It’s one of the classic scenes in American cinema, from Cecil B. DeMille’s blockbuster, The Ten Commandments. A young Charlton Heston playing Moses, standing upon the rock overlooking the seas, lifting his staff, declaring, “Behold, his mighty hand!” as the orchestra brass blares around him and the waters begin to churn and then part before him like a coat being unzipped, forming two enormous walls on either side as Israelites and Egyptians alike look on in awe and wonder.

FED Talks: Faith, Experience and Discovery, Night 1
Annette Hitt, Gates Skene, Bill Lee, Suzanne Boone, and Masyn Evans-Clements give short talks based on the prompt, “Where I’ve Seen God.”

Several years ago, I was serving as a hospital chaplain the summer after graduating from seminary when I found myself with a family who was about to unexpectedly say goodbye to a loved one; an older gentleman who had been rushed to the hospital and was in cardiac arrest. When I arrived at the room, they were all standing around the bed, about five of them, each touching his leg or arm and talking to him, hoping he would hear. We said a prayer together, and then we all stood there in silence, the weight of the moment bearing down on us.

Every week, during the school year, there is something that happens in the children’s area that I suspect most of us do not see.

In the first part of the 19th century, Egypt was a British colony and the age of egyptology was just starting to take off, with these massive archaeological efforts uncovering ancient tombs and artifacts arriving in British museums for a captivated public.