Gordon Forlong

Gordon Forlong (14 February 1819 – 30 August 1908) was a Scottish and New Zealand evangelist. He was also a lawyer, businessman, and farmer. Early life Born in Pollok Castle, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on 14 February 1819, the son of William Forlong, a merchant, Gordon Forlong was educated at Glasgow Grammar School. He went on to study at the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated in Law. He was admitted to the Bar around 1842 and practised as an advocate in Aberdeen. His education had made him a believer in deism, and he had earlier resisted the wishes of his great-uncle, Sir Robert Pollock, to become a minister in the Episcopal Church of Scotland, the Scottish branch of the Anglican Communion. While in London, however, Forlong was converted to Evangelical Christianity by a fellow-businessman. He began itinerating as a lay preacher and evangelist. He returned to Scotland around 1859–60 and played a prominent role in the Second Great Awakening, which broke out in Scotland around that time. He controversially supported the idea that women were allowed to preach. He publicised the services by Jessie Macfarlane increasing her audiences in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Forlong moved back to London around 1863, and around 1868 he founded Talbot Tabernacle in Notting Hill, where he remained until emigrating to New Zealand in 1876. A noted member of the congregation was Lord Congleton.