Tragedy on the Train

I was just coming out of a Social Justice committee meeting when I heard the news of the terrible accident on the Metro North Train in Valhalla.  Several PCMK members were in the kitchen preparing food for our Emergency Shelter Program guests.  Several of them had spouses that normally take that train and they were understandably shaken.

As far as we know, no one from PCMK is among the injured or worse.  (Actually I have since learned that one of our members was in the second to last car and is okay).  But somewhere in our county 6 families have heard the terrible news.  Like the Governor said on TV, "Six people went about their business on a routine day, but they won't make it home tonight."  He also said how precious life is and how random it can be.

My thoughts are with those families, to be sure.  But I am also thinking of all our PCMK families who send a loved one to work in the City on the train everyday.  Besides the anxiety that will follow this accident, there is the grueling schedule that this lifestyle represents.  Moms and dads get up very early, stand on a cold platform, squeeze into a seat on the train and an hour later they join the crowds spreading out from Grand Central Station on subway or by foot.  At night they reverse their steps and head home to loved ones, often arriving too late to enjoy much of an evening at home.

For a few years I commuted from Oakland to San Franciso on BART trains or by driving the Bay Bridge, so I know how exhausting that lifestyle is.  Perhaps that was part of my desire to enter the ministry and to choose to live near the churches I've served.

I've always respected the sacrifices commuting parents make for the sake of their families.  This accident underscores the dedication and innocence of hard-working people who spend a good percentage of their adult lives on Metro North trains.  My prayers are with you and your families as you have to resume that lifestyle with the thought of what happened on a cold February night fresh on your minds.

See you in church,
Pastor Dale