After a long and anxious flight on Sept. 11, an Irish clergyman and his wife have comfortably settled into a visit to Maine, where they are being hosted in Gorham by the Rev. David Butler.
On Sunday, Butler, pastor at First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham, introduced the Very Rev. Patrick Towers, rector of the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas in Galway, Ireland, and his wife, Anne, to his Gorham congregation Sunday.
“We have a special guest today. I’m all agog and all a twitter,” Butler said.
The Towerses are staying with Butler and his wife, Maureen, during their visit to the United States.
Following an unexplained landing delay after a Sept. 11 flight to Boston’s Logan International Airport from Shannon Airport in Ireland, Towers and his wife were glad to see Butler when they entered the terminal in Boston.
He told Butler’s parishioners that the plane had been set to land in Boston when it suddenly lurched upward. He said rain was pelting the plane while it circled before landing.
“It was like Jonah was about to surface in a whale,” Towers joked, describing the weather. “We were all crossing ourselves on the final approach.”
When they scheduled their flight to the United States, he said, friends asked, “Why are going to fly on that day?”
But the couple didn’t bow down to fear of a terrorist attack, although they said there was a sense of awareness of the date. Towers said the tragic date is significant all around the world. He said 9/11 is a universal phrase.
Anne Towers said security at Shannon Airport had been doubled that day they boarded for the flight to the United States. The date was on their mind.
“You couldn’t possibly land without thoughts of it,” Anne Towers said about the attack on the United States six years ago.
Anxiety hit the airline passengers when a sudden “surge” carried the plane aloft after wheels had been down for a landing. “Everyone was silent,” Anne Towers said.
She said it was a relief when the plane landed safely after circling Logan. “Passengers applauded when we landed,” she said. “They all burst into spontaneous applause.”
“It was like an encounter with Moses,” Towers said of seeing Butler at the airport.
Butler first met Towers on a trip to Ireland a few years ago. Then, the choir from the Gorham church accepted an invitation from Towers to perform three concerts at St. Nicholas last year. The choir received a big welcome in Ireland. “We’ve never had such choir singing,” Towers said.
Towers spoke for several minutes from the pulpit and held parishioners captive with his wit.
“That concludes the entertainment portion,” Butler laughed when Towers returned to his seat in a pew.
The two pastors and their wives had planned a cultural and clerical exchange for next May until a recent, unexpected turn of events thwarted their plans. Towers said after Sunday’s service that his church is hosting a huge synod by the Church of Ireland, which is meeting in Galway for the first time.
“It’s a big honor,” Towers said.
The pastors are now trying to decide on mutually acceptable dates for the exchange. Each pastor would assume the full responsibility for shepherding one another’s church flock for a short time in an exchange.
“It’s not a vacation. It’s work,” Anne Towers said.
Patrick Towers said it would be a challenge standing in Butler’s pulpit even for a few services. He marveled how Butler holds the attention of his congregation. “He’s a gifted preacher,” Towers praised Butler.
The historic St. Nicholas Church, dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, is centuries older than Gorham First Parish’s building, which was constructed in 1798. St. Nicholas was built in the 14th century. Towers told the Gorham congregation that Christopher Columbus had once worshipped there.
Following the Reformation, Catholic Masses weren’t held there for 400 years, but now, St. Nicholas shares. Masses for Catholics and services of other churches, like the Russian Orthodox Church, are held at St. Nicholas.
Towers said he has a core group of about 300 parishioners, but services swell to as many as 1,000 on special holidays like Christmas, Easter or All Souls Day.
Following the Sunday service in Gorham, parishioners crowded around their visitors at a reception. “It’s fascinating for us to be here,” Patrick Towers said.
Since their arrival in Maine, the visitors have been busy dining in restaurants and sightseeing. This week, the couple planned a trip along the Maine coastline. Anne Towers has enjoyed shopping in the Old Port section of Portland and at the Maine Mall.
“A good deal of retail therapy,” she said.
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