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Friends United Meeting |
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June 2000
Branches on theVine:
The Chicago Fellowship of Friends
By Greg Porter
May 3, 1987, was the first Sunday I worshiped at the Chicago Fellowship of Friends. It was a bright sunny day, and Steve and Marlene Pedigo, co-pastors of the meeting, had their car loaded with luggage, ready to set out on a three-month sabbatical. After the service, Steve shook hands with me briefly and, as he rushed out the door, called out, "Glad to meet you. Hope you'll come back." That was thirteen years ago. But before I go any further, let me fill you in a bit on how I came to visit that first time.
I grew up in north central Indiana as part of a pastoral meeting and, as a young adult, transferred to a college located in downtown Chicago. At that point I got involved in a non-Quaker church for a number of years. A seed of awareness was planted when visiting my parents' meeting in Indiana, I would sometimes be asked, "Have you called Steve and Marlene yet?" So, when circumstances changed and I needed to find a new church home, the Fellowship of Friends was the first--and last--place I looked.
My initial involvement in the Fellowship of Friends was through volunteer work. Still today, an important part of the meeting life centers around various activities. To name just a few, there is mid-week Bible study, the Young Friends after-school program, first day school and worship, committee meetings and work crews from various parts of the country who are helping us with much important rehab work on the building. However, more important than the things done at the Fellowship of Friends are the people themselves, the living branches that are a part of the Vine. Those branches represent a wide diversity of experience and backgrounds such as Quaker (programmed and unprogrammed), non-Quaker, churched and unchurched, African-American and white.
Willie Moore and his family moved to Chicago in 1971 from Arkansas, and lived in various neighborhoods around the city before moving into Cabrini Green. Willie eventually enlisted in the armed services, a decision that kept him away from his family for a few years. After fulfilling that obligation, he returned to his family in 1988 and was eventually introduced to the Fellowship of Friends by one of our members. "I got involved through a friend who used to live next door to me when I stayed with my mother on Cambridge [a street in Cabrini Green]. Her name is Charlotte Thomas. She was telling me that she was attending a meeting down the street. That was July 1991 and I am still here."
Willie has found the going difficult at times. For one thing, he carries a burden for his mother, brothers, and their children, praying for them, and reaching out to them as the Lord directs. But he has found change and hope out of his grafting to the Vine at Fellowship of Friends. "It [F. O. F.] initially had big impact on me spiritually, but I fell. But during my trials and tribulations the Lord was there. He brought me through. Without Him I don't know how I would have made it through. Right now I am doing great spiritually and am learning to stay focused on God's unchanging hand. As I get closer to God I am seeking His will for me. I praise Him daily for being the head of my life."
As someone who grew up in Cabrini Green, Shirley Givens can paint a vivid picture of just how drastically different things are from what she knew in her childhood. She first met Steve and Marlene when her then teen-aged children got involved in the high school youth ministry in its early years. After graduation her children went their own ways into adulthood. She had been out of touch with Steve and Marlene for many years at the point when her daughter, Gloria, came into a new relationship with Christ. "When Gloria went to a revival and received the Holy Spirit, she came back and didn't know what church to go to.... I was brought up as a Baptist, and my kids went because that was my church." At that point, though, Shirley was not actively involved in any church. She credits God with leading her to mention the Fellowship of Friends to Gloria. "It just came out of the blue; it had to be the Holy Spirit. I hadn't seen Steve for 10 years, since Michael [her son] was in high school. I couldn't think of any other church that would be sensitive to Gloria's condition." However, it was another two years before Shirley began to attend. "When things started falling apart for me, Gloria pointed me in the same direction--to Steve's church."
As Shirley got involved, she began to be challenged by the Lord to surrender
her life more fully to Him. "I had been in an adulterous relationship
with a married man for about 12 years. After listening to Steve preach,
I became very dissatisfied with my life and sought his guidance to change
my circumstances. At first I was unwilling to follow his advice and continued
in my same condition. This stubbornness eventually led to me losing my
job, car, and home all within six months."
Shirley was eventually able to let go of the relationship she was in,
in part through the ministry of the Pedigos. She had been attending F.O.F.
for about a year, and had asked to become a member. Steve and Marlene
paid her a pastoral call, and she shared with them about the relationship.
As they counseled her, they also asked her to consider becoming an Elder.
(All members of the Fellowship of Friends are asked to serve on one of
two committees-Elders or Trustees.)
