Within weeks of her diagnosis, Hargrove experienced a second, devastating loss. Her son, Jarvis, was killed at the age of thirty-one. The loss was sudden, violent, and devastating. While she was fighting for her own life, she was also burying her child. Yet, Hargrove says she sensed that God had not abandoned her.
Hargrove does not describe her story in terms of certainty or resolution. She does not say she has been cured. She still takes chemotherapy medication and will do so for the rest of her life. But today she is in remission. She is walking again. She is standing again. And she believes God has preserved her for a purpose. “There were people around me who didn’t make it,” she said. “I’m still here.”
That sense of calling is what brought her back—not just to work, but to service. Hargrove has worked as a barber and stylist since 1987. Over four decades, she built her life around a skill she learned early and never abandoned. Though she spent time working in nursing while raising her children, she always returned to hair—work that allowed her to serve people directly, face to face.
She now offers haircuts and styling at the Highland Park Community Assistance Network Thrift Store. On designated days, she cuts hair for donations that support the church. At other times, she charges modest, affordable rates so that people who have gone years without professional care can come without shame or fear of cost. She gives a portion back to the church and uses the rest to cover basic needs, including medications not fully covered by insurance.
Her focus is on making a positive impact rather than earning money. “I just want to do what God gifted me to do,” she says. “If I can help somebody feel better about themselves—about their life, even for a moment—then I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.”
Hargrove’s testimony is simple and steady: God did not remove every hardship, but He did not let go of her either. As long as she can stand, she intends to serve. She approaches each day with a quiet determination to use the time she has been given.
He began attending worship and Bible study with his wife, Nancy and daughter, Makayla. They felt welcome and the Holy Spirit began to work on their hearts. Nancy and Makayla made a public commitment to Christ and were baptized last year. Nancy sings and plays guitar with the church praise band.
Murphy describes himself as a handyman, a role shaped as much by necessity as by skill. “When something broke, nobody knew how to fix it and we ended up having to pay somebody,” he said. So, he learned to work with hands.
He worked in construction until a falling beam nearly crushed his leg. “I almost lost my leg. I was real lucky,” he said
Now retired, Murphy is present at the church most days. He helps where he can—fixing appliances, tending to the landscape, assembling meal packs for the homeless, whatever is needed. He is not only a handyman, but he plays the guitar and cooks. “It's giving me a sense of purpose, and I feel like I'm actually doing something,” he said.
Deacon Vernon Liverett said, “I have seen that when Sean gets involved with something, he becomes totally committed to it. He does research and will learn new skills to become more proficient at that activity.”
Murphy’s spiritual journey has had some twists and turns. He was raised Catholic but his grandmother, while Catholic, also practiced tarot reading during the Great Depression to support her family—a detail Murphy recounts with both irony and affection. As a young adult, he explored a wide range of religious traditions, including the Mormon Church and Wicca.
When Murphy began to read a Bible provided to him be the Gideons, he came full circle to Christianity. Opening it at random, he encountered the story of Job. The suffering was so overwhelming that he could not finish the account at the time, unaware that restoration followed loss. Still, the experience marked a turning point. “Now I find myself doing it more and more with Bible study and hearing the sermons in church and just kind of being more active than I've ever been in a church setting before,” he said.
Under the gentle and steady discipleship of Minister of Outreach, Daniel Arredondo and Liverett, Murphy committed himself to following Christ and was baptized on February first this year.
Murphy does not frame his faith in doctrinal terms. He speaks of following Jesus through action—helping others, fixing what’s broken, showing up when someone needs help. For him, faith has become more present and embodied than ever before.
Church is a place where he belongs, contributes, and grows. Murphy’s faith is active and grounded in compassion. He helps because he knows what it is like to need help—and not receive it. That knowledge shapes both his work and his walk.
