What? A conference post a month and a half after it ended?
What can I say? We did get here eventually.
So, where to begin? A few months ago (more than a few by now), one of our MFM regional guys asked me if I'd be willing to represent OMS at the United Brethren National Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I'm one of three UB people at OMS, and I guess a familiar face is helpful with these kinds of things.
Not gonna lie, I was a bit hesitant. There's some
history if you will, and I also wasn't sure about logistics. Driving 500 miles one way isn't my favorite thing to do.
Fortunately, one of the other UB people at OMS was also coming along.
That's Sarah. Sarah and I work together in ECC, and we have lots of fun. (I also helped recruit Sarah - sort of - so that's a thing you know now.) Sarah and I convinced my dad to drive us out to PA for this most auspicious occasion.
You know the best thing about driving to Pennsylvania?
Tunnels!
Tunnels are awesome.
In order to save some money and our sanity, we decided to camp halfway. We found an interesting little campground at the Laurel Hill State Park. If you like trees and hiking a mile to the bathroom, this is the place for you.
We were visited by a few friends while we were there.
Finally, we made it to Lancaster. My dad stayed with his brother while Sarah and I stayed at the new Hotel Lancaster. I don't have a picture of it. Apparently, it used to be some kind of flea pit (my uncle's words) before they spruced it up. I thought it was fine; not much of a view, but I had a place to rest my head, and at the end of the day (hehe), that's really all that matters.
Lancaster had pianos in random locations, and this one was outside the hotel.
We were about three or four blocks from the convention center where the conference was being held. That meant I had very little trouble getting my steps in for the day. We also saw some interesting sights along the way.
On to the reason for being in Lancaster! Our job was to represent the wonderful opportunities and ministries of One Mission Society to the lovely people of the United Brethren church. We were also heavily promoting the
billion.global vision. Which, you know, you should really sign up for if you haven't.
Our booth was back in the corner, which wasn't the greatest position in the world, but we did okay.
The conference went from Wednesday evening to Saturday morning, but we really only needed to be there in the evenings. Garth, the MFM guy, manned it in the morning, and we kinda hung out in the afternoons, but mostly, we had mornings to explore.
Naturally, I found a bookstore.
And a few books.
On Friday morning, we went on the bus tour to see Isaac Long's barn and the Martin Boehm Chapel.
Apparently, the United Methodists put up the sign and only deigned to include the UBers a few years ago, despite us existing first.
The historical part is that little stone bit behind the barn in front. Yes, people still live there. I'm hoping someone told them we would be traipsing over the their land before we arrived.
Martin Boehm was actually excommunicated by the Mennonites for being too evangelical. They unexcommunicated him (recommunicated? recommunioned? uncensured, yes) in 2016.
My dad's best "I'm so disappointed in you" face.
"Ye must be born again!"
Though we were done Friday night, my dad and I stayed for the final session on Sunday. They commissioned new pastors and Bishop Fetters gave a charge to the church. Did I mention this was the 250th anniversary of the church? That's important. Lots of history. Lots of people. Lots of awkward moments. coughcoughhistorycoughcough
Then, as we were in Pennsylvania anyway, my dad and I took a mini vacation. We saw some miniature trains in Strasburg.
This model railroad would switch from day to night settings. It was quite a large setup.
Those are actual goldfish.
Kinda looks like I'm in a blimp for this game.
Look at that detail!
My dad was in his happy place.
Hanging out with old stuff is fun.
On Sunday, we went to probably my favorite place in the world, which you should know by now.
If you've not done the cyclorama, you really, really should. It's worth the extra cost. Try to go when there aren't a ton of people so you can see more.
This painting will be in my mansion in Heaven.
Checking on my boys from Maine.
This doesn't look like much, but on July 2, 1863, probably close to 10,000 men died in this field.
Every time I go to Gettysburg, I take two pictures. I always take these pictures from roughly the same places. It's kind of my own memorial.
The first picture, because it's early in the auto tour, is taken just beyond the Virginia Memorial.
This is the view that Longstreet, Lee, Pickett, and the top brass of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had as they watched their men march on July 3, 1863. They were all aiming for those trees in the middle there, trying to break the Union lines in the middle.
This is the opposing view. Hancock, Meade, and the top brass of the Union Army of the Potomac watched 12,500 Confederate soldiers march across an open field.
Pickett's Charge gets a lot of press. It's the "high water mark of the Confederacy," the point at which the Confederate cause pretty much reached its zenith (despite the fact that they were actually marching south - it's confusing, I know). That marker there, with the rebel flag, is for Lewis Armistead. He actually made it over the wall but was mortally wounded in the process.
In my opinion, and I'm stressing that this is simply my opinion, Pickett's Charge, while incredibly brave, was also incredibly stupid. I don't care how many men you have. You don't march across an open field into the center of the enemy. He's got reinforcements on both sides with excellent interior lines. The Union troops didn't even fire their light weapons until the Confederate troops were about 200 yards away. Up to that point, though, you'd better believe they were firing all the artillery they had. The South lost about 50% of their men. Lee got caught up in his own hype and the push from Jefferson Davis to deal a crushing blow on northern soil. But the South was never going to win that war. (I don't care how many shows HBO makes with that premise, it's completely illogical.) I have a lot more I could say about the Civil War, and I'd be happy to if you contact me, but this is probably not the place for it.
So why do I take these pictures? It's a touchstone for me. It's a reminder that two sides stood this far apart and couldn't stop the inevitable. A lot of men died on this land, for a lot of different reasons. I don't ever want to reach this point again.
We headed back West on Monday morning. Have you ever taken US30 in Pennsylvania? With a camper? It's a daunting prospect at the best of times. You start to realize very quickly why the highways have tunnels.
On the way, we stopped at another place I've been wanting to visit. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, to be honest. That day holds a lot of memories for me.
You're looking out over the final resting place of Flight 93. The memorial is quite well done, and also quite sobering. I was in New York City in 2004, and I've seen the Pentagon from a distance, and I wanted to complete the journey in Pennsylvania. There were some parts that were quite horrifying. You can walk down to a memorial grove of trees, but it felt almost sacrilegious to walk over that ground. They also had recordings of phone calls that were made from the plane to family members. That's an awful thing to have to do. In some ways, I felt unprepared for the emotional gut punch, but at the same time, I think it was a little healing to be there and acknowledge the grief I've carried. It's hard to express just how much the events of September 11 effected me. A lot of people died for no reason. I'm still angry about it.
Moving on.
We stopped to camp in Cambridge, Ohio, Monday night, mostly because we were tired and didn't feel like finishing the drive after dark. I'd be hard pressed to recommend the campground. It's right along 70, and it's crowded. A big rig came in around midnight, which also added to the annoyance. But I can't complain, because it was cheap and convenient.
We got back Tuesday, a full week after we left. (By the way, we didn't just abandon Sarah in Pennsylvania. She had her own mini vacation.) It was a good trip, and I am glad I went. I'm not sure how successful we were, but I did see a lot of people I really only ever see at conference. And I gained some new supporters, so that's always a good thing.
As ever, if you have questions, feel free to leave a comment. Or email me. Or call me. Send a pigeon.
How do those work, anyway?
