Goodbye, Good Reverend
Sometime after the publication of my last book,
American Son, I received a letter from a North Carolina pastor named Stan Easty, of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. The reverend Easty had read the book, and wanted to tell me how much he liked it. I had remembered John Kennedy well, he said, and he wished me luck in the future.
I try to write back to people who write me, and so I did with Reverend Easty. In the years since, we'd correspond from time to time via e-mail, usually around the holidays. We talked generally about politics and faith; Easty was a member of that seemingly shrinking but oh-so-important group, the religious left. Not long ago, he co-signed a letter to President Bush expressing doubt on the president's faith-based initiative plan.
The letter read, in part, "Partnerships between religion and government must be undertaken with great caution so as not to undermine the very integrity and freedom that allows both the followers and the institutions of religion to practice and keep faith in our nation.
"We urge you to protect the sacred role of religion in our nation by rejecting this avenue of infusing government funds into America's religious institutions."
This morning I received an e-mail from Rev. Easty's e-address informing me that Stan Easty had passed away, at home, with his wife of 60 years by his side.
I'm left with a feeling of deep sadness that I won't be hearing from Stan Easty anymore.
But even so: What a good man. What a good life.
