National Cathedral

On Sept. 14, 2001, President Bush stood in the pulpit of the National Cathedral in Washington and issued a call for vengeance. "Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history," he told the nation and the world. "But our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil." It was an unmistakable prediction of war to come and a statement of theological justification shared with a people still in shock and raw with grief.

The three soldiers, surrounded by a low chain-link fence, stand well back from the black granite wall on the Washington Mall.They seem to have just emerged from the small grove of trees behind them, their eyes open wide in the wild stare of stunned survivors astonished to be alive.Alive! Their gaze arcs across the grassy knoll toward the sad archipelago of names engraved in stone on the distant memorial. Alive, when so many already have perished! Alive, when so many are yet to perish!The artist who sculpted these soldiers, Frederick Hart, knew how to make mute stone and bronze speak.

Debbi Bourke makes lacrosse look so simple.She races past opponents down the field, catches the ball in full stride and instinctively whips a pass to a wide-open teammate or goes straight to the goal for a high-percentage shot.At times, it looks as if she could completely dominate any game.But the Liberty senior attacker doesn't believe in one-person shows."I don't like girls who take the ball through three people to score," said Bourke. "I prefer to pass."That is exactly what the 5-foot-2 Bourke has been doing a lot during her three years on the Liberty varsity team that is 39-3 with Bourke around.

When members of the Liberty and Seton Keough girls lacrosse teams return to school this week, some of them are certain to be asked: "How did you spend your Easter weekend?"They could say: "Oh, not too much. I just played a little lacrosse with Vice President Al Gore's daughters."They certainly did.Kristin and Sarah Gore kind of stole the show most of the afternoon yesterday at Liberty High even though their National Cathedral (D.C.) School team had to settle for third place in the Liberty "House of Ruth" Lacrosse Invitational tournament.

The Liberty girls lacrosse team has cranked out another scoring phenom.The newest version of instant offense for the Lions is senior midfielder Amie Rose, who has ripped apart four Howard County teams for 18 goals and four assists in four easy wins.Rose is off to such a torrid start that she might surpass Nathalie Skovron's county record of 76 goals in 18 games for Liberty, set in 1994.Skovron averaged 4.2 goals, and Rose is scoring 4.5 goals a game, putting her on pace to score 81 if Liberty makes it all the way to the state finals (18 games)

Give Courtney Vaughn credit.The Liberty girls lacrosse coach knows how to throw a tournament.She invites Vice President Al Gore's two daughters, Kristin and Sarah, and their National Cathedral (D.C.) School teammates.The proceeds from the tourney are given to the House of Ruth, a shelter for battered women.A first-class tournament program is put together, with extensive information on each team, complete rosters, an in-depth explanation of the rules of girls lacrosse, and a complete diagram of all the signals used by the officials for game violations.

When Old Mill girls basketball coach Pat Chance looked at her team before the season, she said the Patriots were so good, they were scary.Playing Old Mill has been frightening for a number of opponents this winter, including Southern."

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court arranged yesterday a special tribute to Justice Thurgood Marshall.His casket will be available for viewing in the court's cavernous Great Hall throughout the day tomorrow. The only other justice to be honored in this way was Chief Justice Earl Warren, a court spokesman said.Mr. Marshall, 84, the nation's first black justice and a celebrated civil rights lawyer earlier in his career, died Sunday afternoon.The public viewing of his casket will be followed by public funeral services at 11 a.m. Thursday at the National Cathedral.

RIVERDALE -- No. 2 Old Mill squandered a 19-point lead las night, and National Cathedral claimed a 61-59 overtime victory in the semifinals of the 20th annual IAABO Girls Invitational Christmas Basketball Tournament at Parkdale High School.The Patriots (3-1), runners-up to Mt. Hebron in last year's IAABO-sponsored event, play Laurel in a 6 p.m. consolation game. Laurel lost to Bishop O'Connell of Arlington, Va., 64-47, in the other semifinal.The defending two-time state champion Patriots had been expected to play in tonight's championship game at 8."

Washington You're at a swanky dinner party anywhere in the country -- go ahead, pick a state -- and the person to your right or your left claims to be a Close Personal Friend of the Bushes."

