I visited the Cowman gravesite in January 2020.
It felt like a pilgrimage to leave flowers on Lettie’s grave.
Charles and Lettie Cowman lie beside dear friends and colleagues Ernest and Julia Kilbourne. They’re in a row with beautiful plaques marking their final resting spots.
Lettie and Charles Cowman and Ernest and Julia Kilbourne did not always lie in rest at Glendale, California’s Forest Lawn cemetery.
The original Cowman gravesite
Charles Cowman was the first Oriental Missionary Society (OMS) founder to die.
He died of heart failure at his Hollywood home on September 25, 1924.
Lettie and friends decided to bury him a mile west at Hollywood Cemetery.
(Established in 1899, the Hollywood Cemetery is now called Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It houses famous movie-makers, including Cecile B. Demille, Judy Garland, and Mickey Rooney.)
Ernest Kilbourne joined him in 1928 and Julia in 1935. The OMS buried Lettie beside her husband and friends in 1960.
Juji Nakada died in Japan in 1939.
Why move the Cowman gravesite?
Problems arose at the cemetery in the 1980s. The buildings deteriorated, weeds grew, and many people became unhappy with the conditions.
That included visitors from Korea.
The Korean Holiness Church traces its founding to 1907. That year two Koreans enrolled at the OMS Tokyo Bible Training Institute.
At their urging, OMS opened the Seoul Bible Training Institute in 1909. The church now has over a million congregants. The church honors its founders.
In 1988, the Asia Pacific Federation investigated the Kilbourne and Cowman gravesite. Dismayed by the cemetery’s condition, they asked to reintern the graves.
The OMS and family members agreed to the reinternment and the Korean Evangelical Church of American spearheaded efforts.
They agreed on the need to move the Kilbourne and Cowman gravesite.
Forest Lawn Glendale
On July 2, 1996, members of the Asia Holiness Federation held a replacement and memorial service.
They reestablished the gravesite on a lovely slope at Forest Lawn Glendale.
The gravesite looks to the southeast toward downtown Los Angeles.
The metal plaques say the same thing. Only the names and dates differ.
It reads:
Founders of the Oriental Missionary Society. Because of the Four-Fold Gospel, they preached in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, our denominations were born.
“On this day we pause to remember their great ministry in Asia–Korean Evangelical Church of America.”
The words are translated into Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.
Someone left flowers that January day I visited. I placed carnations at Lettie’s feet. The site felt peaceful.
The real legacy
The founders’ legacy is 119 years of ministering to those who’ve never heard of Jesus.
All four (with Juji Nakada) launched their mission to Japan, thence Korea, and China.
They established Bible schools, led crusades, prayed constantly, and rejoiced over every new believer.
Millions of people are in heaven today because of their work.
Well done, good servants. You earned your rest.
We’ll see you in heaven.
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