WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
July 31, 2011
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Matthew 14:13-21
“Enough for Everyone!”
“There is enough in this world for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed.” These words from Ghandi remind us of a simple truth: There is enough to go around. At the heart of our faith is the belief that no one should go hungry, no one should hoard, and everyone should have enough for their needs.
This truth begins with creation. God provides the plants and animals for food. But human beings seem to believe that they know better. Over and over again the kingdoms of the earth realize that food is a powerful political tool. With it, they can control their workforce and ensure that people stay in line. Nowhere was this truer than in Egypt. Out of hunger all of the Israelites willingly submit to slavery because they are hungry. Those who are deeply hungry and live with uncertainty about food often make bad long term decisions in order to eat. God’s response to this kind of abuse is clear. God punishes Egypt for the use of food as a weapon and people as tools.
When Israel travelled through the desert God provides manna for them to eat. When God provides the food it comes with an ideological bent. Exodus sixteen shows again what God expects humans to do with food. Whether people can fend for themselves or not, everyone has according to their need. Anyone who is not physically able to fend for them still has enough. And anyone who hoards food finds out that it rotted. Food is not to be used as a weapon, it is not to be hoarded and everyone should have what they need.
Years later, when Israel had become its own nation and had its own kings it seemed to internalize the lessons learning in Egypt. The nation faced a food shortage and as a result the poor, the widow, and the orphan were left to fend for themselves. This does not make Israel unique. After all, empires always act in this way. When there is little to go around, Kings and other leaders will cut back in ways that impact the poor most harshly.
In the midst of what really is a manufactured food shortage, God sends Elijah to a struggling widow. No attention is paid to the deliberations of the kings and leaders during this national crisis. I suppose it is because we already know how those debates will turn out. The cuts will come at the expense of those already struggling. But in this story, God’s story, we are reminded that God wants us to pay more attention to those who are ignored by those in positions of power.
In I Kings 17, God sends Elijah to see a widow who knows something about food insecurity. While this story usually focuses on the Widows’ faith, it highlights how far Israel has gone from God’s intention. If the leaders of the country knew God’s desires, if they remembered God’s commands, there would not have been any starving poor in their land. God does provide for the widow in miraculous ways, but if we stop with that interpretation, we miss that this is intended as a critic to the Imperial policies of Israel. There is enough to go around.
The struggles with food and food insecurity were also part of the life of the Judean peasants. A new Empire arose that did not know the ways and desires of God. They turned food into a commodity, exacted taxes and created a new system which leads to more widespread poverty. And anyone who was a serious threat to this system was killed. And that is where our scripture picks up today. “Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” What was it that Jesus heard? John the Baptist, his cousin and another troublemaker was beheaded by Herod. When Jesus heard this, he was aware of the danger and went away into the countryside alone.
While Jesus goes away, he is followed by the very people who supported John and were moved by Jesus’ teaching as well. These are the people who were at the receiving end of the current Imperial policies. And when Jesus has compassion on them, it is not something that should surprise anyone. However, it should not be seen only as an act of charity. It is a critic of those who turn food into commodity and a concrete lesson on how to survive when food is used as a weapon in this way.
The disciples of Jesus have trouble with their memory. They have forgotten the manna story and they have forgotten about Elijah. When the disciples of Jesus forget the stories of God, their memories and imaginations are trapped by Imperial myths and propaganda. And what does the imperial myth want us to believe? If people are hungry, they need to fend for themselves. The marketplace will provide. Food is supposed to be a commodity like everything else. There is not enough for everyone so let people fend for themselves because there is nothing we can do against the injustice of the day. It is in direct opposition to these myths and against the imperial market policies that Jesus feeds five thousand without money.
