Aldrin had communion on the Moon
Cover of Neil Armstrong |
Despite Armstrong's great accomplishment, he never wanted to be in the spotlight. After returning from the moon he moved back to a small town in Ohio, taught college, and raised a family. Armstrong rarely spoke to the media, but in one of his last interviews, he said his greatest disappointment is that he never once had a dream about his walk on the moon. Aldrin, an elder in his Presbyterian church at the time, had planned a special commemoration for the 1969 moon landing. According to author Eric Metaxas, Aldrin carried a communion wafer and a small vial of communion wine that had been blessed by his pastor. After the lunar module touched down, Aldrin asked everyone to take a moment to give thanks in their own way. He then read scripture and took communion on the moon. "I am the vine, you are the branches," Aldrin read from John 15:5. "Whoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing." Aldrin wanted the event to be broadcast back to earth. But NASA decided against it since the agency was embroiled with a lawsuit with atheist Madelyn Murry O’Hair.