Hide Article Text (OCR)
DY Ine Associate erase PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 8—Father Divine, colored self-styled “god” and evangelist who assumed the mantle of immortality in 1932 as the leader of a religious cult, married a blond 21-year-old white girl from Mon treal last April 29, but he tells shrieking followers it's in name only.” The marriage to Miss Edna Rose Ritchings in the Washington home of the Rev. Albert L. Shadd, col ored Baptist minister, was revealed yesterday. Washington marriage records show the secret ceremony was performed April 29 by Mr. Shadd. 1945 Bennett place N.E. Father Divine listed one previous mar riage, which he asserted was ter minated by “death.” Mr. Shadd described himself as an admirer of the father, though not a mem ber of his sect.) Father Divine entertained mem bers of his cult at a wedding ban quet here last night and told the chanting, shrieking guests that his late first wife—Mother Divine—had approved the marriage. License records show that Father Divine gave his age as 41, his status as widower, his address as Phila delphia. He told his followers his first wife and he were married “on June 6, 1882. Father Divine insisted that he placed the spirit of his first wife— described as “an Aunt Jeminah-like woman'—tn the person of his second wife and then shouted that the new marriage, like the old one, was “in name only.” “God Is Not Married.” “God is not married,” he sermon ized. ‘It’s beautiful, Thank you, Father,” “It's true, screamed his followers, chanting and singing and clapping their hands. Father Divine, whose various prop erties are known as “Heavens” and whose followers take such names as “Prodigal Son,” “Tree of Life,” “Miss ,Charity,” etc., said he was “not be ‘reaved over the death of his first wife. “When Mother Divine seemingly ‘deceased about three or four years ago, her spirit was about me all the time—holy virtue untouched by mor tality * * , he asserted, ._ ‘The new wife, better known among ‘followers of the cult in Montreal by |her spiritual name of “Sweet Angel,” formerly worked in a costume jew jek. establishment In the Canadian jetty, Friends said she left Montreal last April. Mrs. Divine sat unmoved at the wedding banquet occasionally mur muring aloud the word “peace.” (“Peace, It's Wonderful” is the motto of her husband's cult.) “Small Banquet” Described. The guests ate what followers de scribed as “a small banquet —four meat courses, chicken, fish, seven , Vegetables, five kinds of bread, hot biscuits, three ice cream flavors and two cakes, including the wedding cake. ( Big banquets” last more than five hours with as many as 300 courses served, cult members said.) . The marriage was disclosed in the New Day, newspaper published by the Divine cult. It contained the wedding speech made by the bride and comments by Father Divine himself at a gathering at the Circle Mission Church—cult headquarters —here on July 29. Said the bride then: “At this time I would like to publicly thank Father for this great blessing and honor of ilegally marrying the Lamb of God! | |It is something that I never dreamed je and I know you never dreamed of***. “Father, dear, because I know you are God, I redeclare, as I have vowed and solemnly sworn, not to gind you as a woman would a natural man, but I free you to love and bless whomsoever you desire to bless, and when and wheresoever, for it is my heart's desire and pleasure to see your kingdom come on earth, and to see everybody as happy as I am, if not happier,” ‘“* * * For as you have chosen me to reign with you, thank you! to always be pleasing in your sight and a fit sample and example ‘ the Virginity of Mary! ” Father Divine replied, according to the New Day: I have often taught, if a person in mortal consciousness would get married, they should not find as much fault in the person before they marry as one-fourth of a grain of a mustard seed. And it cut in four parts! If that is there before, how about after. It may grow! Therefore I find no fault, I am well pleased!” Father Divine, in an address to the wedding banquet, said the new marriage would let “carry from shore to shore” the message that he had arrived on earth “‘to crush Hitlerism and barbarism that brings misery and failure.” “I would like to emphasize that as By the Associated Press 45-day duck hunting season—a reduction of 35 days from last year— “was announced today by, Secretary of the Interior Krug. The regulations for the 1946 hunt ing season also reduce the daily bag limit from 10 to 7 and the possession limit from 20 to 14. Shooting hours for waterfowl scoots rails and gallinules will run from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour before sunset. This clips a half-hour from the closing end of the day. In announcing the regulations, Mr rug called the duck hunting rules the most drastic since 1938. Some highpoints of the 1946 reg ulations: The waterfowl season runs from October 5 to November 18 in the Northern zone, from October 26 t0 December B in the intermediate z0ne, and from November 23 to Jan uary 6 in the Southern zone. . The daily bag and possession lim its for geese have been reduced to two of any kind in combination, in cluding brant, plus two snow geese or two blue geese, singly or in com bination. The postseason period for posses sion of migratory game birds re mains 90 days, ‘The regulations prevent the taking of waterfowl by means of bait or with the aid of live duck or goose decoys. ‘The regulations include: The open seasons for wild ducks, Igeese, brant and cool as follows: Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware—October 26 to December 9, inclusive. Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina—November 23 to Decem ber 4, Open season on rails and galli nules In Maryland, September 1 to October 3, inclusive. The open season on woodcock, Delaware and Maryland, Novem ber 15 to November 29, inclusive: in Ohio and Pennsylvania, October 10 to October 24, inclusive: West Virginia, October 16 to October 30, inclusive, PHILADELPHIA.—Father Divine, colored religious leader, and his white bride, 21-year-old Edna Rose Ritchings of Montreal, as they appeared on the balcony of his “heaven” here following disclosure of their marriage. —AP Wirephoto,
Newspaper Details
Evening Star
Washington, Washington-DC, US
Thu, Aug 08, 1946
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 15 Aug 2025
Other Publications Near Washington, Washington-DC
Washington American Eagle
Washington National Intelligencer
Washington Globe
District of Columbia Evening Star
Washington Garfield Memorial
