On a dangerous seacoast
where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving
station. The building was just a hut and there was only one boat; but the
few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea; and, with no thought
for themselves, they went out day and night tirelessly searching for the
lost. Many a life was saved by this wonderful little station so that it
became famous. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding
area wanted to become associated with the station and give their time and
money and effort to support its work.
Some of the new members
of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude
and poorly equipped. They felt that a more suitable place should be provided
as a first refuge for those saved from the sea. So they replaced the emergency
cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the
life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and
they redecorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely because they
used it as sort of a club.
Less of the members were
now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired outside
crews to perform the life-saving work. But the life-saving motif still
prevailed in the club decorations. There was even a liturgical lifeboat
in the club where club initiations were held.
About this time, a large
ship was wrecked off the coast and the hired crews brought in boatloads
of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some of
them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was
considerably messed up, so the property committee immediately had a shower
house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned
up before coming inside.
At the next club meeting,
there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members now wanted
to stop the life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance
to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life
saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called
a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if
they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people who were
shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station
somewhere down the coast. And they did.
As years went by, the new
station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved
into a club, and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued
to repeat itself; and if you visit that seacoast today you will find a
number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent
in those waters, but most of the people drown.
The Rev. T. G. WedelCollege of Preachers
Washington National Cathedral
Washington, DC
