This path was created by Craig Dietrich. The last update was by Will Luers.
The Father Divine ProjectMain Menu"Inside the Kingdom": The Evolution of the Peace Mission"A Greater Picture of ME": The Peace Mission ArchiveSince the late 1930s, Father Divine and his followers oversaw the documentation of the Peace Mission's own history and public pronouncements in a weekly newspaper, with wire and tape recordings, film and photography.About The Father Divine ProjectWill Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dLeonard Norman Primianob55769156974a9bf4a4c74973f47ef4191206d21
12012-05-04T18:53:14-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dThe Marriage of Father and Mother Divine1In the summer of 1946, Father Divine married a twenty-one-year-old white Canadian woman. The marriage, he said, was the ultimate example of Gods approval of racial integration, of international peace.plain2012-05-04T18:53:14-07:00VimeoWill Luers41593896video2012-05-04T20:27:27Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12012-05-04T22:21:29-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dSayville2Sayville, Long Island (40 miles East of New York City) is where Father Divine’s ministry was transformed nearly overnight. In 1931, Father and Mother Divine (Peninniah) had purchased a house in the small white suburb of Sayville and there they held their Holy Communion banquet services where everyone was served “more than wine and a wafer.” In the middle of the depression, these multi-course feasts must have been miraculous. Visitors from all over, black and white, began arriving at 71 Macon Street, “the Home of the Soul,” to be fed and healed. The dancing and singing would often continue late into the evening. One night in 1932, there was a police raid on the house during a particulary spirited service. Father Divine and several followers were arrested. They were charged with disturbing the peace, but the case became about the white community’s fear of racial commingling. The events that followed turned Father Divine into a nationally known figure and brought tens of thousands to the belief that he was “God, condescended in a body.”plain2012-05-04T22:25:16-07:00VimeoWill Luers41599921video2012-05-05T00:36:40Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12016-09-11T23:43:57-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dSweet Angel1In 1940, Edna Rose Ritchings left her home and family's flower shop business in Vancouver, Canada to join the Peace Mission Movement. She broke ties with her parents and traveled to Philadelphia to live communally and interracially. She became Father Divine's secretary and was given the name "Sweet Angel". One day in the office, Sweet Angel proposed to Father Divine by saying, "I want to marry you because I know you are God."plain2016-09-11T23:43:57-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12012-05-04T14:52:35-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dThe Circle Mission Church1The 50th Wedding Anniversary of Father and Mother Divine, April 16th, 1996.plain2012-05-04T14:52:35-07:00FatherDivineMotherProjectPrimianoLuersPeaceMissionVimeoWill Luers41586480video2012-05-04T17:14:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12012-05-04T22:21:29-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dMother Divine (part 2)1The second part of an interview with Mother Divine held in June, 1997. She talks about the significance of Father Divine’s dark complexion.plain2012-05-04T22:21:29-07:00VimeoWill Luers41596930video2012-05-04T22:19:41Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12012-05-04T15:48:02-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dMiss Heddy's Conviction1Each follower of the Peace Mission Movement has a story about his or her conviction that Father Divine is the living incarnation of God. Miss Heddy’s conviction occured before the Swiss alps in 1940. At the time, she didn’t speak English and had not visited the United States. She had met a small group of Peace Mission followers in Basil and heard all about Father Divine, but her logic told her that God could not possibly be walking around in Harlem, New York.
In 1949, nine years after her conviction, she found her way to New York City to work with children. She met Father Divine and her faith was confirmed. She moved permanantly to the United States in 1956.plain2012-05-04T15:48:02-07:00convictionFatherDivinePeaceMissionfaithreligionVimeoWill Luers41590030video2012-05-04T18:33:51Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12012-05-05T19:26:24-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dBible Institute (part 1)1Two episodes documenting the 50th anniversary banquets held at The Bible Institute in north Philadelphia on April 29th and 30th, 1996.plain2012-05-05T19:26:24-07:00VimeoWill Luers41614919video2012-05-05T11:16:09Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12012-05-05T19:26:24-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dBible Institute (part 2)1plain2012-05-05T19:26:24-07:00VimeoWill Luers41617097video2012-05-05T12:21:54Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d
12012-05-04T22:21:29-07:00Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730dPersonal Absence / Personal Presence1When Father Divine died at his Woodmont estate on September 10th 1965, Mother Divine became the spiritual leader of the movement. She took on the enormous responsibility of maintaining the properties and businesses that housed and employed thousands of followers. She also carried on the spiritual teachings both within the movement and in public.
Mother Divine and the followers continue to recognize the “personal presence” of Father Divine everywhere and at all times. In conversation, he is refered to in the present tense. Everyday, a new suit and tie are layed out for him on his bed. At Banquet services, a place is kept for him at the head of the table. His plate is served from the many platters of food and a follower working in the kitchen will be “blessed” to eat this food after the service. There are photographs of Father Divine in all rooms and recordings of his sermons played at all meals.
“The Shrine to Life” was built at the Woodmount estate in 1968 to house his body, a recognition of his absence. Considering that followers believe only in “heaven on earth,” Father Divine is both personally present and personally absent.
These interviews were held in July, 1997.plain2012-05-04T22:21:29-07:00VimeoWill Luers41599278video2012-05-05T00:06:37Will Luers2f0376b300f2ff7145f4f5c8f06d3ab51e0c730d