Another Pearl in the String

I had been working as a secretary and word processor in the Development Office at Wesley Theological Seminary (WTS) in Washington, D. C. for several months when I came into the outer office shared with the Admissions Director. As I glanced through the open door, I saw a blond-haired woman and a dark-haired guy who had donned a replica of a World War II bomber pilot jacket.

I could only see the face of the woman in profile.  Only the back and left shoulder of the man were visible. Puzzled and trying to remember who I thought they were, I went back to my office sure that the couple were old friends I had last seen in Alaska.

The next thing I knew, I got a call from the Admissions Director's receptionist asking me if I would come and give a tour of the Seminary to two people.

As I headed back into the hallway I saw the couple from the Admissions Director's Office. 

Lo and behold, they were indeed my friends from Alaska, John and Debbie, who I had last seen six years earlier.

John was one of the F-15 pilots I had worked with at the 21st Tactical Fighting Wing (TFW) of the Alaskan Air Command (AAC) from late January of 1983 until early February of 1986.

Most of the time I only saw pilots in the Squadron Building, on the Flight Line, or at the Officers' Club, but also a few of them lived in the same housing complex where Krista, Tommy and I resided for half our sojourn there . 

John also had an office in the Wing Headquarters (HQ) right down the hall from our Intelligence (Intel) Office. That is why I had gotten to know John better than most of the other pilots.

So I took John and Debbie on the Nickel Tour of the WTS buildings.  We had fun catching up.  They had moved from Anchorage earlier that we had, so it had been over six years since we had last seen one another.

It was Veterans Day of 1991.

In the following January I took my first Evangelism Course taught by Dr. James Logan (AKA "Mr Virginia Annual Conference").

Not only was John also in that class, but so was a friend of mine from the Foundry UMC Healing Prayer Ministry Group, David.

During one break from class I introduced Dr. Logan to those two friends of mine from two very different parts of my life. 

Dr. Logan seemed delighted and intrigued by John, the Air Force Academy grad, an aerospace engineering major; and by David, a lawyer who at that time was a senior staffer for a member of Congress. David was working on the bill that broke up the regional AT&T groups.

It was fun to watch and listen as Dr Logan, John, and David got to know one another a bit.

John became a pastor in the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church a few years before Debbie did. And seventeen years later, Debbie and I enrolled in two different Doctorate of Ministry Tracks at WTS. 

 In May of 2011 Debbie and I both received our DMin degrees at the same Commencement Service at the National Cathedral.

2013 Wesley Theolgical Seminary Commencement at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC

David did not choose to switch from the Law to the Pulpit, but our friendship remains.

Strangely enough, John and I were also (among other courses) in an Ethics Class together during one of our last semesters while I was working on my MDiv/MTS.

As our semester project for that course taught by Rev. Dr. Alan Geyer, John and I made a presentation on the Just War Theory for our Ethics Class classmates.  

Tribute to Rev. Dr. Alan Geyer

Dr Geyer later became Canon Ecumenist at the National Cathedral, the first non-Episcopalian to serve there as a Canon.

This is another in the "String of Pearls" series of my Living Waters devotionals. (The pearls being serendipitous encounters with friends and strangers . . .)

I hope you are sleeping well, Beloved. 

And I hope to see you in my dreams!


Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013
kwharris777@gmail.com