A chance (?) encounter in Greensboro, NC

I headed back home today after my brief and very lovely visit with friends in North Carolina (more about this tomorrow).

 At the Greensboro airport (officially the "Piedmont Triad International Airport [GSO])  I waited to board the Allegiant Air flight 835 from GSO to St Pete/Clearwater International Airport (PIE).

 Allegiant has a unique and very efficient system for boarding passengers by zone. I was in zone 6, so I knew from experience that I would be amongst the last to board.

 A man standing next to me said "this system seems like Russian roulette".  

 As I began to explain the system to him he asked  "what is your name?".  I told him "Michael Povey" and he said "Michael, I thought it was you, but I was not certain.  I am David Morrissey".
At  which I got teary eyed, as did he.

 David and his children Meghan and Tyler attended St. Stephen's Pittsfield when I was the Rector there. It was a particularly difficult time in David's life and, by the grace of God I was able to be a useful Pastor to him.

 For complicated reasons Meghan and Tyler had not been baptised, and therefore they did not receive Communion.  I hated to see them excluded from the Lord's Feast, especially because their peers were already receiving the holy  bread and wine.

 When David explained why they had not been baptised I "cut through the crap" and said - "let them receive Communion now, and we'll worry about their baptisms later".

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 David and his first  wife  moved to Greensboro in (say 1999) and their marriage ended.

So "by chance" he and I happened to be standing next to each other at GSO today. 

 I was heading home.

 He was on his way to Clearwater for a vacation with his second wife and family who were already there.
 So, we met "by chance?"

 -------------------------------------------------

 By the grace of God David had "checked" some luggage as had I.

 So, after the flight we hooked up again  at "baggage claim" in PIE, where we chatted and caught up.

 Once we had landed David called  his  new wife (a wonderful woman)  who was at PIE to meet him. 

 David said "Michael was on  this flight"..  His wife (although we had never met) knew exactly who "Michael" was.

 So she joined us at baggage claim and we had a lovely, joyful, teary encounter..

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 David and I talked about folks from St. Stephen's, and the people from that parish who had worked with him at Berkshire Life Insurance,  

 And he said "you had an assistant Minister in Pittsfield  who loved to listen on the radio to Don Imus".

"That" I said, "would be Manny Faria, who has been the Rector at St, Peter's in Beverly MA since 1999
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 Listen:  I am not a mystic. I understand coincidence.

 But I get goosebumps and teary eyed as I think about the "chance" encounter between  David and me at the Greensboro airport today.





Comments

  1. Sarah-Octogenarian26 August 2013 at 07:01

    I enjoyed this entry very much. And struggle with coincidence when it happens! I'm 79...is there hope?

    ReplyDelete

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