Pastor's Note

THEN AND NOW
October 7th, 2007

On a sunny fall afternoon last week, I visited the Battle of Fallen Timbers monument on the other side of the river. Almost no one was around that day. I took the time to read all the inscriptions and really study the marvelous bronze statue. Then I just sat on a park bench overlooking the river valley.
More than two hundred years ago, a decisive battle took place on the battlefield adjacent to the monument area. I’m glad that it was quiet, so I could think.
The monument commemorates both the Indians who died and the early settlers who fought against them, not to mention the various soldiers felled in that battle. One phrase under the names of deceased soldiers, “buried in unmarked graves…in this area” stayed with me. I found myself trying to picture these men and their families who somewhere missed them.
Lots of years have passed. Across the highway, I could see the new mall that was preparing for its grand opening. Traffic hummed along Route 24 (poignantly named the Anthony Wayne Trail, farther into town). For me, though, I felt the heaviness of battle, warfare, and death.
Although this battle led to the Treaty of Greenville and the opening of Ohio to settlers, it also meant many Indians lost their land. Could there have been other ways to settle the country without fighting and killing?
Warfare still goes on. Usually the numbers are much greater than those who lost their lives on this small battlefield. We simply cannot stop trying to find alternatives to war as a way of resolving differences.
Visiting the past can help us consider new ways to approach the present.