Longfellow, Herr, & Hope
by Erin Doom
Feast of Sts Carpos & Alphaeus, Apostles of the 70
Anno Domini 2020, May 26
1. Essays et al: “Gene Herr: A Deep Well of Life-Giving Hope”
Gene Herr is one of my heroes. I met him while working at Eighth Day Books, back in the late 90s. We immediately hit it off. But when I shared with him my vision for a Catechetical Academy, he really got excited. He had done something similar many years before. And so his excitement carried over to helping found EDI. In addition to generous financial support, he was extremely generous with his time, serving as an original board member and regularly feeding me with encouraging words, articles, quotes, and even books. He was a remarkable man.
His daughter Ellen has also been important for EDI, helping found and lead the Sisters of Sophia. Back in 2017, almost six years after Gene died, Ellen wrote a moving reflection on her dad Gene. Here’s the opening paragraphs:
On January 1, 2012 at 6 PM, hope took in a quick breath, released everything it had left for this world, and lay ashen and still on a small bed in a nondescript room. I was sitting solitary by my father’s bedside, willing him to be released. Never did I think this task would be mine, as the youngest child and only daughter in the family. It was a beautiful and terrible assignment. At that time, I knew only that our 14-month family battle with brain cancer was over. I needed to wake my mother to tell her that her best friend and loving partner was gone. I had to call my brothers who had just returned to their homes from visits to say a painful goodbye to our father.
In the days that followed there were two services, one Mennonite and one Catholic (my father was both Mennonite and Catholic). Many people shared stories of how my dad had given them encouragement, believed in them, shared books and more books. There were many stories of touched lives. One pastor, whom my father had mentored, lingered long after the first service (the Mennonite vigil). I remember recognizing that he didn’t seem to want to leave, which would mean letting go, acknowledging the finality of this loss. We shared a brief conversation, both of us confirming what a source of light and hope my father had been. There was some comfort knowing that I wasn’t the only one feeling as if I’d lost access to a deep well of life-giving hope.
2. Books & Culture: “A Memorial Day Poem by Longfellow, From the Atlantic, June 1882”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped found The Atlantic in 1857. And he contributed more poems to the magazine than anyone else…ever. In the June issue of 1882, he published “Decoration Day” for the recently established Memorial Day in commemoration of the Civil War’s fallen soldiers.
3. Bible & Fathers: “Believing, Hoping, Loving: Three Movements of the Soul”
Acts 17:19-28; Jn 12:19-36. Online here.
Here’s a snippet from a homily by St Augustine on the three theological virtues:
He who believes, hopes, and loves, must not, on that account, be assured of salvation. For what he believes, what he hopes, and what he loves make a difference. No one lives in any type of life without those three movements of the soul, that is, of believing, hoping, loving. If you do not believe what the pagans believe, if you do not hope for what they hope for, if you do not love what they love, then you are gathered from among the pagans; you are removed from them; that is, you are separated from the nations. Let not mere physical association alarm you when you are separated in mind.
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The Sisters of Sophia will gather on the Commemoration of the Great Martyr Theodore, Anno Domini 2026, February 17. Rachel Garton will present The Battlefield of Compassion: Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, and St Verena . Sisters of Sophia When Every third Tuesday Where The Ladder 2836 E Douglas, Wichita Parking available behind Eighth Day Books Schedule Food, drink, and fellowship at 6:30pm Eighth Day Convocation & Lecture at 7:20pm Membership Required? No, but do consider joining the community! Learn more and join here !
The Hall of Men will gather Thursday evening on the commemoration of St Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, Anno Domini 2026, February 12. David Beutel will present on St. John Henry Newman. St. John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest, and after his conversion to Catholicism, became a cardinal. Newman's beatification was proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 September 2010 during his visit to the United Kingdom. His canonization was officially approved by Pope Francis on 12 February 2019, and took place on 13 October 2019. Come and jo in us for the first toast of 2026 at the Hall of Men! If you haven’t seen a Catholic listen to the life story of John Wesley; if you haven’t watched a Protestant learn about Evagrius of Pontus; and if you haven’t seen Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant men sit around a table together and talk theology until midnight . . . then you need to come to the Hall of Men. When The commemoration of St Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, Anno Domini 2026, February 12. Where The Ladder at 2836 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67214 Schedule Doors Open at 7 pm Food is served at 7:30pm Eighth Day Convocation at 8:30pm Presentation and toast by Derek Hale immediately following Convocation. Membership Required? No, but do consider joining the community! Learn more and join today here .
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