Charlotte S. Wright, a homemaker and volunteer, died of pneumonia Nov. 1 at her Stevenson home. She was 78. Charlotte Simpson was born and raised in Milwaukee. She was a 1947 graduate of Downer Seminary, now The University School, and earned a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1951. She was married in 1951 to E. Hilton Wright, who worked for the A.H. Bull Steamship Co., a family-owned business. The couple lived in Montclair, N.J., Bryn Mawr, Pa., and La Jolla, Calif., before moving to Baltimore in 1957.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown's cousin was fatally shot in Gaithersburg on Saturday night by her ex-boyfriend, who was then killed by Montgomery County police officers responding to the domestic dispute, officials said yesterday. Catherine T. Brown, 40, a teacher at Beauvoir National Cathedral Elementary School in Washington, was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot in the garage of her home in the 9400 block of Vineyard Haven Drive in Montgomery Village, police said. The lieutenant governor flew back to Maryland yesterday morning from Denver, where he was participating in the Democratic National Convention.

When the Rev. Canon Eugene T. Sutton was elected the 14th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, the first person he called was his 94-year-old grandmother, a devout Baptist who lives in a Washington nursing home. "Her prayers for me have made all the difference in the world," Sutton said. But more than that, he knew she could appreciate the twists of history that led to his election. Sutton, who will be consecrated tomorrow as the state's first African-American bishop, is the great-great-grandson of slaves.

On Sept. 14, 2001, President Bush stood in the pulpit of the National Cathedral in Washington and issued a call for vengeance. "Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history," he told the nation and the world. "But our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil." It was an unmistakable prediction of war to come and a statement of theological justification shared with a people still in shock and raw with grief.

WASHINGTON -- Former presidents, a glittering array of old colleagues and everyday Americans honored Gerald R. Ford during a state funeral and other solemn ceremonies here yesterday that marked a national day of mourning for the 38th president. Friends and family, fighting tears as they recalled a kind and modest man thrust into a leadership role in a time of crisis, paid their respects during a somber service at the National Cathedral. "Jerry Ford's decency was the ideal remedy for the deception of Watergate.

No. 2 Calvert Hall captured the boys championship yesterday in the Maryland/D.C. Private Schools State meet at Glenelg Country School. The Cardinals' top two runners were Tony Rowe (fourth) and Chris Swisko (15th), and they finished with 90 points, beating out Archbishop Spalding (100) and St. Albans (115). Calvert Hall finished second in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship two weeks ago, falling to top-ranked Loyola by one point. The Dons didn't enter this race.

On June 6, 2006, of Washington, DC, devoted mother of Joseph Davies Tydings and Eleanor Tydings Schapiro. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one sister, Emlen Davies Evers. Memorial Celebration Service will be held on Monday, June 19, at 11 A. M at the National Cathedral. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving Street, N.W., Washington, DC, 20010. Arrangements by Joseph Gawler's Sons Inc.

On June 6, 2006, of Washington, DC, devoted mother of Joseph Davies Tydings and Eleanor Tydings Schapiro. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one sister, Emlen Davies Evers. Memorial Celebration Service will be held on Monday, June 19, at 11 A. M at the National Cathedral. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving Street, N.W., Washington, DC, 20010. Arrangements by Joseph Gawler's Sons Inc.

They add to the skyline of the nation's capital with rising towers and steeples, angels, crosses and gargoyles, and bells pealing in the distance. Washington does not just have famous monuments and government buildings -- it is home to some of the world's most impressive churches, temples and shrines, which attract crowds to their gift shops as well as chapels and sanctuaries. For tourists interested in history and architecture, Washington's churches are must-see stops. National Cathedral The grandest Washington church of all -- the National Cathedral -- sits atop a hill at slightly more than 600 feet above sea level, the highest point in the District of Columbia.

BEFORE I ARRIVED in the United States, I thought I knew what Christianity was all about. As I remembered from primary school, God's most important message was, quite simply, that we should all try to love and understand each other. Christianity stood for empathy, tolerance and modesty. Back home in Belgium, religion has become far less present in day-to-day life than it once was. In particular, it is less apparent a factor on the political scene. While we do have a Christian party, its politicians rarely mention their faith in public.