SPECIAL REPORT: La Quinta Man Fights for Leadership of Religious Movement
Posted:
May 14, 2009 11:27 AM PDT
SPECIAL REPORT: La Quinta Man Fights for Leadership of Religious Movement (5/14)
Tommy Garcia, who resides presently in La Quinta, was, as an 8-year-old, handpicked to be the successor to lead the International Peace Movement.
The movement was headed by a figure head only referred to as Father Divine, along with wife Mother Divine.
Father Divine ran the International Peace Movement out of a mansion near Philadelphia called Woodmont.
Related Links
SPECIAL REPORT: International Peace Movement 'Heir' Motivated to Help Others
By Nathan Baca, News Channel 3 Reporternbaca@kesq.com
Part One
A La Quinta man is launching a legal campaign for control of a religious movement worth millions of dollars. As the adopted son of the International Peace Movement's late founder, Tommy Garcia of La Quinta says he wants to re-start the charities the movement was once famous for.
Little is known about the personal life of the International Peace Movement's founder, Father Divine. We don't even know his real name.
Divine was born around 1876. As an evangelical reverend, he gained a following in 1920s New York and Philadelphia. That began a movement called the International Peace Movement. Many of his followers thought he was the living form of God.
Divine's charitable empire grew in money, buying up several hotels and businesses on the East Coast. Father Divine and his second wife, "Mother Divine" lived in an estate called Woodmont near Philadelphia in the 1960s.
That's when the movement began to shrink and faced a succession crisis. And that's when cult leader Jim Jones came in.
A 1970s TV movie, "Guyana Tragedy," portrayed the meeting between Jim Jones and Father Divine, played by James Earl Jones, when Jim Jones tried to become Divine's successor.
Instead, Father Divine chose a child. Because the International Peace Movement was built on interracial relationships, he chose a Mexican-American child to symbolize the uniting of the races. He chose Tommy Garcia, the eight-year-old son of one of his movement's members.
Garcia recalls what Father Divine told him as a boy.
"He said, 'Tommy, it's come to my attention that no one wants you. I want you. And if you agree to live with me at Woodmont, I will take care of you the rest of your life.'"
Tommy and his sister lived an unusual and sheltered life at the Woodmont estate. Divine's followers treated Tommy Garcia as "the son of god."
But, when Father Divine died in 1965, his wife took control of the movement. She sent Tommy away. He made a life of his own. Garcia now runs a sportfishing business in his home in La Quinta, hardly ever sharing the story of his time with Father Divine's movement, until now.
"I feel that I'm the voice of my mother, my sister, who is gone, and all the thousands of followers who are also disenchanted. Now, they have nothing now," said Garcia.
The International Peace Movement charities that once gave food and shelter to thousands of people nearly disappeared under the leadership of Mother Divine.
"I'd like for her to fulfill Father's Divine's prophecy and his ideas and his foresight," said Garcia. "He had incredible foresight. She said he was god. And, all through her teachings, they said he had incredible foresight. Then, when they asked her who is the successful heir, who is going to take over? She goes, 'The spirit moves in mysterious ways.' We have never planned that out.' That makes no sense."
So, Tommy Garcia has dedicated himself to research in an attempt to bolster his claim to the leadership role he says father divine wished him to have. If the Peace Movement's headquarters at the Woodmont Estate can be described as palatial, Garcia's recent actions are nothing short of a palace coup.
Our fellow ABC station in Philadelphia asked for a tour of the Woodmont Estate. The request was denied.
The war over the heart and soul of the International Peace Movement continues. And our investigation continues Friday night at 11 on News Channel 3.
To see the official site of Mother Divine and the International Peace Movement, visit www.libertynet.org/fdipmm/.
To find out more about Tommy Garcia and his life, click www.tommygarcia.com.
SPECIAL REPORT: International Peace Movement 'Heir' Motivated to Help Others
Posted:
May 15, 2009 01:53 PM PDT
Tommy Garcia hopes to regain control of International Peace Movement and its millions. He plans to help those who have "no voice" to defend themselves.
Garcia says he was adopted as a child by the Peace Movement's leader Father Divine.
Garcia's legal battle involves Father Divine's wife and current leader, Mother Divine.
Related Links
SPECIAL REPORT: La Quinta Man Fights for Leadership of Religious Movement
By Nathan Baca, News Channel 3 Reporternbaca@kesq.com
Part Two
LA QUINTA - As the adopted son of the International Peace Movement's late founder, Tommy Garcia of La Quinta says he wants to re-start the charities the movement was once famous for.
Evangelical leader Father Divine led a movement to feed and shelter thousands in the 1930s and 40s. Many of his followers thought of Father Divine as the living form of "god."
Before he died at age 89 in 1965, Father Divine did two things. He married 21-year-old Edna Ritchings, known as "Mother Divine." And, he adopted 8-year-old Tommy Garcia. He reportedly chose Garcia to be his heir, but it was not to be.
The once huge charity banquets the International Peace Movement once held are now small gatherings with an aging group. But the movement still controls tens of millions in real estate, including a mansion called Woodmont near Philadelphia.
Tommy Garcia, now a La Quinta business owner, researched Divine's church for years, saying he hopes to force the secretive leadership to open up and give what remains of its financial holdings to the poor as it did so long ago.
"For these last eight years, I've been compiling as much information as I can for the veracity of this story to be able to go after [Mother Divine], if not in the court, in the court of public opinion," Garcia said about his plans. "And [I want to] hear her answer questions to very pertinent questions that you must answer in a black and white answer. Not, 'the spirit moves me in mysterious ways, and you don't know what God has in plan for you.' That makes no sense."
There may be little Garcia can do. Mother Divine controls the International Peace Movement. The church's headquarters at Woodmont has refused recent requests for media access. But Tommy Garcia and his wife, Lori, say they have dreams of what they would do with the millions of dollars accumulated by Father Divine.
"There are a lot of things that Tommy and I have talked about that we would do, given the ability and the resources that are available. There are a lot of people that are abandoned, a lot of children we hear described as 'throwaways,'" said Lori.
Tommy Garcia adds, "One of the most important things he told me was, 'Tom, treat everybody with dignity and respect no matter what race, creed, color or religion. Take care of the elderly and be a voice to those who have no voice.' The people that have no voice is my mom, my sister, and the followers that have passed away, that many of their family members never knew what happened to them."
A religious movement, that has nearly gone silent, may soon find its voice in a La Quinta man once thought of by some as the "son of god." How the church leadership will fight this prodigal son's return remains to be seen.
