OK City Sets The Bar

A theme seems to have been emerging over the course of our Trek: individuals and a nation willing to declare its values and its willingness to sacrifice life itself to uphold those beliefs.

We walked Andersonville, GA, the Confederate POW Prison Camp; 

Turn You To The Stronghold of Hope Ye Prisoners Of Hope: Zechariah 9:12

Yorkville, Jamestown, and Williamsburg from the perspective of both the white colonists and the African-American enslaved, the Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA,

Kirk participated in the Chautauqua Week themed on the Civil War,











We walked the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Il;

We walked prayerfully and humbly through the Oklahoma Museum and Memorial. There was no way to be prepared for the impact of experiencing the remembrance and renewal at the site of the 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The inscription at the reflection pool captured the essential essence of the Oklahoma People:

"We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity."

 168 chairs made of bronze and glass represent the lives taken on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children. The field is located on the footprint of the Murrah Building.

The Reflection Pool capturing the visage of all who dare to pause, their lives changed forever

Gates of Time

Monumental twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 a.m. – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.

Make it a point to visit Oklahoma City. You can not help but leave filled with gratitude, hope, and knowledge that resilience is possible within community.

A week later we attended the 9/11 remembrance/renewal at the University of Arizona where the Tucson Chamber Artists in partnership with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra performed Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus and Requiem and Stephen Paulus' World Premiere of Prayers and Remembrances.

As we sit on the precipice of fully entering retirement these events we have shared with courageous Americans, known and unknown, challenge us to choose how we can make a difference these next years using all the gifts God has so richly bestowed upon us.