How is this possible? Bring me what you have Jesus says. Focus on what you have! Jesus then begins to organize the crowd. He is teaching the disciples and the crowd how to share. No one would have gone into the wilderness without some food in their pocket. What Jesus is showing them is that they do not need to set up an elaborate feeding program to rival the power of Rome. Instead, what he is showing is how God works. If everyone shares what they have, there will be enough to go around and more. Sit down in groups, take what you have, put it on the table and watch what happens. The crowd watching Jesus and the disciples respond and begin to pull out what they have. And by the time it is over there is more food than five thousand people can eat!
In our own time, the disciples of Jesus need to be reminded of how trapped we are by imperial myths. The imperial myths today tell us that there is not enough to go around. We just assume that food is a commodity on which some will make money and others will not be able to partake. The most vulnerable in society are being ignored and we all know it. We know that when our leaders talk about needed cuts, what they mean is less for the middle class and poor because we cannot cut back the cash going to Wall Street. We know this story but we cannot be overwhelmed or in despair because of it. The disciples of Jesus needed to be reminded to begin with what we have.
So what do we have? What do we see when you look around? Do we see a church of just a few people, too young or too old to make change? Do we see a building and community that was a shell of its former self? If that is what we see, we have been trapped by the imperial myths. It is time for Jesus to sit us down and help us focus on what we have. There is enough here already. We do not need to wait for this or that. We do not need to go quietly into that good night. We need to be reminded of our faith that says; God works at the edges, in the wilderness places, with often unnamed and unnoticed people. We already have enough to do the work and ministry of Jesus in this place. There is enough. There is only one question left, the answer to which comes by our action. And that question is, do we really believe that or not?
Amen? Amen!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
A Word for the Struggling
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
July 3, 2011
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
“A Word for the Struggling”
Communion Meditation
“…you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.” This passage could be taken out of context and used to justify religious fanaticism and anti-intellectualism. Misunderstanding the passage this way could lead us to believe that Jesus does not want us to be educated and that we should distrust those who are. Unfortunately, there are plenty of followers of Jesus who believe this to be true. The only problem is that interpreting this passage in that way is not only dishonest, it is a misuse of the sacred scripture.
In order not to make this mistake we have to ask some critical questions. First, we have to understand who were the “wise and intelligent” of which Jesus speaks? Jesus lived in a non-literate society. In other words, only a very few people had the ability to read. The vast majority did not have access to formal education. When you add the limited access to information to the power of the Roman imperial myths of power, it becomes easy for those with education to control and manipulate the population. So when Jesus challenges the wise and intelligent he is challenging those who used their knowledge to manipulate and control.
However, to disparage education in our own time through passages like this one is to turn Jesus’ message on its head. In fact, the key to understanding is not the warnings against the “wise and intelligent,” but instead to focus on who Jesus understood to be the “infants.” It seems to be a strange and almost condescending term. And the use of the word infants denotes those who are often labeled as collateral damage today. Women, children, immigrants, and the elderly, are often unaccounted for by our empires, but they are precious in God’s sight. Jesus was concerned with those most vulnerable in society. Jesus’ prayer is a reminder to those who are left out in society that they matter to God. So, if anyone would use this passage in our own society it could not faithfully be co-opted by anyone who has social status or political power. Instead, if Jesus lived in a time when education was more readily available, like it is today, there is no conceivable way that he would encourage sustaining ignorance.
“John came neither eating nor drinking and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and drunkard, a friend to tax collectors and sinners!” It is a very old tactic. When you do not what to deal with the content of your opposition, simply attack their character. Jesus and John represent a significant challenge to the status quo. Anyone who is advocating real substantive change is often met first with character assassination and ultimately death. Both John and Jesus challenged the authenticity of the political and religious leadership. John called people to greater honesty and integrity of their faith. And Jesus had such an inclusive vision that the religious leadership did not know what to do. When Jesus and John stand together you end up with a message of rigorous discipleship and radical inclusivity.
This was not a message that could be tolerated by the religious and political leadership. If the people followed this pattern of rigorous discipleship and radical inclusivity it would have caused problems for the political leadership that practiced convenient discipleship and the religious leadership who practiced radical exclusion. Jesus encouraged those who would seek to follow in this way by saying wisdom would be vindicated by her deeds. It means that despite the character assassination and literal assassination, the work and ways of wisdom will always live on.
