What can be said that isn’t being said over and over and over again and that adds something of value to public reflection on our time? Fellow Presbyterian minister John Buchanan’s personal story of worshiping with his granddaughter took me by the hand and led me home to church.
I sat beside Rachel in worship Sunday. Rachel is my 24-year-old granddaughter. She is a young woman with Down Syndrome. She is part of a remarkable program at National Louis University, lives in university housing, works part time with infants and toddlers in a day care center. She rides the El and the Chicago Transport Authority buses, loves to sing, knows the titles and words to every Beatles song and can dance for hours. Rachel starred in a motion picture, The Spy Who Knew Me, in which all the actors have special needs. It was produced by A.B.L.E.- Actors Breaking Limits and Expectations, which also puts on several stage productions per year including Shakespearean plays and original work. Many of the volunteers who work with the actors are from the Chicago theater community.
Rachel greets me with more enthusiasm than anyone else, throws her arms around me as if…
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Views from the Edge 
Please take your time Gordon. Meanwhile, thank you for giving us the gift of Rachel.
Nancy
❤
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Thank you, Nancy. The confusion/irrationality/abandonment of values (like truth-telling, care for the poor and the sojourner, etc.) to which Amrican culture has traditionally aspired have led me back to basics and a thorough-going review of my own views. I’ve made some headway, but it’s still not time.
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Thank you for sharing this, Gordon. The sense of peace experienced by John Buchanan when he attended services with his granddaughter Rachel was beautiful, and wonderfully obvious to those around them in the pews as well … this reblog gave me reason to smile.
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Keith, So good to hear that John and Rachel brought you joy and a sense of peace — even a smile!
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