Bryn Athyn police force – and found his home. He soon pulled over a young
lady who had caught his eye – not to give her a ticket but to ask her out on a
date. He and his beloved Peb were engaged five weeks later and shared almost
60 years devoted to their marriage and family.
It is an amazing demonstration of the Lord’s providence that neither one
grew up in Bryn Athyn but became much-loved pillars of the Church and the
community. They were both born for service – to family to community – and
blessed countless people with their love and caring.
As Jeremy noted, “Mace said his goal was always to be a policeman and
still be respected.” And, “In an era when the concept of ‘police brutality’ was
invented and opposition to law enforcement was common, Mace inspired the
exact opposite in Bryn Athyn. He was uniformly loved and respected.”
He had a purpose that guided his life and he made a difference – with the
kind of character that sets an example for everyone, and laughter to lighten
our load.
Mace taught us that a teacher isn’t always someone who stands in front of a
class but can be anyone who connects through love – who, as Pat Conroy said,
“fills you up with hope and showers you with a thousand reasons to embrace
all aspects of life.”
(BMH)
harmony for one
Early in May the Rev. Eric Carswell preached a sermon in Bryn Athyn on Good
Things from a Harmony of Many. By happy coincidence, my wife Carol and I
had just experienced the touching power of people joining in harmony for a
common good.
Fifty years ago Carol had watched her close cousin, Dan Ebert from
Pittsburgh, lead the Georgetown University crew team to the championship
in the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. Dan was both the captain and the
“stroke” – the lead rower in an eight-man shell – and his teammates say he is
the one who turned them into champions.
Sadly, just four years later Dan died in Vietnam. There, too, he was
loved and praised by the men he commanded for his uncommon leadership,
character and integrity. One of the athletic fields at the Academy of the New
Church, where he graduated from the Boys School in 1959, is named in his
honor.
While at Georgetown, his friends and teammates at first thought he was
just another good Catholic boy, as they were. They knew there was something
very special about him. What was special, of course, was the way he embodied
his New Church beliefs in everything he did. One of these men had traveled to
Bryn Athyn with him while at Georgetown, and the Church and community
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