Messenger May 2006 Page 1

May is a month we celebrate important transitions.  There are lots of graduations, weddings, farewell parties, and, in general, a lot of "moving on."  And of course, the month ends with Memorial Day weekend.  It’s a month I remember a story about a  fellow named Charlie Plumb.

Charlie was a fighter pilot in Vietnam in the mid 1960s.  He was based on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk.  He flew seventy-five missions. On the last mission, his F-4 Phantom Jet was shot down.  On May 19, 1967, Charlie parachuted into the jungle, and was held as a prisoner of war for almost six years at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton."  The torture and abuse were grueling, but he survived, and was released in 1973.  Years after his return to the US, he and his wife were eating in a restaurant, when a stranger came up to his table and said, "You’re Plumb.  You flew jet fighters in Vietnam."  Plumb had no idea who the man was.  The man continued.  "You were shot down.  You parachuted into enemy hands.  You spent six years as a prisoner of war."

Plumb did not know who the man was, and racked his brain to see if he could remember.  He could not.  He asked the man, "How in the world did you know that?"  The man said, "I packed your parachute."   Charlie realized that at the key moment in his life, he had been saved by this man who took his job seriously, and did it with integrity.  (John Maxwell, Laws of Teamwork, T. Nelson Pub.; 2001, pp. 38-9)

Each of us lives a better life, or perhaps lives at all, because at a key moment, somebody packed us a wellcrafted parachute.  Teachers who teach us a core ideas that focus our future.  Sunday School teachers who teach ideas that years later, at a fork in  the road, guide our lives.  Administrators who put in place the basic structures of public health.  Safety inspectors who spot the fraying wires.  Wise people who have the right word at the right moment.  And of course, soldiers who do their duty to their country.

In that regard, I want to give a word of thanks to those who started the Westminster Foundation, and to those who have supported it with their gifts, memorials and bequests.   Its importance to the vitality of this church is tremendous.  We are at this strong place in the present because they lovingly packed our parachute years ago.  It’s a month of transitions, and so it is a good time to remember those who have packed our parachute.  To some of them, we can still give our thanks.  For all of them, we give our thanks to God for the gifts that they have given us.

                   Sincerely,
                   Andrew L. McDonald