May 1996: A Community Between Moments
by Ed Busch, UU Lansing Archivist
The Liberal Express for May 12, 1996 arrived in members’ mailboxes on Monday, May 6 — the day after Sasha Preston-Suni had emergency brain surgery following the Cedar Street skywalk collapse. The congregation that opened it was simultaneously in crisis, in transition, and going about the ordinary business of church life. All three of those things are visible on its pages.
What Happened
On the afternoon of April 29, 1996, a disposal truck’s hydraulic lift — extended well above legal clearance — struck the pedestrian skywalk over South Cedar Street near Maplewood Elementary School just as classes let out. The structure collapsed, throwing six children to the pavement more than fourteen feet below. Sasha Preston-Suni, an eight-year-old connected to the congregation through Religious Education, suffered a critical head injury and required surgery that night to relieve pressure on her brain. Her mother, Lisa Preston, her father Karl, and her brother Kian were among those keeping vigil. Sasha was still listed in serious condition when the newsletter went to press.
The Lansing State Journal covered the accident on its front page the following morning. The broader Lansing community was shaken. So was the congregation.
“REVerberations”
Rev. Norman Naylor wrote his column the day after the accident — he says so in the first sentence. He doesn’t reach for reassurance or explanation. The accident, he writes, “reminds us that we really can’t prepare ourselves for what is simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Theology, for Unitarian Universalists, doesn’t explain why such things happen; it comes into play in how we respond — with courage, hope, and mutual care.
Rev. Norm Naylor
He acknowledges the fear that takes hold after an event like this, in children and adults alike: the hesitation at a crosswalk, the moment before sleep. His answer is not that the fear is unfounded but that we have little choice except to live as if we will get to the other side safely. “There is no other way to live,” he writes, “unless being a hermit is an option. And even then….”
Then he turns to the congregation’s response: “The response of our church community has been wonderful. There is a genuine desire and need to be supportive of Lisa, Karl, Kian and Sasha. Yes, this is a primary reason for a church community, to support one another in times of need.”
He closes with a brief prayer — Spirit of Life, come unto us, come unto us — and signs it simply: Faithfully, Norman.
R.E. News and Views
Teresa Putnam’s Religious Education column covers the same ground from a different angle. The accident had a tremendous impact on the congregation — especially on those who knew Sasha through RE. But what Putnam wants to name is what the response revealed: calls of concern, offers of meals and services, the outpouring of practical care. She had seen Unitarian Universalism at work that week, and seen the strength it gave to Lisa, Karl, Kian, and Sasha. This, she suggests, is why we are a religious community.
Greetings “After the Fact” from Barbara
Alongside the crisis, the newsletter carries a letter from Rev. Barbara Edgecombe — writing from her current congregation at St. John’s — accepting the call to become UU Lansing’s settled minister. She had missed the congregational meeting because UUA policy encourages ministerial candidates to leave the premises during the vote. She is cheerfully rueful about it: she missed seeing everyone’s faces, and is writing this letter as the next best thing.
Her letter looks forward to the work of maintaining and expanding the liberal religious community the congregation had built over nearly 150 years. A sesquicentennial, she notes, would fall during her second year with them.
The juxtaposition is striking. A congregation in the middle of a crisis, welcoming its future minister — who is writing from a distance, not yet knowing what the week has held.
The Rest of the Newsletter
And then there is everything else. The calendar is full: choir rehearsals, the Men’s Group, ballroom dancing, the UU Women’s Evening Group, a bikers’ planning party, bridge night at Joan Kemper’s, preparations for Yankee Springs Memorial Day weekend. A call for RE teachers. An invitation to the Ushers Potluck.
And, on page 7, a letter from caretaker Bob Lewis — candid, a little exasperated — defending the placement of the minister’s and caretaker’s parking signs against anonymous complaints. He explains, in careful detail, why the parking space matters to someone who lives in the building around the clock. He closes by noting that he has no intention of changing the decision based on complaints of unknown origin, number, or reasoning.
It is, in its way, a perfectly ordinary piece of congregational life: a minor dispute, aired with dignity, in the church newsletter.
A Week the Newsletter Holds
Nearly thirty years later, what this issue captures is not a dramatic turning point but something more specific: a single week in which the congregation was called to be exactly what it said it was. The principles were not abstract that week. The community that showed up for Sasha’s family, that filled the calendar with the routines of common life, that welcomed a new minister and argued about parking — that was the congregation.
The newsletter arrived on May 6. By then, the worst might still have been ahead. But the community was already at work.
Seeking Your Input
If you were part of the congregation during this period, your memories matter to this project. What do you remember about that spring — the accident, the congregation’s response, or simply what church life felt like in those weeks? Written recollections are welcome, as are photos, bulletins, letters, or other materials you may have held onto. Even fragments help. If you have something to share, or simply a story you’ve never written down, please reach out at uucgl.archives@gmail.com.
Acknowledgment
This post was researched and written by Ed Busch. AI writing assistants — Claude and ChatGPT — were used to help organize and refine the presentation of archival content. The research, archival work, and interpretive judgments are his own.
About the Author
Ed Busch is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing and serves as the volunteer archivist for the congregation. He is retired from Michigan State University, where he worked in digital preservation and archives. Through the UU Lansing Archives project, he enjoys uncovering stories from church newsletters, board records, photographs, and local history sources to help connect the congregation’s past with its present.
Sources
Liberal Express, May 6, 1996 (mailed). Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing Archives.
Miner, Betsy J., Jodi Upton, and Mark Mayes. “Falling Skywalk Thrusts Pain and Anguish on City.” Lansing State Journal, May 1, 1996, p. 9.
Miner, Betsy J., and Mark Mayes. “Kids’ Security Shattered.” Lansing State Journal, May 1, 1996, p. 1.