Memories have a way of tattooing themselves into our brain; time, place, surroundings, thoughts at the time, scents, even colors and sound. This Sunday, September 11, 2022 will refresh in vivd ways the Twin Towers Tragedy. For some it not only lingers longer, but also in painful ways recounts vivid memories—where they were and what they were doing. For most of us, we too, relive vivid recalls of 9:11 a.m. 9-9-11. And yesterday, Thursday, September 8m 2022, (this time a bittersweet memory) added yet one more graphic memory milieu to our trove: The Queen is dead.
Such dramatic, world encompassing, memories do not happen every day: November 23, 1963, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, June , 1968, the assassination of The Rev Martin Luther King, Jr. April 4, 1968, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, August 19, 1972, August 2, 1990, the start of the Gulf War. —to name a few. As do many (maybe most) of you I recall vividly where I was, the ones with me, and many other details.
Memorials and public expressions of the memory of such loss and sadness are observed. These memories not only honor those whose lives were lost, but also offer the opportunity for contemplating the repair of our souls; both individual and collective. To be sure, a moment of silence, a wreath laid at a monument, not even parades are sufficient to solace such grief. But it is something of a pin put down marking the spot—-an acknowledgement of the mortality of us all.
Being mortal gives us an indelible connection with our fellow human beings. It offers opportunity for us to grieve with those who grieve and to rejoice with those who rejoice. As a means of marking our mutual humanity we place memorial stones. There is a long history of such markers. There are a couple of places in the Old Testament that stand out to me; The first is Jacob’s encounter with God, where he marked what he called Bethel-“The House of God.” The other one is when upon crossing into the Promised Land the Lord directed them to place memorial stones as a means of teaching future generations the significance of this crossing.
I am a member of The United Methodist Church which observes only two Sacraments; Baptism and Holy Communion. In the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the words of Jesus,, “…do this in remembrance of me,” are spoken. We do not hold that something magical happens as the incantation is given, but we do acknowledge the Presence of God, a the power of that Presence as we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for all. Memory is a powerful motivator. Last week Uvaldi, Texas came alive out of powerful memories of the 21 of its students and teachers were gunned down in their school last year. It was powerfully bitter-sweet.
Gwen Kendall Hall, a relative of mine did consummate research into the origin of my home church, The Deepstep United Methodist Church. She discovered that one of John Wesley’s ordinands held a class meeting in the home of a church member, launching the church. Her research was so thorough and detailed that the United Methodist Historical Society designated Deepstep United Methodist Church a historical site. Although this sign is not a stone, it is yet one other way of marking significant mileposts in the life of that church. Here’s the Marker.
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2022
Beautifully written! Yes, those of us old enough to remember important events in our lives can recall exactly where we were when those events happened. I was driving to The Carter Center on 9/11/01 when I heard Peter Jennings’ voice on NPR. That was strange, since he was a network news anchor at the time. The first airliner had just hit one of the twin towers at the World Trade Center.
Willis,
What a delight to grow up in a UM church so full of history! I have to giggle – as PK’s do from time to time -Wesley seems to have placed a “deep step”, sure enough, on this Christ loving community & church. You are Blessed to be a part of this Holy Place.
Love, Toni