It is honestly hard to hear all of this as good news. “Take my yoke…” No matter how easy or light a yoke is, it is still a yoke. For us, as a people weaned on the idea that freedom means freedom from anything and everything, it is hard to imagine a yoke as a welcome idea, let alone good news. But if we are truly honest, none of us are completely free, each of us answers to someone else. And for those who are really struggling, for the widow who has no food, for the family whose money has run out before the end of the month, for the mother who struggles to put food on the table, giving up the current yoke for another may sound like true liberation. Rigorous discipleship and radical inclusion is not a way out but a way to survive and thrive, particularly in hard times.
The yoke Jesus refers to is the challenge to live the message of John and Jesus. Living out those works, making sure our actions are true is a difficult thing. It requires of us a desire to follow John’s call to authentic discipleship. We move from merely being interested in the Bible and move to living out what it teaches. As well it requires a humility that leads to an inclusivity which may get us labeled accomodationist. “Glutton,” “drunkard,” “friend of tax collectors and sinners,” were terms used for Jesus by the religiously faithful. Placing these two teachings side-by-side provides a reminder that both are needed: rigorous discipleship and radical inclusivity. That is a yoke, a burden, because it requires something more of us. It moves us from saying that everyone is welcome to saying everyone is welcome and I will commit my life to rigorous discipleship as well. Radical inclusivity cannot be maintained over the long haul if one is not rigorous in discipleship.
When things are difficult and uncertain and when the struggles of the day are pushing in, the message of the passage is a call to more rigorous discipleship. But this is not something that leads to fundamentalism. Instead, a more rigorous discipleship that leads to greater understanding of the scriptures, will, if we are listening to Jesus, lead to a radical inclusivity. A word for the struggling in this passage is a call to focus on the most important things in our faith. Doing so will not make the problems magically disappear but will equip us for any struggle that might lay ahead. Amen? Amen!
July 3, 2011
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
“A Word for the Struggling”
Communion Meditation
“…you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.” This passage could be taken out of context and used to justify religious fanaticism and anti-intellectualism. Misunderstanding the passage this way could lead us to believe that Jesus does not want us to be educated and that we should distrust those who are. Unfortunately, there are plenty of followers of Jesus who believe this to be true. The only problem is that interpreting this passage in that way is not only dishonest, it is a misuse of the sacred scripture.
In order not to make this mistake we have to ask some critical questions. First, we have to understand who were the “wise and intelligent” of which Jesus speaks? Jesus lived in a non-literate society. In other words, only a very few people had the ability to read. The vast majority did not have access to formal education. When you add the limited access to information to the power of the Roman imperial myths of power, it becomes easy for those with education to control and manipulate the population. So when Jesus challenges the wise and intelligent he is challenging those who used their knowledge to manipulate and control.
However, to disparage education in our own time through passages like this one is to turn Jesus’ message on its head. In fact, the key to understanding is not the warnings against the “wise and intelligent,” but instead to focus on who Jesus understood to be the “infants.” It seems to be a strange and almost condescending term. And the use of the word infants denotes those who are often labeled as collateral damage today. Women, children, immigrants, and the elderly, are often unaccounted for by our empires, but they are precious in God’s sight. Jesus was concerned with those most vulnerable in society. Jesus’ prayer is a reminder to those who are left out in society that they matter to God. So, if anyone would use this passage in our own society it could not faithfully be co-opted by anyone who has social status or political power. Instead, if Jesus lived in a time when education was more readily available, like it is today, there is no conceivable way that he would encourage sustaining ignorance.
“John came neither eating nor drinking and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and drunkard, a friend to tax collectors and sinners!” It is a very old tactic. When you do not what to deal with the content of your opposition, simply attack their character. Jesus and John represent a significant challenge to the status quo. Anyone who is advocating real substantive change is often met first with character assassination and ultimately death. Both John and Jesus challenged the authenticity of the political and religious leadership. John called people to greater honesty and integrity of their faith. And Jesus had such an inclusive vision that the religious leadership did not know what to do. When Jesus and John stand together you end up with a message of rigorous discipleship and radical inclusivity.
