Terror at Trinity

Friday morning Pastor Paul returned to the high school to speak and pray at the memorial service for Coach Warmowski. The gymnasium was packed. A couple of cousins from Toledo, Ohio, were introduced; otherwise, there was no family. Actually, there was a family of nearly six hundred students, teachers, and friends. In addition to the pastor and principal, many came to the podium to pay tribute to a great teacher, coach, and human being. David could only sit in the bleachers, thinking of the courageous man who had been exactly the kind of tough mentor he needed and loved. His throat tightened as he remembered all the hours they had spent together in this very gym on the dark blue wrestling mats. He would miss Coach yelling at him. Paul also met with Maybelle's family on Thursday to plan her memorial service for 11 am on Saturday. Not since Brian Holloway's tragic death had Paul experienced such a week. He worked each day from 8 am to 8 pm or later. He knew he couldn't keep up that pace, but there were so many people and things needing his attention. He reminded himself that self-care was crucial, that he needed to talk to someone and debrief his stress and emotions. He certainly didn't want a repeat of his stupid, or better...foolish, indiscretion with Marge Holloway. As Paul reflected on the terror of the attack on his congregation, he remembered some of the same feelings of terror which had followed his tryst with Marge. The difference was that he himself had been the cause of his earlier terror. This time it had come from the outside. On Friday morning two engineers from the county met with Paul in his office to present their report on the structural damage and their recommendations for repairs. Once again he was thankful the damage had been minimized by the expertise of the bomb squad and assault teams. He would turn over the report to his building committee to use in obtaining bids from local contractors. He called Father Muldoon and scheduled a meeting to talk about the use of St. Mary's on Sunday afternoons until repairs were completed at Trinity. The high point of Paul's week came on Friday afternoon as Paul was writing his sermon for Sunday. The attorney, Miguel Juarez, called to say Omar Shufti was being released from prison. Phone records and a thorough look at the computer hard drive which the FBI had confiscated convinced them that Hassid, not Omar, had been communicating with the other terrorist cell groups. Paul thanked Miguel for his support of Omar, and then called Cheri at the library to share the good news about Omar's release. "I pray Omar will find the strength to recover from this ordeal," Cheri said. "And I pray Omar will still love his 'land of the free and home of the brave,'" Paul replied.