The Events of Sunday, December 12, 2010

          After 13 nights at Duncan Family Campground, we unhooked and drove into western Maryland. We stopped in Beltsville to worship with a church called Charis Worship Ministries. This was an unusual experience in many ways, so my description is a bit lengthy. We found the church meeting in a conference room at the Comfort Inn. At  the open door, we were warmly welcomed by “Minister Tonya Chubb”, who in turn introduced us the “our Reverend Doctor La Verne Wilson” and “our other Reverend J. Henry Wilson (no relation)”. Soon, Minister of Music Daniel Dean invited us all to come up to the altar and pray for the worship time. Returning to our seats, we began a time of singing. Minister Dean played an electronic keyboard with preprogrammed accompaniment on electronic drum set. That worked well, except that the tempo had to be constant, so we had no pause or slow-down between verses. We started with some Christmas songs, then moved to familiar worship and praise songs.

          Our worshipping congregation numbered 35 (including us). We were the only Euro-Americans, but we received the warmest imaginable welcome, with hugs and handshakes all around. The other visitor, Emmanuel, was a college student from Cameroon. The Scripture readings, one from Isaiah and the other from Ephesians, were projected onto a front wall and we read them chorally (all together). Then came an awkward time for us, when people were invited to come forward to join in a special time of prayer. It looked like the rest of the congregation went forward, but I just was not sure what was going on, so I kept our family standing by our seats. Seeing our uncertainty, a friendly member came from behind us and assured me that it was OK to go up front, that it was a “normal Christian prayer.” I was so glad for her gentle guidance, I do not even remember what we prayed for during that time.                Our two Reverend Wilsons now appeared at the front in white robes. La Verne is a rather large person, and her billowing robe featured gold trim at the bottom of the sleeves.  Henry, slim and fragile, had a carefully tailored robe with pleats in the back and a row of bright gold buttons all the way down the front. The two Reverend Wilsons take turns preaching, I gathered, and today was La Verne’s turn. She spoke to us about Christian joy, and the congregation helped her along with “That’s right” and “Amen” and “Go, Pastor” and other verbal encouragements. The preaching seemed to tax her physically: she often wiped her brow and sometimes paused to catch her breath. She titled her message “Ion Joy”, based on her definition of ion: a stable molecule with a positive or negative electric charge. Her point was that one who follows Jesus is positively charged and brings that positive charge into all one’s interactions. That is, our joy as Christians does not depend on the weather or health or any circumstance. Instead, we take it with us wherever we go; it is part of our new identity. That is a good lesson.

          Following the message, we sang again and had another time for prayer. This time, Minister Chubb came to Pam and me and asked if she could pray for us on our journey. We gladly accepted her offer. She shared with us that their Sunday School lesson today had focused on parents leading their children, and she saw our visit as a confirmation of this lesson. Indeed, it is vitally important that parents lead their children, and this journey is stretching me and strengthening me as a leader.

          We drove a short distance to Costco, where we bought lunch and supplies. Then we drove another hour or so to  Antietam (pronounced ann-TEE-tum) National Historic Park. This battlefield was the site of the bloodiest one-day battle of the war. Now, my knowledge of History is sketchy; but I am pretty sure I had never before heard of this place. My much more learned travel-mates likewise had no knowledge of what happened at Antietam. So, let me tell you briefly what I learned.

          In early September, 1862, General Robert E. Lee and his army crossed the Potomac and invaded Maryland. Union General McClellan met and engaged him in battle. The fighting was fierce, but McClellan successfully repelled Lee’s forces and had them backed up against the Potomac. Historians generally agree that if the Union army had pursued Lee, they would have so weakened the Confederates that the war could have ended right there. However, McClellan was overly cautious and, though he outnumbered Lee’s forces two to one, he ordered his army to disengage, withdraw, and rest. Lee quickly capitalized on the opportunity to take his forces safely back into Virginia. So the war would continue another two and a half years.

          Why have we not heard of Antietam? I think it is because we are ashamed. McClellan’s lack of leadership and courage added many months to the war. Because of his weakness, tens of thousands died. What a tragic pity!

          The Antietam Visitor Center exhibit featured a series of original panoramic paintings by Union soldier and artist James Hope. These five paintings, about five feet by eight feet, bring to life the stories of what happened here. What a treasure! I learned here that art can be a great way to see history.

          We drove the self-guided eight mile auto tour through the battlefield. However, with the temperature below freezing and the sun setting, we only got out to explore at three of the eleven stops. Even so, I think we got a sense of the land and the history that took place here. After this we drove to a Walmart in Martinsburg, WV, where we parked, shopped for groceries, had dinner, and went to bed.