One Small Step

Good mornings. As in years past, I want to express my family’s deep gratitude to anyone who decided to participate in the 9th Annual Hope Film Series, which represents the sole fundraising effort for the Marcus Ewing Memorial Fund as it supports Shiloh’s HI-DEF mentoring program.

HI-DEF aims to enrich the lives of teenage children with unremitting love and uninterrupted encouragement supplied to them by selfless mentors. The Hope Film Series aims to ensure that such enrichment endure for future generations. As we end our time together this evening I feel it is important to link our film and our cause with the man whose name inspires us to gather here each year.

Unfortunately tonight we did not get to see Apollo 13 land on the moon. However, this past July marked 50 years since a 38 year-old Ohio native by the name of Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon as a member of the Apollo 11 mission. I realize that today the idea of Amazon Prime 1 day shipping to the moon seems completely plausible. At that time, however, one cannot overstate how insurmountable the goal of a moon landing first appeared. Only 40 years before Charles Lindbergh had become the first to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.  Yet on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood before a joint-session on Congress and said, “...I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.

Much like our film tonight, I can picture a 9th grade Marcus Ewing at times feeling like his chances of going to college were  as implausible as a successful moon landing. Whether it was the lack of decent ACT scores or the complete absence of support of “professional educators” in high school, I’m certain Marcus had moments where he said to himself, “I just lost the moon.”

Thankfully, however, Marcus had the support of two loving parents and a superhuman wife who believed in his ability to soar higher and farther than the expectations placed on those with learning disabilities and speech impediments.  It was with this support that Marcus would one day achieve his moon landing when he received a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Cincinnati. 

With two degrees in hand, Marcus felt his next mission needed to center on helping the children of New York City to launch their own dreams. Where poverty kept children from dreaming, Marcus perceived a responsibility to help such children soar beyond the suffocating smog of scarcity. When neglect prohibited a child from believing, Marcus felt an obligation to support such children rise up over the dark fog of depression. Where anger prevented  a child from achieving, Marcus sensed a duty to aid such children ascend above the billowing flames of rage.   

Marcus achieved much in his brief time with the children of HI-DEF. First, the boys and girls of HI-DEF became confident they could travel to the moon and beyond knowing that Marcus Ewing would be there to encourage them when they crashed terribly. Second, the boys and girls of HI-DEF grew in assurance they could reach distant stars and discover new worlds trusting that Marcus Ewing would there to celebrate with them when they landed successfully.

Now when it comes to surveying the state of education in America today; I believe I speak for Marcus when I say that the time has come for ambition as bold and audacious as the ambition that put a man on the moon. But what achievement in education today could be as improbable and impactful as the moon landing? 

As it stands today, the national high school graduation rate hovers around 85 percent. But what if this generation committed itself to achieving the goal in the decade ahead that every child in America successfully graduated high school? Regardless of their circumstances or their finances, imagine every boy and girl in America endowed with a palpable sense of joy and confidence that comes when one earns their high school diploma. Would that not be as improbable as presuming we can breach the Earth’s atmosphere? Would that not be as impactful as watching man walk on the moon? 

Of course, our first major hurdle would be to address those who struggle to find value in goals that do not lead to amassing wealth or fame. Some may ask of all the objectives we could accomplish, why graduation from high school? Why choose this as our goal? President Kennedy himself found that not everyone in the country was supportive of committing time and resources to the moon landing. Some worried that supporting the space program might bankrupt the country. Others expressed their concerns nothing of value would be found on the moon once they arrived there.   

In September 1962, President Kennedy used his speech at Rice University to address those who might question the importance of reaching the moon. He said, “...But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win…”

So why not first tackle climate change or denuclearization? Why choose graduation from high school as our goal? Well in spirit of President Kennedy let us declare aloud that we intend to see every child graduate high school in the decade ahead not because it will be easy, but because it will be hard.

Because that goal of every child having the chance at a better life will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because the challenge of every child being given the opportunity to reach their dreams is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

For this represents the mission that unites all of those who feel Marcus’ absence the most. No matter the amount, our donations to the Marcus Ewing Memorial Fund help HI-DEF in its effort to provide young boys and girls with the thrust they will need to liftoff  from their fears and doubts.  We aid HI-DEF in its hope to supply young boys and girls with the propulsion they will require to breach harsh atmospheres of prejudice and injustice. We support HI-DEF in its desire to help young boys and girls navigate around black holes of rage and bitterness.

And while Marcus very much desired to see the boys and girls of HI-DEF successfully land on the graduation stage, he fostered an even greater hope for the young boys and girls of HI-DEF learn about how life’s most critical mission, which Jesus Christ had already completed for them. For when it came to the long voyage of seeking out Christ’s galactic mercy, Marcus encouraged the boys and girls of HI-DEF to start by breaking one bad habit. When it came to the distant quest of searching for Christ’s universal peace,  Marcus advised the boys and girls and HI-DEF to proceed by taking one deep breath. And when it came to the prolonged journey of pursuing Christ’s cosmic love, Marcus persuaded the boys and girls of HI-DEF to begin by taking one small step. 

CJE