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Apollo 11 capcom and Apollo 16 lunar module pilot Charlie Duke addresses Monte Sano Methodist Church in Alabama, July 22, 2012. Congregants snacked on Moon Pies and Tang before heading into the sanctuary to commemorate Buzz Aldrin's "lunar communion" 43 years ago, Friday [Glenn Baeske/The Huntsville Times]. "It seemed only appropriate that astronaut Charlie Duke - the 10th human to set foot on the moon - was the guest of honor at the church's "Lunar Communion" service Sunday morning. Duke said he didn't have a spiritual experience, per se, during the 20 hours he spent combing the moon's surface.But...

Today is the 40th anniversary of man’s first steps on the surface of the moon. On July 20, 1969, Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended from the lunar module Eagle, with Armstrong uttering these famous first words: “That’s one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.” A short while later, Aldrin privately added some words to mark the occasion . . . from the Word. On his website author Eric Metaxas shares Aldrin’s little-known story of taking communion on the moon: “In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread...

On Sunday July 20, 1969 the first people landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were in the lunar lander which touched down at 3:17 Eastern Standard Time. Buzz Aldrin had with him the Reserved Sacrament. He radioed: “Houston, this is Eagle. This is the LM pilot speaking. I would like to request a few moments of silence. I would like to invite each person listening in, whoever or wherever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the last few hours, and to give thanks in his own individual way.”