Visitng The Mall...

Yes, I have been to the Mall.
And no, I was not shopping. At least, not at this Mall.

I returned late Sunday night from a wonderful, whirlwind (and wind is a very operative word here) trip to Washington D.C. So the mall to which I am referring is The Mall in D.C. that stretches between monuments. The oh so famous mall where activsits and patriots have long gathered on the grass to make their feelings and their causes known.

But let me bring you up to speed before I continue.

Rev. Trish Hall of The Celebration Center of Religious Science in Falls Church, Virginia, called me three weeks ago and asked if I would be interested and available to come out to their community to teach the Mid-Atlantic Prayer Symposium there. Well, of course I said YES. Rev. Ron Threatt, as the former head of the World Ministry of Prayer had created this symposium and was scheduled to teach. Happily for him (and then for me, too) he was hired as the new Senior Minister for the Bakersfield CRS and was unable to keep the committment.

When I said yes out of my desire to serve and my desire to finally see Washington D.C. I had no idea this Symposium was both a Friday night class and an all-day Saturday workshop. Gulp. And with my trips to L.A., I had little time to put this all together. Perhaps that is just as well. I had to step out of my own way and let the Divine Muse intervene and craft something. I managed to connect with Rev. Ron and he gave me his outline (thank you!) and I merged the two pieces into one.

Rev. Trish is a dear colleague of mine, so it was an added bonus to be able to serve her community and for us to spend some time together. Ya know, two girls at The Mall, fer sure!!!

You know that God preceded me when my lodgings turned out to be the new Marriot Residence Inn that was not only lovely but had a Starbucks just on the other side of the parking lot within yards away. (Although, I must admit--it was a tiny store and the staff was the least friendly I have encountered at a Starbucks).

We only had Friday morning to do a bit of sight-seeing. We took the Metro into town and got off at the Smithsonian. Remember I mentioned the wind? Welllll, it was so windy that there were breakers on the Reflecting Pool and the ducks were bobbing like crazy. Suffice to say, I had not packed appropriate clothes to allow for the wind and rain. I thought it was Spring and cherry blossom time. It reminded me of Chicago as the wind buffeted us about as we pushed towards our goal. (I actually had a windburn by the time we got back).

Rev. Trish asked me to narrow down what I wanted to see because we were on a limited time frame. That was easy-- Lincoln and Jefferson. Two of my childhood heroes. The obelisk of the Washington Monument is impressive but did not evoke the emotional well-spring that let loose when I saw the Lincoln Monument. What kid wouldn't even recognize just the steps? But when I saw him sitting there, I wept. This was for real. It was not a history book page or a movie, there he was in all his glory, power, pain and magnificence. I was literally speechless for some time.

And then we solemnly ambled over to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. It was elegant, awesome, difficult and magnificent. I remember all the flack that happened after the Mei Ling piece was selected. So, I didn't know if or how this would affect me. How could it not. Especially the fact that one can look up a particular person in a directory book before the wall begins and then find that person who gave his or her life in service. Many people take a pencil and paper and etch out that name to take home. Grown men were standing there in deep contemplation and you could read their stories on their faces. I knew there were people on that wall that I probably went to school with but didn't know they served and died. I stepped aside and called Don to leave a message to say thank you for coming home alive.

I was struck by two situations with families. One little boy came up the path on his roller blades in the opposite direction and met up with his father who quietly scolded his son, "How dare you disrespect this place like that? And he got the boy off the path and the skates. Although, I do not support public scoldings, this man did it quietly and from such depth of his pain, I knew that the son understood something he would not have learned if had just been instructed to not skate on these grounds. Frankly, I admit I was appalled to see such theme park behavior by this kid in such a sacred space and was glad that his father took action. Later along the wall, there was another father and son who were looking at the names together. At the base of the wall, there is an indentation that allows for people to leave notes, flowers and trinkets. Someone left or place a bag of potato chips under one panel. The little boy said, "Dad! Look there's food. Can I eat it?" Both his father and I smiled.

We cruised past the other war monuments. Regrettably, too numerous to mention. I have mixed emotions about all this. There must be some way to honor the lives of men, women and animals that have given their life in service of our country; and yet, I question the monuments. Monuments to me are a testimony of greatness; and although, there is inherent greatness in what the individuals did, we are also sending a message that to go to war is awesome. I may be risking some flack here...so I only hope I can make it clear that I am not discounting in any way what our military has done in the call of duty. But I wonder if somewhere--particularly for little boys as I saw that day--if they don't almost think it is might be noble to go to war and have a giant monument and millions of people filing by in respect and gratitude? The Vietnam Memorial Wall was the one tribute that seemed to do what was intended--honor the people, not the war itself.

But I digress....

One of the reasons I wanted to be sure to see Thomas Jefferson was that it was his birthday (April 13th) that day and it felt extra-special to visit him on his day. I felt like a kid when I could see his giant statue peering out of the monument while I was across the river. And his powerful words etched in the walls made me love him all over again. Not to mention, he was also a red-head.

His words, the quotes from FDR on his monument,all around me were these words of wisdom, humankind and peace. I was confused. How could we possibly still be a warring nation when our ancestors, leaders and visionaries all told and re-told us about the need for peace and human kindness? I think that our elected officials would do well to take a yearly tour of these monuments themselves as an abiding reminder of principle and intention.

The Prayer Symposium was wonderful! I met such incredible people. Celebration Center is a vibrant community of loving, dedicated, conscious beings who are making themselves known and are in the right place at the right time. We had fun, we learned, we prayed and we did amazing work together. I feel like some of the people there will stay in my life.

Rev. Trish generously offered to let me speak on Sunday (Bonus!) and I agreed. Her topic chosen was "Risk-Taking" and it wrote itself through me in the wee morning hours. No one knew I was going to speak, so she took a 'risk' in having me do the service. I took a risk in that I did not prepare notes as I usually would when I know in advance I am speaking. I used the hotel computer to access some quotes that I wanted and then I left the rest to Spirit.

If I listed all the little synchronicities of this trip we would be here for hours. Suffice to say, that at every turn there was an affirmative nod from God and I smiled and gave thanks.

And then on the United (appropriate airlines, don't ya think?) flight home, Capt. Denny Flannagan came out to the waiting area to introduce himself to us before boarding. As we filed into our seats, he was at the cockpit and handed out little cards that gave information on the Boeing 757 we were sharing and he signed it on the back. I was so taken by his generosity of spirit that I wanted to keep the card so I could send a note to United about this man. As we were descending into San Diego, Capt. Denny got on the address system to let us know and then he said that when everyone got on board, he handed out little airplane trading cards with his signature on the back. If anyone still had that card, press their call buttons and they would recieve a free bottle of wine. YES! Well, I knew exactly where I had put the card and I was one of three people who got wine. It wasn't just an airplane size bottle either--a full bottle of Australian Cabernet, that was delicious!

The richness of this trip completely ameliorated the anguish of the nasty head cold that I brought back. The fever, sneezes, coughs were nothing compared to the joy and gratitude I felt for my adventure and for coming home safely to my loving family.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Oh, and well, yes, Rev. Trish and her husband did take me to a mall. I was surprised at the dearth of souvenir kiosks and vendors. Tysons Center to be exact. I was on a mission for a particular souvenir. While there we had dinner at Legal Seafood and it was par excellence. This mall is a very upscale establishment with three floors and a consumers paradise--which is another topic for another day.

God Bless America.