Heaven on Earth

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“There’s no point in seeking to go somewhere else that you don’t know about. Enjoy this good earth God gave us.” – Miss Kingdom

“There was a child born unto me…”

Reincarnation is not central to Father Divine’s doctrine of “Heaven on Earth”, but it did become an important aspect of his marriage to “Sweet Angel” (Edna Rose Ritchings) in 1946. He claimed she was the reincanation of his first wife Peninniah, the first Mother Divine, who died in 1943. Peninnah was a devoted follower of Father Divine in the early days of his Peace Mission and became his “spiritual wife” in 1914 or 1917. Though Peninnah was “dark complected” and Sweet Angel is “light complected”, many followers speak of the resemblances of the two “Mother Divines.” In this video, Miss Meekness Love tells a personal story about her past, before she became a follower of Father Divine. The story sheds light on Father Divine’s conception of reincarnation. Rather than seeing reincarnation as part of rigid cosmology, it is brought out as a willful, creative and compassionate act. This interview was held in March of 1996.

Mother Divine

Here is the first part of a 1997 interview with Mother Divine held in Sayville, Long Island. She talks about her marriage to Father Divine as “a supernatural experience.”

Sayville

Sayville, Long Island (about 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.”

Personal Presence/Personal Absence

When 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.

And yet, “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 1996.

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