Top Stories of 2003: Churches of Astronauts Deal Differently with Tragedy
by Fred Jackson and Jim Brown
December 22, 2003
(AgapePress) - At least three of the shuttle astronauts were members of churches. But their congregations handled the tragedy in very different ways yesterday.Speaking to the nation on Saturday, hours after the shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the skies over east Texas, President George W. Bush declared "the Columbia is lost -- there are no survivors." In addition to expressing his personal condolences to the families of the astronauts, he conveyed hope found in the Old Testament.
"In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see, there is comfort and hope," he said. "In the words of the prophet Isaiah:
'Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.'" [Isaiah 40:26]
Bush continued, saying: "The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today," Bush said. "The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home."
President Bush plans to fly to Houston for a memorial service at the Johnson Space Center for the Columbia astronauts.
A Different Eternity
According to news reports, some of Columbia's crew were members of churches. Astronaut Laurel Clark was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Racine, Wisconsin. Pastor Tony Larsen said during memorial services on Sunday that rather than being acts of God, such tragedies are "just the way the universe works."
The church's education director, Marilyn Joyce, says the children there yesterday were not told that Clark is in heaven because, as she put it, "in this church, we each kind of find our own explanation if there is one."
But in the home church of shuttle commander Rick Husband and payload commander Mike Anderson, things were very different.
The senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Houston, Steve Riggle, described the two men on Sunday as born-again believers who "fervently lived for God." Riggle also shared that Husband's last wish was that his pastor tell people about Jesus because "He means everything to me."
Riggle told members of his church that Husband wrote those instructions on the sheet that all astronauts fill out before going into space.
Executive pastor Garrett Booth says his church will remember more than just their sense of duty and patriotism.
"Both men were men of integrity -- great fathers and family men," Booth says. "And they both had a deep faith in Jesus Christ that went beyond their successes and their work. It was really the foundation for their lives -- and they will be deeply missed."
As well, fellow church member Jonny White says there is no doubt about the eternal fate of Husband and Anderson. "I don't know all the astronauts, but I know Mike and I know Rick, and I know their families," White says. "I know [they're] in heaven, so that's some consolation."
One staff member of the church says astronaut Husband had even hoped to lead Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, a secular Jew, to faith in Jesus Christ. At this point, she says, she does not know if that happened.
Booth says many will ask questions as to why this tragedy happened. He says his staff has some of those answers -- but the Lord has them all.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
