![]() ![]() “The first time I went to a drive-in, I was nine years old, exactly the age of my oldest now,” Widdicks says. A long-time movie buff, Widdicks appreciated the break from cabin fever, as well as the venue’s 1950s vibe, complete with retro intermission breaks featuring a dancing hot dog. So in late May, Widdicks loaded the kids into her car and headed to the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, in Gibson City, Illinois. After months of homeschooling while also working from home, she felt the days blending into each other. “And as long as God gives us the life and the strength to go on, we will.Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, single mom Mary Widdicks has been cooped up at home with her three small children, three dogs, and three cats. “We are so thankful to God that we have made it to 10 years!” Elizabeth says. It’s a fellowship of faith and love, support and strength, family and friendship, solidarity and encouragement, warmth and comfort, familiarity and unity, and blessings and gratitude. He means it, too – as everyone that walks through their fellowship door is literally named “Brother” or “Sister.” “Our door is always open to all Christian brothers and sisters,” says Emeka. “We’re still the same people,” she says, “with still the same goals: loving and caring for one another, and being a family away from home.”Īnd that family away from home isn’t just limited to Africans, Elizabeth and Emeka say. ![]() They’ve also started organizing events, like the recent African Fashion Show which was held at the church and provided a window into the creative and cultural artistic apparel designs of their continent.īut despite the changes in the group, the essence remains the same, according to Elizabeth. “In the Fellowship we can discuss our personal problems and get guidance and leadership from each other and from other knowledgeable people in the church, and together we can pray that the Almighty will continue to guide us.”Īs a founding member, Elizabeth has been able to watch the African Fellowship grow and evolve, becoming stronger as a group and more and more active in the church in many different areas – an issue that the leaders are going to “insist on” even more and more, she says. “Africans have many of the same problems as other immigrants, but those problems are not always handled the same way,” she says. “And we are also so grateful to him for this wonderful community of the ACP that we’re a part of.”īy coming together in faith as a people of a similar origin, the group can offer not only love and support but practical assistance as well, Elizabeth says. “We are so grateful to God for this fellowship,” says Cameroonian Elizabeth Eposi, the new chair-elect who will begin her three-year term in January. Now as the Fellowship comes to its tenth anniversary, it’s time to celebrate the group’s incredible growth, their growing involvement throughout the activities of the church, and above all the blessings that God has given them. Coming together every communion Sunday after the 11:00 church service for a traditional meal and praise and worship session, the group has outgrown its original meeting place in the 2nd floor library and now meets in the Thurber Room on the first Sunday of each month. They began with just a few founders, but today there are more than 80 registered members with at least 50 members at each meeting. “And though it’s not always an easy task to come by, we strive to always live up to our creed: Unity, Love, and Fellowship – all of which are in the marrow of the bones of our churches in Africa.” “It’s a place where we can come together and share our emotions, our sentiments, our nostalgia for our continent,” Emeka says. In December 2001, the African Fellowship of the American Church in Paris was founded, so as to help these expatriated African Christians “constitute families away from home,” according to Emeka Ozoukwu Be, from Nigeria, and the Fellowship’s first Chair. And although they could worship here and praise God and sing and pray as they did before back in Africa, the experience still didn’t feel quite like “home.” Some of those African immigrants have found their way to the American Church in Paris. It’s often a tough path, and, separated from their support systems back home, it can be isolating as well. These people left behind their small home churches – churches full of warmth, joy, praise, and unity – to take on the challenges of immigrant life in a very different foreign land. They now represent 42% of all immigrants in the country, and most of them live in Ile de France.īut despite these numbers, only a handful of the African immigrants come from protestant Christian backgrounds in their home countries. Since World War II Africans have been immigrating by the millions into France. The African Fellowship: Ten Years of Celebrating Family and God's Grace By Christina Leste-Lasserre
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