Letter from the Pastor

           How would you respond to the question: “What one feature should be changed in our modern culture in order to produce a higher percentage of emotionally healthy children and adults?” It is an interesting question, which would probably draw a unique answer from everyone who attempted a reply. But from one perspective, the most valuable revision would be for adults to begin actively teaching children to love and respect each other and of course, to demonstrate that love and respect in their personal lives and in their family.          Far from showing […]

            It is a fact that we can never really know where we are unless we have an awareness of where we have been.  It is foolish to try to go back and live in the past.  But it is an act of wisdom to remember it, reflect on it, and learn from it.            Any accurate inventory of the past will include some happy memories.  We should hold on to those and carry them with us from one year to the next.  Then when the road gets difficult, as surely it will, we can […]

        A group of retired residents of an institution diplomatically called “A Home for    Senior Citizens” had gathered for an afternoon discussion led by a volunteer from a local university.  Each person was asked to quote a favorite poem or to sing a favorite song and then to comment on the verse or song.  One frail, little lady both began and ended the session when she lifted her hand and repeated part of a familiar line: “Grow old along with me… the best is yet to be.”  No sooner had her voice faded in the air than […]

             When Harry Truman was president of the United States, his daughter, Margaret, was aspiring to a career in opera.  The music critics had written some rather discouraging things about her future in that particular field.  Finally, she went to a specialist for an assessment of her chances of becoming an opera star.  After several days of evaluation, the specialist gave her opinion.  She said to Miss Truman, “You have a beautiful voice.  It is big enough and rich enough for opera.  The problem is with your ear.  And because of your ear, you will never attain greatness.”   […]

         Several years ago, there was a story in the news about a family in a small town in Florida. It consisted of a father, a mother, and two young sons. They were a normal family, except for one problem.  Both boys    had AIDS. Both boys had contracted the virus through a blood transfusion. Their presence in the public school was bitterly resisted by other parents, whose children attended that same school. One night, under suspicious  circumstances, the family’s house burned to the ground.  Finally, they were forced to move to another town. They had been rejected by their own community.       […]