Jim Palosaari
Encyclopedia
James "Jim" Michael Palosaari (1939-2011) was an evangelist
and performer, one of the leaders in the Jesus Movement
of the late 1960s and 1970s.
whose father emigrated through Ellis Island, New York, born to John Palosaari and Sara Bishop/LaVeck, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
. Palosaari grew up on a goat farm near Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
, where he attended Oconomowoc High School.
in Seattle, Washington
during the Jesus Movement
of the late 1960s. Trained in the faith by Linda Meissner, Palosaari and his wife Sue helped to form the nucleus of the Jesus People Army, establishing outposts in Yakima and Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, and Vancouver B.C. with Russell Griggs. Meissner and Griggs joined their ministries with the Children of God, later called the Family International, although Palosaari unsuccessfully tried to dissuade them.
In Milwaukee, the Palosaaris began a coffeehouse, "The Jesus Christ Power House," Sue started a newspaper, "Street Level," Jim developed a new band, "Sheep," and they began a communal school called "Jesus People Discipleship Training Center" which grew to 200 members. In 1972, 60 members were sent to join Bill Lowery's tent ministry, "Christ is the Answer" (CITA), and a team of 30, including the band Charity, were sent out, later to reemerge in Chicago as Jesus People USA
and "Rez Band". Earlier revivals in Racine, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota, now became autonomous communes.
The Palosaaris and thirty members flew to Sweden as guests of the Full Gospel Business Men
. Upon arrival, the group spent substantial time in Finland, where Palosaari preached in Temppeliaukion Kirkko
, the Stone Church in Helsinki. Sheep produced its first record in Helsinki, Finland, in Finnish. From there the group toured for the next six months through Western Europe, including Germany and the Netherlands. The Jesus People entered Great Britain in the fall of 1972 to participate with Russell Griggs and David Hoyt in an expose of the Children of God, at the invitation of financier Kenneth Frampton. With Frampton's backing Palosaari, Hoyt and the group now calling itself the "Jesus Family", enlarged by half, created the rock musical, "Lonesome Stone," a musical history of the early "Jesus Freaks." The musical opened at London's Rainbow Theatre, eventually touring Great Britain and American air force bases throughout Germany, Canada and the American Midwest, before closing four years later. While in England, Palosaari, Kenneth Frampton and British national, James Holloway, started what was for many years the largest Christian music festival in the world, Greenbelt
.
A year later, the Palosaaris, Owen and Sandie Brock, and Paul and Lydia Jenkinson met to form another commune on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada calling themselves "Highway Missionary Society." Palosaari was the head elder of a council made up of men and women, developing their ideals of community, missionary work, and evangelism. The new group traveled constantly, and quickly formed a nucleus of followers. Palosaari put together the rock band Servant
, which became the first Christian rock
band to use lasers and an extensive light show. Servant produced six records and traveled throughout the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain, giving Petra
their start when Petra opened for them. Community work also involved extensive showing of the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon
, about the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. Eventually the now enlarged communal group settled in Grants Pass, Oregon on land next to the Applegate River, where their interest in Christian community was supported through farming, work in town, and tree-planting. With Sue's effort, the community now formed a children's school. HMS sponsored Vietnamese and Laotian refugees coming into the country in the early 1980s. At this time Palosaari began Rooftop Records, producing one Servant album and sponsoring two other artists.
. (Actress Lily Tomlin
got her start in the same theater company the year Jim joined).
After leaving HMS, the Palosaaris left to study and work with YWAM on the Big Island of Hawaii, and Oahu. Jim Palosaari went to work in Texas with CITA, which he would continue to return to periodically over the next decade. During this time he also promoted new Christian rock groups, including Newsboys
, PID
, and Whitecross
.
In his later years Palosaari worked extensively in charitable fundraising. He narrated the movie Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher, the story of one of the earliest and most well-known Jesus Freak leaders, Lonnie Frisbee
, released in DVD form in January, 2007.
Palosaari later married Susan Mattson, who died in 2008. In March 2011 Palosaari married Jo Sappenfield. They lived in Palosaari's native state of Wisconsin until his death on May 25, 2011.
Palosaari was a self-described Democrat
and socialist, but committed less to party and politics than to the ideals of social justice, living in poverty, communal living, and a religious lifestyle in which everything is given up for God. He considered himself a Christian Primitivist, trying to live in the 20th century with the ideals of the 1st century Christians.
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....
and performer, one of the leaders in the Jesus Movement
Jesus movement
The Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
of the late 1960s and 1970s.
Early life
Palosaari was a first generation FinnFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
whose father emigrated through Ellis Island, New York, born to John Palosaari and Sara Bishop/LaVeck, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Palosaari grew up on a goat farm near Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, where he attended Oconomowoc High School.
Jesus Movement
Palosaari became a ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
during the Jesus Movement
Jesus movement
The Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
of the late 1960s. Trained in the faith by Linda Meissner, Palosaari and his wife Sue helped to form the nucleus of the Jesus People Army, establishing outposts in Yakima and Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, and Vancouver B.C. with Russell Griggs. Meissner and Griggs joined their ministries with the Children of God, later called the Family International, although Palosaari unsuccessfully tried to dissuade them.
In Milwaukee, the Palosaaris began a coffeehouse, "The Jesus Christ Power House," Sue started a newspaper, "Street Level," Jim developed a new band, "Sheep," and they began a communal school called "Jesus People Discipleship Training Center" which grew to 200 members. In 1972, 60 members were sent to join Bill Lowery's tent ministry, "Christ is the Answer" (CITA), and a team of 30, including the band Charity, were sent out, later to reemerge in Chicago as Jesus People USA
Jesus People USA
Jesus People USA is a Christian intentional community in Uptown, on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee in the Jesus Movement, and is the largest of the few remaining communes from that movement...
and "Rez Band". Earlier revivals in Racine, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota, now became autonomous communes.
