On the other side of the world people are experiencing a Solar Eclipse. I have been following it on television and online. I am always interested in these events that draws us in to the amazing workings of our Universe. They seem to provide a wake up call to my usual way of moving mindlessly past the miracles and wonders that surround me at any given moment. There has also been that certain touch of danger about a solar eclipse instilled by elementary teachers and protecting mothers. "Don't look it directly! You'll go blind." While I am sure there might be the possibility of damage to the eye, the warning has always ranked right up there with those given about B-B guns.("You'll shoot your eye out!")

But the Solar Eclipse took on new meaning and now sweet memory when several years ago our church was visited by a choir from Haiti. This choir is a part of a sister church we have in Port-au-Prince. Many from our congregation have traveled to this poor nation over the years to build, paint, work, and worship with these kind hearted, faithful people. Each time those who went to help received more than they ever gave. 

The Haitian choir was here in the summertime when Minnesotans love to complain about the heat. These dark skinned, beautiful people were right at home in the sweltering summer weather. They were also here when we were to experience a Total Solar Eclipse. We had been following the time at which the eclipse was to happen. Equipped with our pieces of paper with a small pinpoint hole punched in it, the staff of the church and the Haitian choir members headed out to view this phenomenon safely with our handmade protection fit for anything third grade classroom. We stood around on the concrete with the heat reflecting on white and black skin. American English, Creole and French filled the air as we oohed and ahhed at this gift of from Creation. While we could not understand one another's words fully, we knew this: We were, all of us together, witness to a miracle, an experience of awe and mystery.

I do not remember the names of those who shared in this rare and beautiful experience with me. I am hoping that someone from our community has been able to stay in touch, knows how to reach out to them. I do not know if they are alive today or if they, like so many of their fellow citizens,have fallen victim to the horror of this earthquake. In a land that is poorer than anything I can imagine, the events of this past week seem a tragedy that is beyond reason. And yet in one of the many television clips I have now watched, one stands out. It is a group of people, homeless, without any personal belongings left to their name, standing together by the side of the road……singing. Singing with full voices, gentle smiles on their faces, arms lifted in praise and faces looking skyward. 

I want to believe that among those singing were relatives, co-workers, neighbors, even those choir members themselves, waiting, as we all are, for some kind of miracle. 

"No storm can shake my in-most calm, 
While to that rock I'm clinging.
Since Love is lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?"
~Robert Lowry