This was not a message that could be tolerated by the religious and political leadership. If the people followed this pattern of rigorous discipleship and radical inclusivity it would have caused problems for the political leadership that practiced convenient discipleship and the religious leadership who practiced radical exclusion. Jesus encouraged those who would seek to follow in this way by saying wisdom would be vindicated by her deeds. It means that despite the character assassination and literal assassination, the work and ways of wisdom will always live on.
It is honestly hard to hear all of this as good news. “Take my yoke…” No matter how easy or light a yoke is, it is still a yoke. For us, as a people weaned on the idea that freedom means freedom from anything and everything, it is hard to imagine a yoke as a welcome idea, let alone good news. But if we are truly honest, none of us are completely free, each of us answers to someone else. And for those who are really struggling, for the widow who has no food, for the family whose money has run out before the end of the month, for the mother who struggles to put food on the table, giving up the current yoke for another may sound like true liberation. Rigorous discipleship and radical inclusion is not a way out but a way to survive and thrive, particularly in hard times.
The yoke Jesus refers to is the challenge to live the message of John and Jesus. Living out those works, making sure our actions are true is a difficult thing. It requires of us a desire to follow John’s call to authentic discipleship. We move from merely being interested in the Bible and move to living out what it teaches. As well it requires a humility that leads to an inclusivity which may get us labeled accomodationist. “Glutton,” “drunkard,” “friend of tax collectors and sinners,” were terms used for Jesus by the religiously faithful. Placing these two teachings side-by-side provides a reminder that both are needed: rigorous discipleship and radical inclusivity. That is a yoke, a burden, because it requires something more of us. It moves us from saying that everyone is welcome to saying everyone is welcome and I will commit my life to rigorous discipleship as well. Radical inclusivity cannot be maintained over the long haul if one is not rigorous in discipleship.
When things are difficult and uncertain and when the struggles of the day are pushing in, the message of the passage is a call to more rigorous discipleship. But this is not something that leads to fundamentalism. Instead, a more rigorous discipleship that leads to greater understanding of the scriptures, will, if we are listening to Jesus, lead to a radical inclusivity. A word for the struggling in this passage is a call to focus on the most important things in our faith. Doing so will not make the problems magically disappear but will equip us for any struggle that might lay ahead. Amen? Amen!
What is Welcome?
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
June 26, 2011
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Matthew 10:40-42
“What is Welcome?”
Some of you may remember the television show in the 1980’s called “Cheers.” Some might still be able to sing the theme song. But if not, let me remind you of the refrain. “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.” There is something in those words that speak to us all. In a world where we are so scattered, so short on time, so fragmented, it is a real gift to enter into a place where your name is known. Being known is a true gift. But having people know your name is only the beginning. Being truly welcome is something much more.
When do we know we are truly welcomed and not just merely included? Before I attempt an answer let me do some defining first. Being included means you are part of the group. Learning to be included can often mean succumbing to peer pressure, however slight. In any new setting we are required to figure out what is socially acceptable, how to act, and even what to wear. This pressure is particularly acute when we are in high school and throughout our early adult years. If you do not find yourself pushed or challenged to follow them it means that you may not be all that concerned, or that you are already well acclimated to the group or groups you spend the most time. It might be time to widen your circle a bit.
In our social groups, friends, and even family, we might be included but that does not mean we are welcomed. Being welcomed goes far beyond someone knowing your name or knowing how to act in certain company. Being welcomed allows us to fully let down our walls, put down our masks, and even lay down our agendas, and simply be who we are without feeling pressure to change. Have you ever had that experience? Have you ever been truly welcomed with no strings? If you have, you know what a precious gift this can be.
