Catching up: A visit and a story
Last week we had our vicar, Galen, his wife Jenny, and their adorable baby son Brandon over for supper and some fellowship. We had been trying to get together for a while, and finally got to do it on Friday night. We had such a fun time!
Galen mentioned to me before that he and Jenny lived for a while in New York City - they are both originally from Depew, NY which is just outside of Buffalo. Anyways, we got to talking about it and it turns out that he was in NY on Sept. 11, 2001. He shared with us what that was like.
He had only just arrived in NY 2 weeks before and was attending Concordia College in Bronxville. One of the first things he did when he got there was to go sightseeing and just a few days before 9/11 he had taken a picture of the towers from across the river. Jenny hadn't joined him yet at this point.
On Sept. 11 his mom called him around 9:30 and woke him up. She asked him if he knew what was going on - he had no clue, of course. So she told him to turn on the TV and the two of them watched as it all unfolded.
He went on to tell us about some of the aftermath: how he once went down to Ground Zero and saw these street vendors hawking "souvenirs" while family members of victims looked on in horror. He said he felt like Jesus must have when he overturned the moneychangers tables in the temple.
Then he told us about the funeral for Ronald Bucca. I must admit, I didn't recognize the name at first. Ronald Bucca was a fire marshall and he died (along with others) trying to help people caught in the first tower. (If I'm getting some of these details wrong, forgive me...I'm going by memory here.) He was the first NY fire marshall ever to die on the job and his death was mourned in the city. He is remembered as a hero.
Ronald happened to be Lutheran, and his home church was too small to accommodate the number of people that were expected to attend the funeral, so it was arranged for the funeral to be held at the Concordia College chapel. Galen was honoured and humbled to be among those who assisted during the funeral. He estimates that about 1500 people attended. He said that at some points it was all he could do not to break down and sob. The most moving moment came, he said, during communion. One mourner bent his head to receive the cup that was brought to his lips and as he did so a tear came tumbling down into the cup, splashing the wine. Lutherans do not ordinarily practise open communion, but on this day all who wished to be comforted and strenghtened by the Body and Blood of the Lord were welcomed to the table. In such a desperate time of need, how could they turn anyone away? I think it was the right thing to do and there is no way of knowing how the Lord may have used it.
It was really moving to hear a first hand account of what those awful days were like. We often say the world was changed forever on that horrible day, but hearing how it changed one life - someone I actually know - really hit home.
7 comments:
Wow, what a powerful story. I'm sure your friend's life was forever changed through that experience. Thank you for sharing this, it's so easy to go on to the "next" thing and not remember those who's lives will never be the same because of that day.
Hope you and the family are doing well, my friend.
Hugs,
Lisa
Thanks so much for sharing this my friend, very heart touching.
Glad you are OK and things are well. We've missed you. Your vicar's story is amazing!
Unless I read it incorrectly, your local (Canadian) church has an American vicar? Or did your Canadian vicar go to an American Concordia? *wink*
No, you read that right. He went to Concordia Bronxville for his undergraduate degree but he is earning his M. Div. at a Canadian seminary - it is in St. Catharines which is right across the border from Buffalo. The Canadian sem assigns vicars to Canadian congregations (mostly). He was quite pleased to be assigned to our congregation for his vicarage because it is still fairly close to home for him. We went to the Call Service last year and there was one vicar who was placed in Battleford, Saskatchewan. His poor mother kept saying, "WHERE is it??" It's very likely that when he has completed his degree and is eligible for his first call, he will end up in a Canadian church. We are hoping it will be close by as we have grown attached to them, *smile*.
I remember that day. We were in the middle of school and the computer was on. My brother-in-law came on and told us to turn on the TV. It was as if the world had turned upside down. At first you couldn't believe it was really happening, it had to be a horrific accendent, and then as the second plane flew into the other building.
So many hero, so many needless deaths. It makes me cry even today.
It's funny, I was just thinking the other day how we, as a whole, may not take other's troubles to heart unless we have a personal connection to them. It makes it "real" to us when we have that first hand knowledge.
Glad all is well with you and yours. *smile*
hey, a lot of kids from my youth group went to Concordia, Bronxville! Pretty area.
So I am convinced that the LCMS congregation that I belonged to was an anomoly. I have no idea what a vicar is. Like a pastor? Also, on the backs of our pews we had these little cards explaining what we believe about communion and that anyone that had examined his heart before God and had confessed his sins and so on was welcome to partake. I thought this was standard. So, Lutheran, I'm asking.
Good story too. Glad you're ok.
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