Words of Welcome

Galatians 3:23-29 “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”  Thus, saith Mark Twain (or at least the online quote pages say so).   What we wear does say something about us.  If you wear a suit and tie to work that suggests one thing, while overalls something else.  Shorts and a T-shirt are  something else still.  Some members of the clergy wear a collar, which suggests that they are working for God.  Some of us go incognito and don’t wear anything special. As women have entered the workforce and political life, they have wrestled with what to wear.  Remember how Hillary Clinton’s pant suites became the talk of the country during the 2008 primary season.  I think she called herself “Have Pant-Suit will travel.”  Wearing a dress might suggest that she was running for First Lady rather than President, so she chose the Pant-Suit.  Yes, clothes can speak volumes about who we are, where we come...

Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Oh, to be free, really free, so that I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted!! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Do you ever have such thoughts? I do! Well, since we’ve come to that time of the year when it’s mandatory to celebrate freedom, maybe it’s appropriate to think about such things as freedom and liberty. You do know that the 4th of July Holiday is just a few days away? I know the 4th is about barbeque, fireworks, parades, and summer sales, but still . . . Maybe it would be a good thing to talk about freedom, especially at a time when some of our freedoms seem to be in danger. Back in 1941 – I know some of you were alive back then -- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared in his State of the Union Address his unswerving support of four freedoms, freedoms that should be for everyone, everywhere. Freedom of speech Freedom of Worship Freedom from Want Freedom from Fear When he spoke these words the United States had not yet entered World War II, but wa...