Church Service Remembers Families Lost in Plane Crash

Following on the heels of a special service the night before to honor the five children lost in a tragic Alaska plane crash, friends, family and parishioners again packed Christ Church Episcopal on Friday to say goodbye and honor the memories of the Antonakos and McManus families that perished this past Sunday.

The morning liturgical service served as yet more closure for a community that has been rocked by the nine deaths that claimed two families widely viewed as pillars of their neighborhoods, their communities, and their church.

The two families perished this past Sunday when their plane, piloted by veteran Alaskan pilot Walter Rediske, crashed shortly after takeoff in Soldotna, Alaska, killing all on board. The crash is one of the worst to hit Alaska in several years and came on the heels of another crash June 28 that killed two Simpsonville residents, John Ellenberg and Laurie Buckner.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are still poring over records and crash evidence in Alaska in an effort to determine what caused the fatal crash.

In addressing those assembled, church Rector, the Rev. Harrison McLeod, said: 

"I once heard an old preacher tell his congregation that people come to church on Sunday morning with just one question in mind: Is it true? The message of the gospel: the love of God, the promise of eternal life, can God be trusted? Is it true? 

"Well, if that is the question on people’s minds on a Sunday morning, then when a parish and an entire community gather together around hurting families on a Friday morning at 11 o’clock in the wake of tragedy, the question is all the more urgent and compelling: Is it true?" McLeod asked.

"The names of those from who we have been separated are fresh in our minds: Melet, Kim, Olivia, Mills, Ana, Chris, Stacy, Meghan and Connor. Their smiles are etched in our memories and, even today bring us fleeting moments of comfort that lighten our weary hearts," McLeod said. "For those of us gathered here in this holy place, and indeed for countless people across this community and the world, the questions linger and cry out for answers."

The community is still trying to come to grips with how and why these two families, so young and vital, perished.

A 17-year-old girl and fellow church member who knew both families said Thursday night after the childrens' service, "There's just this huge hole in my heart, in all our hearts. I haven't stopped crying since I heard about it. The shock is just like, unbelievable. Everybody's been saying just how incredible they all were, and it's true. All true. They were just the best people. They were just so — alive. Nothing will ever be the same again."

The Rev. McLeod told parishioners that however brief their lives, the presence of both families had been a gift from God.

"We have the examples of their lives among us, but we have more than that: we have the gift that they forever changed our lives," McLeod said. "They, each one, in unique and treasured ways, called each of us to be better people, more loving people, more generous people, more compassionate people, more open-hearted people: they called us to be Christ-like.

"Melet, Kim, Olivia, Mills, Ana, Chris, Stacy, Meghan and Connor called us to be the very people God created us to be," the Reverend continued. "They loved the God who loved them and by their love and by their lives they themselves have reassured us, even in the midst of our grief, that the answer to the question we have all been asking is yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Even in the midst of the burden of grief, our loved ones look down upon us this very day and as living witnesses tell us from their place in paradise, that indeed it is true, our God can be trusted."