"ANNIVERSARIES"

 “ANNIVERSARIES”

This is a big week in American history, with May 14 being the date in 1607 when Anglo colonists landed in Jamestown, Virginia, starting the European dominion and bringing enslaved African people to this land.  On May 18, 1896, SCOTUS ruled 8-1 that “separate but equal” was the law of land in Plessy v. Ferguson.  That ruling was reversed 58 years later on May 18, 1954 in a unanimous SCOTUS decision in Brown v. Board of Education. On May 15, 1947 the new nation of Israel began to expel Palestinians from their homes, beginning a grim anniversary known as “Nakba,” meaning “disaster” or “catastrophe.”

But, May 18 is also an important date for Caroline and me – it is our 49th wedding anniversary!  We got married in Ed Loring’s back yard in Decatur in 1974 with Ed and Sandy Winter officiating.  Neither one of us changed our names, and that confounded many folks, including the Dekalb County office, which initially refused to give us a marriage license.  When we got our first call to a church in Norfolk, Virginia, we interviewed in March, 1975, with the Norfolk Presbytery Committee to see if they would approve our coming to be co-pastors of St. Columba Presbyterian Church there.  Noticing that we had different last names, and wondering if we were really married, they asked early on: “Are you two living together?”  We both replied: “Yes,” and we let it sit there for a few seconds before we added “but we are living together because we are married.”  They called us to be the co-pastors of St. Columba, and we were the first clergy couple to serve in a local church in the former southern Presbyterian Church (PCUS).

Last week we were up in Chattanooga to say good-bye to our friends Collin and Vienna Cornell, who are moving to Houston this week, where Collin will be on the faculty at Fuller Seminary there.  We also visited with Caroline’s brother Steve and his spouse Babs, and we were giving thanks that this June will mark their 50th wedding anniversary.  They got married in Babs’ home church in Knoxville, and Caroline was part of the wedding ensemble.  While Caroline was in Knoxville for the wedding in 1973, she was interviewed by the Knoxville News Sentinel for the “Women’s News and Feature Section.”  The title of the article was “New Pulpit Image,” and it has a photo of Caroline in the wedding party clothes and another photo of her in “regular” clothes.  

The author of the article was a woman and clearly was amazed that Caroline was a woman minister – she was then a campus minister at Georgia Tech.  Early on in the article, the author writes:  “The locks are long, brown and wavy.  The figure curvy.  Marital status, single.  Sex FEMALE (in caps so we wouldn’t miss the point). The name Caroline Leach.” The article continues to relate Caroline’s story as an ordained minister.

The author cannot resist asking Caroline about her relationship to men, especially any men that she might be dating.  She asks Caroline how her status as an ordained minister set with “eligible, datable men.”  Caroline replies:  “Well, it takes a special kind of man.  If he is one who can handle the fact that you are a professional (like a woman doctor, lawyer, business executive, etc.) then there’s no problem.  If he sees the ministerial robes before he sees you, forget it!”

I would come along a couple of months later, and we would start dating – I was one of the men who saw Caroline first rather than her ministerial robes.  Indeed her already being ordained as a Presbyterian minister was intriguing  to me.  The wavy, long brown hair and the curvy figure didn’t hurt either!  I was mostly interested in her intellect and grit and determination in grinding out her calling when most people and institutions said “No.”  I was glad that she seemed interested in me, too!  

After 49 years, we have made a life together, with many ups and downs, and we were blessed to serve 5+ years in Norfolk as copastors, then later 30+ years as copastors at Oakhurst Presbyterian in Decatur.  And we were also blessed to have two wonderful children, David and Susan.  We’re still rolling, and we give thanks to God for it!