Finding Fellowship: The Must-See Film of 2020

Bill and Jane Phillips

On February 25,  Bobbi and I had a welcome respite from the politics of the day when we joined our good friends Jane and Bill Phillips for a Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner at their church, Fairhaven United Methodist in Darnestown, Maryland, followed by a viewing at nearby Quince Orchard High School of the documentary film Finding Fellowship.

In 1968, Fairhaven was formed by the merger of three shrinking Methodist congregations in Darnestown -- two white, one African American.  The Phillipses joined a decade later when they moved to Maryland, and have been fixtures there ever since.  In 1998, the Fairhaven Choir, Pearl Green (one of the Fairhaven founders), and Bill provided the centerpiece of our annual Martin Luther King Shabbat Service at Temple Emanuel in Kensington.

The film, produced by two of Pearl's grandchildren, Jason Green and Kisha Davis, is the fascinating story of the Quince Orchard community, Pleasant View Church (founded soon after the Civil War, and which was part of the 1968 merger), and Fairhaven's half century as an embodiment of what a multi-racial community can be. It also explored the Green family's own exploration of their ancestral roots in Quince Orchard, dating back to the time of slavery.

Jason Green with Jane and Bill Phillips

Shown at Quince Orchard High as part of the school's Black History Month celebrations, the film was informative, warm, and inspiring.  I am unable to express in words the beauty of the film and the panel discussion with current QO students.

I hope Finding Fellowship finds a nation-wide viewing audience.  Now more than ever, we need to experience this story of belonging. 

(For more about the film, go to https://findingfellowship.film/about-the-film/)