The Palosaaris and thirty members flew to Sweden as guests of the Full Gospel Business Men
Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International
The Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International is a fellowship of lay businessmen. Its main purpose is to arouse interest in the gospel. Theologically, the organisation has its roots in Pentecostalism. It is currently active in 160 countries around the world...
. Upon arrival, the group spent substantial time in Finland, where Palosaari preached in Temppeliaukion Kirkko
Temppeliaukio Church
Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969....
, the Stone Church in Helsinki. Sheep produced its first record in Helsinki, Finland, in Finnish. From there the group toured for the next six months through Western Europe, including Germany and the Netherlands. The Jesus People entered Great Britain in the fall of 1972 to participate with Russell Griggs and David Hoyt in an expose of the Children of God, at the invitation of financier Kenneth Frampton. With Frampton's backing Palosaari, Hoyt and the group now calling itself the "Jesus Family", enlarged by half, created the rock musical, "Lonesome Stone," a musical history of the early "Jesus Freaks." The musical opened at London's Rainbow Theatre, eventually touring Great Britain and American air force bases throughout Germany, Canada and the American Midwest, before closing four years later. While in England, Palosaari, Kenneth Frampton and British national, James Holloway, started what was for many years the largest Christian music festival in the world, Greenbelt
Greenbelt festival
Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown from a Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young Christians to its current more secular festival attended by around 20,000 - Christians and non-Christians.The festival...
.
A year later, the Palosaaris, Owen and Sandie Brock, and Paul and Lydia Jenkinson met to form another commune on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada calling themselves "Highway Missionary Society." Palosaari was the head elder of a council made up of men and women, developing their ideals of community, missionary work, and evangelism. The new group traveled constantly, and quickly formed a nucleus of followers. Palosaari put together the rock band Servant
Servant (band)
Servant was a Christian rock group that grew out of the counter-culture Jesus Movement of the sixties and seventies. The band was founded in Victoria, British Columbia in 1976 by Jim Palosaari and performed to audiences throughout North America, Europe and Australia for over 12 years. Originally...
, which became the first Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
band to use lasers and an extensive light show. Servant produced six records and traveled throughout the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain, giving Petra
Petra (band)
Petra is a music group regarded as a pioneer of the Christian rock and contemporary Christian music genres. Formed in 1972, the band took its name from the Greek word for "rock"...
their start when Petra opened for them. Community work also involved extensive showing of the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a 1972 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is a biopic of Saint Francis of Assisi.-Plot:...
, about the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. Eventually the now enlarged communal group settled in Grants Pass, Oregon on land next to the Applegate River, where their interest in Christian community was supported through farming, work in town, and tree-planting. With Sue's effort, the community now formed a children's school. HMS sponsored Vietnamese and Laotian refugees coming into the country in the early 1980s. At this time Palosaari began Rooftop Records, producing one Servant album and sponsoring two other artists.
Other work
Palosaari spent his early adult years in the Chicago and the Detroit theater, including The Unstabled Theater run by Edith Carroll Canter and Woodie King, Jr.Woodie King, Jr.
Woodie King, Jr, born 27 July 1937 in Baldwin Springs, Alabama, United States, is a renowned African-American director and producer of stage and screen, as well as the founding director of the New Federal Theater in New York, New York, United States....
. (Actress Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
got her start in the same theater company the year Jim joined).
After leaving HMS, the Palosaaris left to study and work with YWAM on the Big Island of Hawaii, and Oahu. Jim Palosaari went to work in Texas with CITA, which he would continue to return to periodically over the next decade. During this time he also promoted new Christian rock groups, including Newsboys
Newsboys
Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
, PID
PID
-Medicine:*Prolapsed intervertebral disc, commonly called a "herniated disc"*Primary immune deficiency, disorders in which part of the body's immune system is missing or does not function properly...
, and Whitecross
Whitecross
Whitecross is a Christian metal band that formed in 1985 in Waukegan, IL releasing their first recording in the year 1987. Their early albums, which often invite comparisons to Ratt, are laced with fast, technical guitar work. In 1994, bandleader, primary songwriter and producer Rex Carroll split...
.
In his later years Palosaari worked extensively in charitable fundraising. He narrated the movie Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher, the story of one of the earliest and most well-known Jesus Freak leaders, Lonnie Frisbee
Lonnie Frisbee
Lonnie Frisbee was an American Pentecostal evangelist and self-described "seeing prophet" and mystic in the late 1960s and 1970s...
, released in DVD form in January, 2007.
Personal life
Palosaari has been married numerous times. He married Joyce Warner in Detroit (1962), and moved to New York (Long Island) with his wife and stepson, Michael. This union produced one son, Kent. Jim and Jeanette Palosaari then became parents of a daughter in California. Jim next married Susan Cowper, and had four children: Jedidiah, Seth, Cody, and Sophia. In 1981 Jim and Sue's second oldest son, Seth, died in an automobile accident with two other members of the community.Palosaari later married Susan Mattson, who died in 2008. In March 2011 Palosaari married Jo Sappenfield. They lived in Palosaari's native state of Wisconsin until his death on May 25, 2011.
Palosaari was a self-described Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and socialist, but committed less to party and politics than to the ideals of social justice, living in poverty, communal living, and a religious lifestyle in which everything is given up for God. He considered himself a Christian Primitivist, trying to live in the 20th century with the ideals of the 1st century Christians.