An Invitation to Look Up

I didn’t do very much yesterday. I spent most of the day in front of the TV, and the only time I ventured outside was to walk to get some sandwiches for lunch.

As I was nearing my destination, a young man came up to me and said “Excuse me, could I ask you something?” I stopped, and we fell into a conversation.

He said he wanted to invite me to an event. His church had reserved the Adler Planetarium that evening, and they had fewer attending than they had anticipated. So because of that, they were looking to invite more folks to attend, for free.

I learned his name was Fred. And he said that there were also some in the area who had never been there before, and he was looking to give folks the chance to visit. When I asked about his orgnization, I was surprised to learn that it was a church. Specifically, it was the Chicago Church of Christ.

I told Fred that I likely wouldn’t be attending, but really appreciated his invitation. I tried to give the card back, but he asked if I wanted to take a photo of the information. And I actually did want to do that!

I didn’t see until later that it was a worship service as well.

On my way home, I found myself thinking about this event – and the combination of two very different systems together. Church and science, God and astronomy. Heaven and the heavens.

With how divided our country feels at the moment, I felt a momentary respite in this invitation. In a stranger coming up to me, extending his hand, letting me know of an event where two two very disparate things would be existing in the same space.

Walking home, I thought about the Adler Planetarium and about wonderment. I thought about the act of looking up. I thought about how there are things still that exist to be amazed by, and we would see them if we only looked.

Related:
A Star on the Ground
The Overview Effect: Astronauts Discuss the Profound Experience of Seeing Earth From Space
Telescope