Churchgoer describes encounter with President Bush at St. John's Church.
Since the gist of this piece is an expression of the writer's feelings about President Bush after having encountered him while attending church, there isn't much factual information to verify other than the identity of the writer. Although President Bush is a Methodist, he has attended services at St. John's Church, an Episcopal congregation located in Lafayette Square across from the White House, on a number of occasions, so it is quite plausible that a fellow churchgoer might spot him there on any given Sunday when he is in Washington. (According to White House spokesperson Jeanie Mamo, the President and his family also visit Lincoln Park United Methodist and Washington National Cathedral.) The President was in attendance at St. John's on significant days such as 6 July 2003, his 57th birthday, and on 11 September 2003, the two-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S., and he also reportedly cancelled plans to visit St. John's on 14 December 2003 because he did not want a church to be the setting for his first public appearance after the capture of Saddam Hussein.This piece usually bears an attribution crediting it to Laura Lefler, a staffer employed in the office of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. The Senator's office confirmed for us that Ms. Lefler did indeed write and send the missive:Thanks for writing regarding Ms. Lefler's e-mail. The e-mail reflects the personal experiences of one of our employees, and while we appreciate her enthusiasm, it should really have been sent from her personally and not from our office. Since this is not an official communication of our office, we really can't say anymore about it. We do appreciate your taking the time to get in touch with us.
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