rabello, and the quartet followed him all around Brazil as he held evangelistic meetings. While Feyerabend was on furlough in Los Angeles, he heard a new spiritual
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
called I'll be There in the Morn'n. Henry brought the music back with him to Brazil, where another member of the quartet, Joel Sarli, translated the lyrics into Portuguese and called the translated song Alvorada. The song instantly became a hit—thousands of records were sold within the first month, and twenty years later it remained a best-seller. The Voz da Profecia and the Arautos do Rei remained popular for many years afterwards, attracting overflow crowds everywhere they went. While working with the Voice of Prophecy, Henry's daughter Judy was born.
In 1967, Feyerabend left the Voice of Prophecy to become a full-time evangelist for the South Brazil Union. He stayed in this position for two years, holding evangelistic meetings in places like Anápolis
Anápolis
Anápolis is the third largest city in the State of Goiás in Brazil. It lies in the center of a rich agricultural region and has become a leader in food processing and pharmaceutical plants.-Location and population:...
and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
.
Return to Canada
In 1969, Henry Feyerabend got a call to serve as music coordinator for an evangelistic series in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
held by George Vandeman
George Vandeman
George Edward Vandeman , was a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist who founded the It Is Written television ministry.#- Biography :...
and the It Is Written
It Is Written
It Is Written is an internationally broadcast Christian television program founded in 1956 by George Vandeman. Its title comes from the Gospel of Matthew: "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" The programs are produced by the...
team, which he accepted. The stay in Toronto soon became permanent; while working on the evangelistic series, Iracy Botelho, a Brazilian pianist who Feyerabend had brought with him discovered that Toronto had a sizeable Portuguese community. Through her and Feyerabend's efforts, an Adventist Portuguese speaking church was established in Toronto. They also began airing the Voz da Profecia radio broadcasts on a Toronto radio station.
In 1971, Feyerabend attended Andrews University
Andrews University
Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College in Battle Creek, Michigan, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists, and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day...
where he received a Master of Arts degree. After finishing in 1972, he returned to Toronto to continue his work among the Portuguese community. The next year in 1973, he started a Portuguese-language television show on City TV
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
. It started as a five-minute segment of a much larger Portuguese show, before evolving into Destiny, a half-hour show on Sunday evenings. This broadcast would continue until the mid-80s.
It Is Written
In the early 1990s, It Is WrittenIt Is Written
It Is Written is an internationally broadcast Christian television program founded in 1956 by George Vandeman. Its title comes from the Gospel of Matthew: "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" The programs are produced by the...
expanded to Brazil and asked Feyerabend to assist them. The contacts made during this time led to Mark Finley
Mark Finley
Mark A. Finley is the former speaker/director of It Is Written , for which he traveled around the world as a televangelist, and spoke on the weekly television show It Is Written...
inviting Henry to become the director of It Is Written Canada. It Is Written was soon nationally televised weekly in Canada, with Feyerabend as preacher. Under Pastor Feyerabend's direction, It Is Written grew into a program watched by two million Canadians every week.
Satellite evangelism
In 2000 Feyerabend returned to Brazil to conduct a satellite evangelism series called Esperança 2000 together with Joel Sarli, who had sung with Henry in the Arautos do Rei quartet. From Vila Formosa in Sao Paolo to over 4000 downlink sites in Brazil, Portugal, and other Portuguese communities around the world, Pastor Feyerabend preached over several weeks. Over 350,000 people attended this program nightly, and at the conclusion of the series several thousand people were baptized.After returning to Canada after the Brazilian meetings, Feyerabend began working with his assistant pastor for the It Is Written telecasts Shawn Boonstra to attempt to do a similar series in Canada. The series was titled Revelation Speaks Peace and occurred in October and November 2002. The uplink site was Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
in Halifax, and over 600 sites across the world broadcast the series nightly. Due to a bout with cancer shortly before the series began, Pastor Feyerabend was not able to speak as much as he wanted to during the series, turning the pulpit over most nights to Shawn Boonstra.
Retirement and death
In 2000 Feyerabend discovered a cancerous lump on his leg. He underwent chemotherapy and three surgeries and the doctors told him he was cancer-free.Shortly after the Revelation Speaks Peace meetings, he retired from It Is Written Canada, while still making occasional appearances on the television show and retaining some influence behind the scenes. Shawn Boonstra succeeded him as director, and was quickly promoted to be the director of It Is Written International. Bill Santos was then chosen to run It Is Written Canada.
In 2004, the cancer reoccurred, and doctors were forced to amputate Feyerabend's leg. After the amputation, Feyerabend boarded a plane for Calgary, where he preached a sermon the next day. The cancer eventually killed him on December 12, 2006, at the age of 75. He was buried in Waldheim, Saskatchewan.
Literary career
During his life Henry Feyerabend either authored or co-authored over 40 published books. A list of his books follows.- So Many Religions! Why? (1984)
- God's World (1986)
- Tearing the Shroud from the Antichrist (1986)
- Living Lies About Death and the Hereafter (1987)
- Who is Michael? (1988)
- An Evangelist Answers 101 Most Asked Questions (1988)
- Brazilian Bonaventure (1989)
- Revelation Verse by Verse (1989)
- Slices of Life: Soul-warming Tales that Warm the Heart (1995)
- Galatians Verse by Verse (1997)
- Daniel Verse by Verse (2002)
- Born to Preach (2005)
- The Return (2002), Co-authored with Shawn Boonstra