Heartfelt Thoughts

After my post on the Monastery, I realized that I hadn't really explained how much the Monastery means to me.  How I feel renewed after I leave and what a quiet and peaceful feeling I have while I am there.
In no way did I convey the deep respect that I have for the monks...One of the things that I didn't mention, they have been an amazing help for people who are going through hard times.  Hidden away in a very small booklet about them, I found this little item:  the Monastery was rated the number one food bank in the whole state of Georgia...

Many times we take for granted the things that churches do and we don't even think about it.  Remember Hurricane Katrina?  It seemed to me that it was churches (and by churches, that means the PEOPLE who go to these churches, since the church is the PEOPLE not the building!) who provided most of the real help during that crucial time...
It has now been just over ten years since Sept. 11, 2001...Remember seeing the church with the white walls and pews that had all the firefighters curled up asleep absolutely exhausted? Remember the drawings and flags that were hung up there?  That church was St. Paul's and it was just a block away from the Twin Towers... there was dust and debris but the building stood intact.  Before 9/11/01, it was most known for the fact that George Washington had worshipped there.  Now, it is remembered as the place of refuge it became for those who were working at the site that became known as Ground Zero.  This was (and is ) an Episcopal Church and I remember at the time that the decision was made that the congregation could worship at another church a short distance away and this building was used from September 2001 until May 2002 just for those working at Ground Zero.  This was because they saw the great need... Here is a link to an article in National Geographic Magazine:ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0209/st_pauls/online

One of the songs that was performed at the tribute this past Sunday was by Paul Simon. He was supposed to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water".  Instead, he sang "Sounds of Silence".  I found it to be very moving.