"I did a lot of thinking and praying about becoming an Elder, and
what that required. Marlene was very supportive; we talked a lot during
that time and she helped me figure out what the responsibilities of an
Elder are." It became clear to Shirley that her life situation was
inconsistent with the role she was being called to. "Sometimes when
your emotions are involved, 'right' is a relative term. Having someone
to talk to helps to shed light and give you clearness. Marlene is very
good at that--a good listener."
After prayerful consideration, Shirley felt clear to leave the relationship; her partner also agreed that it was time for things to end. She did later serve as an Elder for a number of years and today serves in a dynamic prayer ministry. "My grandmother used to say, 'I'm not what I ought to be, but I'm better than I used to be.' Today, I am no longer confused about what my purpose in life is or how to relate to people. One of the most important things that reading and studying [Scripture] has helped me to realize is that God loves me and I'm important to Him. He's not far off---some standoffish God; I have a closer relationship with Him."
Another story of God's hand at work grafting in a branch is Randy Urban. Randy first had contact through one of our members, Brian Young, when they both were attending the University of Illinois at Chicago. When he heard Brian mention the church in Cabrini his response was one of surprise. "At first, I thought it must be somewhere else than the infamous Cabrini Green. When I found that it was at Cabrini Green, I was fascinated. How could this be? Why would anyone stick their neck out like that? White pastors at Cabrini fascinated me." Out of his friendship with Brian, Randy was hired by the meeting to do some work on the building and from that he began to attend Sunday worship on occasion. He started to move out of the realm of what he had been accustomed to as he began to associate more closely with the meeting. "I grew up in the protected environment of Niles, Illinois, where people of color were rare. Going to Cabrini was liberating both culturally and religiously." A self-described agnostic, he resisted opening a Bible, convinced that the Bible was merely a book written by human hands. "I was wanting God but afraid of dogma-afraid of what seemed like not thinking for oneself." He was, however, open to God's Word as he was receiving it through Steve's preaching.
The time came when God's Spirit began to stir a deep spiritual hunger in Randy's life, bringing him to spend more time with members, asking many questions as he searched openly. However, he also was spending time with others who called themselves pagans. But the call of the Lord, and the witness of His children, had its effect. "I started to recognize the Bible as credible. I saw the faith of others in the church and noticed a peace and passion I never saw before in 'Christians' who I grew up with. For me, Christians never really meant it. It was just going through the actions. Showing up and looking proper. The only real thread I had still connecting me to Christ until then was my mother's witness. That's what kept me hanging on. That's what pulled me through. I've experienced a lot of healing at the Chicago Fellowship of Friends." Randy, now a member, is giving back to the meeting through his leadership of our Promise Keepers men's group.
Another branch on the Vine is Sharon Purifoy Williams. She got involved
with the Fellowship of Friends seventeen years ago through her children
who were a part of the youth ministry. They attended the programs as well
as Sunday morning worship. In the past few years, her seventy-four-year-old
father Roosevelt Purifoy has also become a part of F.O.F.
"When I got involved with the Chicago Fellowship of Friends I was
very disillusioned with church and did not feel the need to be a part
of my former Baptist church home any longer. For me, there was something
missing in my life. I knew that I was trying to live according to God's
word, yet I was not having the same experiences as other church members
at Sunday worship. I would wonder why the Spirit was not filling me as
it seemed to fill others, no matter how well I tried to live my life,
no matter how much I attended church or studied the Bible.
I left the church for five years before I started attending Fellowship of Friends. At the urging of my children I started attending F.O.F. For the first time in my adult life I felt like I was in the place I needed to be. I was being spiritually fed, not just preached to. My children were being taught leadership and responsibility through their participation in youth programs and worship. The young girls that brought me to church are now grown and through God's grace and their roots in F.O.F., they have become Christian women, educated and strong in their love of God and family. I truly believe in my heart that had we not been a part of F.O.F. their lives as well as my own may have taken a different direction."
These testimonies illustrate one truth that has become apparent to me over the years-that God delights in weaving a tapestry of his children's lives. Like the branches on a vine, once we have been grafted in to the Source of life, the Lord wants to see our lives become gently intertwined. He feeds, nourishes, and nurtures us. Then as we bear fruit we can, in community, provide shade and shelter for those around us.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:5
Copyright (c) 2000 Friends United Meeting