Dear friends,
Several years ago the Galloway chorus, including Joseph Henry and Whit and Greer Blount, went to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall. I went along as a chaperone. Other than the performance at one of the world’s most well-known venues, the highlight of the trip was going to the 9/11 Memorial. It was my first trip to NYC in many years. In fact, the last time I was there I attended a reception on the 95th floor of one of the towers. Going through the museum with Joseph Henry, who was four months old at the time of the attack, was a powerful experience and helped Joseph Henry realize just how traumatic that event he has heard about his whole life truly was.
I have no words of wisdom to add to the mountains of coverage of the 20th anniversary of these attacks. But I do offer this photo I took at the museum, along with the words of theologian Paul Tillich.
“It is the greatness and heart of the Christian message that God, as manifest in the Christ on the cross, totally participates in the dying of a child, in the condemnation of a criminal, in the disintegration of a mind, in starvation and famine, and even in the human rejection of Himself. There is no human condition into which the divine presence does not penetrate. This is what the Cross, the most extreme of all human conditions, tells us.”
Tomorrow we welcome a seminarian who will be doing his field work with us this year. Luis Ottley is the head of St. Martin’s Episcopal School, where he has been since 2017. His seminary experience is a little different. He is continuing to work in his more than full-time position, and attending classes online at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, an Episcopal seminary in Berkley, CA. In other words, he is a very busy man.
Luis is a native of the Republic of Panama. He received his B.A. from Allegheny College, his MBA from Johns Hopkins University, and his Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. I look forward to having him with us for the coming year.
Finally, the service bulletin for tomorrow is attached. I remind you that masks are still required for everyone. If you have been fully vaccinated you may sing the hymns with your mask on.
See you tomorrow — either in person or online.