A new addition to the religious Postcard collection is the Father Divine gem seen below.
This one was found at a bookstore in Stephentown, NY. It’s a combination house/bookstore, the sort where the owner is reposing in the living room until notice comes that a customer has entered. I’ve only ever visited this bookstore while either biking down or up the very steep mountain, known locally as “The Ridge,” upon which this bookstore/home is located. This past trip I was ascending, so, to put it bluntly, I was very tired and therefore easily justified stopping. But then I discovered the postcards for sale next to the unmanned “enter your payment here” box, and saw one I which wiped away my fatigue–An International Peace Mission card with the slogan of International Peace ceremoniously being rung out over the heads of the group’s leader Father and Mother Divine. The Divines spurred the opening of hundreds of Missions, most notably among them The Heavens in Harlem during The Great Depression. Committed to peace, racial equality and right living Father Divine was regularly harangued and even imprisoned for his co-habitation with white women and influence in the communities he settled.
Next stop on my summer wish list is Woodmont, the Mission’s mansion home outside Philadelphia.
Sabbath Ways 