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Tom Hanks, who starred as astronaut Jim Lovell in Apollo 13, honored the space pioneer in an Instagram post Friday hours after Lovell died at 97. “There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to places we would not go on our own,” Hanks posted. “Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy.” Hanks portrayed Lovell in the Oscar-winning film in 1995, which told the story of the brave astronauts on the ill-fated mission to the moon. While on board 200,000 miles from Earth, an explosion depleted the spacecraft’s oxygen supply, forcing Lovell to alert the ground crew: “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” [April 11, 1970] After the explosion, the craft looped around the moon and landed safely in the Pacific. Lovell himself made a brief cameo in the movie as the captain of the ship that recovered the Apollo 13 crew after it came down. His “many voyages around Earth and on to so-very-close to the moon were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive—and who better than Jim Lovell to make those voyages?” Hanks wrote. “Godspeed you, on this next voyage, Jim Lovell.”  (The Daily Beast)

Friends and Family of Lakeway United Methodist Church-Pottsboro, grace and Gods’ peace to you and yours in the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

In September 2020, the Netflix Series “Away” premiered. Hillary Swank was one of the leading actresses. During a difficult episode where technical difficulties abound, a prayer was lifted up. Enjoy.

May it be your will God, our God and God of our fathers,

that you lead us towards peace,

guide our footsteps towards peace, and

make us reach our desired destination for life.

May you send blessings in our handiwork and grant us grace,

kindness, and

mercy in your eyes, and

in the eye of all who see us.

May you hear the sound of our humble request, and

bring these travelers safely back to us.

Blessed are you Lord, who hears our prayers. [Amen.]

Astronaut Kwesi; Movie, “Away”

I quickly started to write this prayer. Profound. Pointed. Calling on God to do what God does in our requests. The prayer is racked with many great thoughts.

I am sure during NASA’s Apollo 13 mission in April 1970, millions of folks were praying for the safe return of our astronauts. The best of engineers trying and ultimately succeeding to safely return a damaged module. The rest is history. Jim Lovell is remembered, along with the rest of the crew. However, accidents happen. God is present in every situation. One event cannot define an entire program.

Rest in peace, Jim Lovell. Rest in peace.

Blessings from Pottsboro, Pastor Frank (alegria@lakewayumc.org)