Cecilia Massey-Fike - On her family, faith, and community
Interviewed by Casey Cowan on September 1, 2009
Cecilia Massey-Fike is an important member of her community in Chapel Hill, NC taking particular prominence among her family and her church, Saint Joseph’s Methodist Episcopal Church. During her life in Chapel Hill she has worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Chapel Hill Rehab, worked in the intensive care unit (ICU) at UNC Hospitals, and also as independent nursing assistant for hospice patients. She is now settled into her home and community and spends her time helping others, something that remains important to her.
Ms. Massey-Fike’s paternal family has lived in the Chapel Hill area for many generations, with her maternal side hailing from Pittsboro, NC and Chatham county. Her family has attended their ancestral church, Haw River Baptist Church, for many generations which is where she finds the roots for her spirituality and morality. She recounts a deeply traumatic experience with having a hysterectomy that left her struggling to find meaning in life and them emerging on the other side with her adopted children. She delivers a powerful and compelling narrative of how her grandmother’s death revitalized her faith and how her church has brought newfound purpose and joy into her life. Other topics include custody battles of children, struggles of helping her community without a car, writing a letter to an elder in church, and a rendition of the song, God will Make things Alright.
