John Raleigh Mott (1865–1955) was one of the most influential persons in the formation of the modern ecumenical movement. Born in Purvis (Livingston Manor), New York, on April 25, 1865, he was the son of a prosperous lumber merchant. His was a pious Methodist family, and he remained a Methodist layman his entire life. Soon after his birth, the family relocated in Postville, Iowa, where Mott remained until his college years.

Mott experienced an evangelical conversion during his years at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He was deeply influenced both by English eva…