Endings and Beginnings

So much has happened the past few months that I haven't had time to reflect. With the death of my friend's mother, I feel that I need to take stock of the changes that have taken place.

On the 31 July 2013, I finished 25 and a half years of teaching on the faculty at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. With most of the books off the shelves and most of the papers, etc. shredded, I transitioned into the world of those who are retired. It was also the first day of the spring semester and I felt awkward seeing the coming and going of faculty, staff and students and I was not a part of it. At 1:30 in the afternoon, I had a ride to Dulles International Airport for a 5:15 flight to Paris. I needed to be in a place that was familiar and comfortable yet where I could be alone or with friends.

In the last hours in the office as a full-time member of the faculty, was greeted by a former student who is in the AME Church who was on campus for an event. She had taken a few courses with me. At the airport, one of the TSA attendants came over to greet me, he was a former student at Gettysburg from my first years on the faculty. Beginnings and ends are a part of our lives. I had my last Martin Luther King travel seminar during the January Term. It was a good and lively group of students who ventured with me to Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama. Life was not dull after that for in February I gave two talks on my Payne book, one for the Gettysburg Public Library and one for the Seminary Ridge Museum. Although my teaching ended, it was good to be a part of Black History Month activities.

The past weeks can certainly be called "transitions."

In Memory of Madame Reyntjes

This morning, about 30 minutes ago, I received an e-mail from Maryvonne, the widow of my friend Henri in Brittany, France, Otensia Reyntjes, Henri's mother died last night in the hospital in St. Méen le Grand (a town just north of Rennes, France). I called Ortensia, my French mother. I have known her since 1967. When I went to visit her after Henri's death, she showed me all the letters that I have written while I was in college and in seminary to Henri. She also showed me the pictures that were taken when Henri and I were at L'Abbaye de Boquen at the international work work sponsored by the World Council of Churches. Ortensia was a fabulous cook and gracious host. I always enjoyed her theological questions which always demanded a stretch in my French vocabulary. I will miss my visits to her home when I go to Brittany. May she rest in peace!