Part Two

Faith. Hope. Love.

It is early Sunday morning here in Columbus, Nebraska as Day 2 begins. Usually I always start my Sundays by going to the 11am Mass at St. Agnes Catholic Church back home in Niantic, Connecticut. But when I am on the road, whether in Dallas to visit my kids or out here in the Midwest, I make it a point to keep my faith and go to church. Now there will be no preaching here, but bear with me as I tell a couple of stories.

As I arrived in Columbus yesterday, I was a couple of minutes late to St. Bonaventure's Church for the 5pm Vigil Mass. 

As I walked in, the church was packed. Safe to say there were more than 600 parishioners at the Mass. St. Bonaventure is like a mini cathedral. Beautiful arches, marble columns and exquisite stenciling on some beautiful background colors.  

The sound system is top notch and the celebrant (priest) wears a wireless mic. It is always a joy to come here when I am out here. The cantor was in good voice as was the congregation.

Now, going back to when I arrived in Omaha yesterday, there was one place that I had to stop by. That was St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Elkhorn, Nebraska. Now the town may not ring a bell with you, but this small town was in the national news last year due to a tragic event that occurred at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. A young 2 year old boy by the name of Lane “Laney” Graves lost his life by the jaws of an alligator at a beach pond at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. The story brought lots of support and financial contributions to the Graves family. Yours truly made a donation to the cause.  When I heard of the town, I of course thought of the town’s iconic water tower. 

Checking out Google Maps, I found St. Patrick's Church at the base of the tower where it turns out that the Graves family are members of the church. I made it a point to stop by the church to see the pastor and make another donation.

Upon entering the parking lot, I saw a new activity center and it had 2 names on it. 

One was Aspen Seemann and also there was the name of Lane Graves.  I met up with the pastor, Father Tom Fangman, while we in the main area of the church.

Father Tom told me about the other little boy, Aspen, who was 3 years old when he lost his life in a drowning accident 5 days before Lane. Father Tom told me that he had just become pastor a few weeks before these tragic events. The church community pulled together to help these families in their grief. But out of all of this came something to unite the church community. From our TV friends at NBC affiliate WOWT in Omaha:

****An Elkhorn church opened a new activity center Wednesday, named in honor of two little boys who tragically lost their lives.

Saint Patrick's Catholic Church and Elkhorn held a grand opening ceremony for the Aspen Seemann and Lane Graves Activity Center.

Lane was attacked and killed by an alligator last summer and Aspen drowned in Waterloo a week later. Both boys' families were members of the church.

Mike and Mickey Ludden donated money to help build the activity center in the boys' namesake.

"We prayed, prayed a lot for them. So to have it acknowledge them forever is wonderful, just wonderful. Generations will always know how they important they were to us. Our little angels,” Mickey told WOWT 6 News.****

After handing Father Tom my personal check and bidding farewell, I made it a point to kneel in one of the pews and say a prayer for these boys and their families.

I have to say that this was somber way to begin my trip.  But at the same time, you have to help your fellow man and/or woman. There is just too much negativity in this world. But we have the power to change that. If you are a member of a local church or synagogue, find out how to help or to serve. I am a head usher and lector at my church. As I told my former pastor Father Mark O’Donnell years ago when he saw me with my News 8 winter coat at Mass one Sunday, I told him that the one hour of peace and solace I have every Sunday at the 11am Mass in God's house keeps me grounded. Keeps me whole. Whether you believe in God or a higher power, keep the Faith. Hope for something better. Love one another. It never hurts to ask for some divine intervention.

So we headed to Kearney, Nebraska this afternoon for a couple of days of watching the trains roll by and preparing to dodge rain drops on Monday. We'll have good sized blog for you to read. BTW, freeze warnings are in effect for most of Nebraska thru Tuesday morning. The Panhandle might see the white stuff for the first time this season. Are you ready for some snowfall??!!

At least on a good note, I’m having fun using my T6. I understand it shoots 1080p video.  As my friend Pez at the Hub use to say: "Nice". Videos to follow.

I'm Philip J Zocco. On The Road.  In Kearney, Nebraska.