To Be a Blessing On The Way
Monday, 19 June, 2017
St. Philip's Parish in Laurel has our share of people who come and go. We are not a Capitol Hill parish, which often means that folks move with presidential administrations, or make moves associated with the State Department. However, we are close to Ft. Meade, which results in a different kind of transition. Some people come through our doors and stay for a year, some for three.Yesterday, the proverbial stars aligned. We have a couple, one of whom is military, and they are being transferred overseas. I had already planned to bring them up front at announcement time and do a special blessing. Yet as I looked, I saw other faces:A young couple whom I had married, who are currently stationed in NC, but he is here for training, and as it turns out, as he gets ready to retire from military, his wife has been accepted as an officer in the Air Force. So they are preparing to switch parent duties for their two young sons.Another couple was sitting in worship, one of whom is, at the moment, in reserves, and the other an active duty nurse in a nearby hospital.A woman was in the back, whom is a retired teacher, but who was in military, and now may still be in the reserves.Then I looked, and saw the parents of a young woman who is now in the Navy, who lives not too far from Laurel, but who grew up in this parish.
david-beale-194104.jpg, at www.unsplash.com
So I had a thought. At the end of the service, after I did announcements, I asked ALL of them to come forward. And I asked the mother of our Navy person also to come forward, in a kind of proxy. I introduced them, in case people did not know them (and few knew the young couple well.) Then I said, "You guys work for this country. I know that some of you do stuff you cannot talk about. And so I want to say thank you for your work on behalf of our safety. "Then I said, "You know, people come into this parish, and for a time, they walk with us, and we with them, in our spiritual journeys. Then they leave for other, sometimes far-flung places. But we hold them in our hearts, and we pray they do the same. So I want you guys up front to gather around and lay hands on A & B (initials changed), and we are all going to bless them."It was a wonderful moment. Keep in mind that several of these men and women did not even know each other. Yet they are all bound by a common bond. They are military, in various branches, or they are family of military. They understand the fragility of life. They deeply understand the value of support--for them and for their families. They have worked hard to achieve what they have achieved. They are willing, by virtue of their being in the service, to go into danger at a moment's notice.As we prayed together yesterday morning, I felt like this little "tribe" up front, praying and being prayed for, was surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, and by holiness. In the midst of craziness, chaos, conflict and division in this country, I pray that these children of God received a blessing yesterday, and a sense of peace.They are not alone. The love of St. Philip's goes with them. More importantly, the love of God surrounds and goes with them too. ~SheilaNote: photo of flag at top taken by McJilton in New York City, at the 9-11 Memorial site.