Anglican Communion News Service

[Beliefnet] "If I'd been born in space I would desire to visit the beautiful Earth more than I ever yearned to visit space. It's a wonderful planet," wrote Capt David Brown to his parents in the last e-mail they'd receive from him.

Capt Brown was close to his parents, visiting their Virginia home often - once to deliver a computer so they could receive his emails from space. Raised Episcopalian, he was an acolyte at his Arlington, Virginia parish. His father is now an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington, Virginia. At the request of his father, Capt Brown spoke to the church's Brotherhood of St Andrew - a men's fellowship group - during one of his visits. "He made a wonderful presentation," recalls Trinity's rector, the Revd Jennings Hobson. "I saw a truly happy, passionate, caring person."

Episcopal churches across the nation are mourning the loss of the shuttle crew; in Texas, several Episcopal churches are directly in the pathway of the debris. Many NASA employees and their families are parishioners at St Thomas the Apostle in Nassau Bay, Texas, where a Saturday night prayer vigil was held.

In Lufkin, Texas, the rector of St Cyprian's included a dedicated Eucharist for the astronauts and their families in his Sunday service. The Collect for Burial was read from the Book of Common Prayer, and in many churches, the names of the astronauts were included in the Prayers of the People.