Less spiritual this week, but this week has a couple of ties to my formative years growing up.
As you might guess, one of these formative influences is the U.S. space program, and the Apollo program in particular. Yes, for about a week back in July of 1969 I was glued to the television and the newspapers trying to catch every moment I could of the first moon landing. No 24/7 news cycle then like now. No Internet for on-demand updates. Just what you could get from the press and the TV updates. And I tried to get every piece of information I could.
For me, it was probably the first big news story that caught my attention. I had the timetable, I tried to get every bit of news I could, I got to stay up late to watch the big moments on TV. Which brings me to the second current news story…
And that would be the death of Walter Cronkite. From my television viewing of those events his voice will forever be linked with the events of the space program. It is an interesting coincidence that he should die the same week that we are remembering the 40th anniversary of the events he brought into my house.
But there is actually a spiritual message in this and it is the concept of vocation. For Cronkite, he did what he did because he loved doing it. That is the heart of vocation. God blesses and uses us in all that we are called to do. The clergy has no monopoly on serving God but by faithfully doing whatever it is we do, each of us can serve God in our daily lives as well. It is my daily prayer that what I do each day may be done “for His glory and in His name.” And while I entered another profession that I enjoyed I always had the dream of participating in the space program some day. And a few years ago God honored that interest and gave me the opportunity to work on a Mars mission for about a year and a half. Thanks to God for that opportunity.
Praying for our Churches
Hanmi: Hanmi Presbyterian Church, Mililani, Hawai’i
Los Ranchos: Community Presbyterian Church, Long Beach
Pacific: Korean Presbyterian Church of South Bay, Gardena
Riverside: Little Church of the Desert, Twentynine Palms
San Diego: Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, Solana Beach
San Fernando: Sherman Oaks Presbyterian Church, Sherman Oaks
San Gabriel: Palabra de Fe Fellowship, Monrovia
Santa Barbara: Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church, Solvang
And this past week Hanmi Presbytery was the featured Presbytery on the PC(USA) web site.
