Words of Welcome

  Luke 15:1-10 There are “in crowds” and the “not-so-in crowds.”  It’s always better to be part of the in-crowd, even if that means living on the margins of the group. At least you’re inside the circle! Unfortunately, not everyone gets to live inside the circle. Even churches have cliques that by design exclude certain people. These cliques might not have secret codes or handshakes, but they do send signals letting people know they’re not welcome.             We see this played out in the 2007 movie Hair Spray. In that movie, John Travolta plays Edna Turnblad, the obese mother of an overweight but determined daughter named Tracy. Edna watches as her very talented daughter is kept from achieving her dream of dancing on the Corny Collins Show. Although Tracy is a very good dancer, she doesn’t fit the youth-oriented variety show’s image of a dancer. So, the “powers that be” collude to make sure she doesn’t get on the show. Even when a slip ...

Luke 15:1-10 There’s the "in crowd" and the "not-so-in crowd." Everybody wants to be part of the in-crowd, but it’s often difficult to crack that circle. In the wonderful new movie Hairspray, which stars John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, the obese mother to an overweight but determined daughter named Tracy, we see one person’s determination to break down those walls. Tracy Turnblad has a dream and nothing will stand in her way. That dream is to dance on the Corny Collins Show – a kind of local American Bandstand. She’s a good dancer, but because she doesn’t fit the image of a dancer, she finds it difficult to break in. Only a slip of fate lets her inside, but still her detractors are merciless. Fortunately her determination and spunk make her a hit and she breaks down the walls for others. There is much to appreciate about this movie, which calls into question our stereotypes and our prejudices, but one of the most important points of this movie is that everyone has ...