Buzz Aldrin celebrated communion on the moon.
Did you know that communion has been celebrated on the moon?
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)–Apollo 11, NASA’s first manned mission to land on the moon, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., 41 years ago on July 16, 1969. Four days later, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the lunar surface and proclaimed, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”
While the first activities by man outside of the Apollo 11 lunar module were broadcast and publicized, one of man’s first acts on the moon’s surface — a religious act — which took place inside the lunar module was kept very private.
On July 20, approximately two-and-a-half hours after landing and prior to exiting the lunar module, Buzz Aldrin broadcast to Earth: “This is the LM pilot. I’d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.”
Aldrin, who attended a Presbyterian church, then paused and took communion. It was “a ceremony I had planned as an expression of gratitude and hope,” Aldrin wrote in his book “Magnificent Desolation.” “I could think of no better way to acknowledge the enormity of the Apollo 11 experience than by giving thanks to God.”
Aldrin intended to share his communion experience with the world, but NASA officials instructed him not to. “NASA was still smarting from a lawsuit filed by atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair after the Apollo 8 astronauts read from the biblical creation account in Genesis,” wrote Aldrin. “O’Hair contended this was a violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.”
Can’t think of anything that would top that!
Tags: Christian Life
July 17th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Technically that’s not communion because he was not an ordained minister. In the presbyterian church this is a requirement. I know because I once celebrated communion in the common room at New College in Edinburgh. I was a Baptist ministerial student at the time so not prohibited from doing so. However, it broke the college rules. I got away with it when it was pointed out that as a presbyterian establishment they only recognised communion when celebrated by an ordained minister and as I was not ordained it was simply an “agape meal” and I had not broken the rules.
July 17th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Ah minor technicalities, I feel better just saying that. Where would the church be without them?
“Agape Meal” mmm….sounds really appealing
Presumably this “agape meal” was fruit juice rather than wine?
July 17th, 2010 at 8:43 am
I know. It was great way for helpful Dean to spare me any punishment!
Was not wine. Baptists don’t use real wine.