Yesterday, I was blessed to witness one of the most powerful moments of my career. The moment was one of the reasons I got into the career as a photojournalism and a perfect metaphor for the 30 years of service spent by Rev Dr. William Barber during his Pastoral Retirement Sermon as senior pastor at Greenleaf Christian Church.
“I wasn’t even born. My father began to write a book about the churches of Christ in Eastern North Carolina. I buried him on Fathers Day so the level of emotions are very high for me. On the next page there is a dedication, “To my son, William Joseph Barber II, and any and all of his future brothers and sisters, may this work provide for them an incentive to further seek to link their past, their present, their future in logical and rewarding continuity.”
As he called his son Andrew to the stage, he continued, “One of my prized possessions, none of the people in your family have been perfect, but we have all tried to make a difference. May you also be able to understand your history and place it in some form of rewarding continuity, may your grandfathers spirit still speak to you.”
After accepting the book, Andrew briefly started to walk from the stage, but came back to give a hug and comfort his father on Fathers Day, the anniversary of the day Rev Barber buried his own father. A most profound moment for everyone who witnessed.
