"...The Other Things"

Greetings,

Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong opened a hatch on a spacecraft called Apollo 11, stepped down a ladder, and into history. Armstrong knew full-well the importance of his actions when he stepped onto the surface of the moon and proclaimed "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Partially fulfilling the dream of President John F. Kennedy, outlined around seven years earlier, Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins' work gave the world pause, and it gave the world hope.

The moonshot was an amazing feat, but it was only the first step in the greater vision that Kennedy talked about. The sound bite that we always hear is "We choose to go to the moon in this decade..." The rest is often left out, but it was equally important. The entire paragraph reads as follows:

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."

It's so easy to forget those "other things," but while the moon landing served to "organize and measure" what humankind can accomplish, the other things stand as a reminder that the moon landing is not the extent of our capabilities.

In just under 55 years, we went from the first flight in our atmosphere to putting our feet on the moon. Just over 100 years ago, we were limited to horses and locomotives to get us from point A to point B. When we put our minds to it, we can achieve what is thought to be impossible. We find a way. It takes commitment, it takes patience, but most of all it takes courage.

Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Albert Einstein, and the astronauts of the Apollo missions - these people looked doubt in the face and stood their ground. They were all told that they could never possibly do the things they did, but each of them saw possibility and they followed that possibility until they saw it through.

Tonight I challenge you to look up at the moon. Think of Galileo, who questioned our place in the heavens despite enormous opposition. Think of Darwin, who followed the evidence in the face of thousands of years of creationism. Think of all of the pioneers, and think of the challenges that face us today. Health care, energy, the environment, world peace... These are The Other Things, and while solving them may seem impossible, we must look at their solutions as every bit as achievable as Armstrong and Aldren's steps on the moon forty years ago. When we see past our doubts, we CAN achieve the impossible. Let's dream big.

I am the Reverend Humpy and I have approved this message.