Because true welcome is so uncommon, it can be hard for us to truly let down when a real welcome is offered. In social or work settings, it can actually be harmful or seen as a sign of weakness to let down the walls. So we accept half hearted or simply socially acceptable forms of inclusion, but welcome is a precious commodity. So, when a church says that it is welcoming, more often than not, we are really saying we are willing to include people.
When Jesus sends his disciples out into the world, he gives them a commission to preach and heal and tell people the kingdom of God is at hand. While they are on the journey they will be able to do deeds of power. And yet, Jesus makes sure when they go, they will have to rely on the hospitality, generosity, and welcome of others for their needs. There will be no expense account, no relying on the hospitality of people they already know and who know them. Instead, they will have to learn to receive a welcome from people they do not know. This is the basic struggle we have with evangelism.
Jesus sends us out to make disciples and the church has too often understood this to mean we are to force people, argue people, coerce people into belief. In doing so we have been able to build big buildings and large programs. But this is not evangelism. Instead, Jesus knew that when the disciples would stop healing, and preaching, they would be much more interesting when they let down over a meal. The shared vulnerability would be way more powerful than any convincing argument or promised program. Sitting down over a meal can be a truly transformative moment, particularly for those who are seeking to follow Jesus’ call to welcome all people to the table.
Mark Yaconelli is the son of a preacher and a long time youth specialist. He has done a lot of work with contemplative prayer and ancient spiritual practices in youth work and found out that it works. He tells a story that I believe expresses the power of true welcome. Mark had gathered his youth group to do some role playing. They were given a chance to play a role around the difficulty of talking about our faith to people outside the church. The two roles were one person of faith talking to a person hostile to faith. As the role play went on, it became obvious that Daniel was no longer role playing as someone hostile to faith. Things finally came to a head when Daniel finally said, “Listen, I was born in South Central – one of the roughest parts of Los Angeles. When I was four years old, my best friend and I were walking to the park when a gun fight broke out. We stood frozen – just watching these gang kids shooting at each other. My friend Benjamin got hit in the chest by a stray bullet. What kind of God allows a four year old to die like that?”
The room got silent and no one quite knew what to say. After a few moments of silence another boy, Jake, offered to take the role of the person of faith. When he sat down, Jake looked directly into Daniels eyes and said nothing. After another moment of silence Daniel finally spoke and said, “So what do you have to say? That my friend Benjamin went to a better place? That this was part of God’s plan? That God makes us suffer so we’ll turn to him? How can you possibly believe all this crap about God being a God of love?” Jake said nothing. He keep looking at Daniel as the silence continued. Then, slowly tears began to stream down Daniel face. Slowly, without saying a word, Jake stood up and embraced Daniel.
No words were ever exchanged between these two and they never talked about it afterword. But there was a marked changed in the group and the way Daniel began to change his life and grow deeper in his faith and life. It is, I believe, because he found a place, a moment of welcome. A place of grace, no words, no expectations, no peer pressure, he simply found the love of God in a welcome place to be exactly where he was at that moment.
This is what welcome is all about. The church can no longer settle to be a place where we include people. We have to go out of our way to welcome others. If you do not know someone in this room, or in the church, reach out to them, particularly if you have been here over five years. Or for that matter, take time to extend a welcome to anyone who is in need. It may be a word, it might be an acknowledgment, it might simply be providing space. This is how we will be a welcoming place.
Likewise, we need to remember the words of Jesus. We need to be open to the welcome offered by others. When a welcome is offered, don’t give pat answers or half hearted stories about how everything is alright. We are invited to offer welcome because it is welcome that we all need. We need to be a place that goes well beyond knowing everyone’s names, but it better start there. The welcome we have been offered in Jesus is not about social graces but complete transformation. Everyone is hungry for a welcome, let us find someone who is in need and offer it. And when we are in need of a welcome, it is my deepest hope that Westminster will be a truly welcoming place. We can get there. Amen? Amen!
June 26, 2011
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Matthew 10:40-42
“What is Welcome?”
Some of you may remember the television show in the 1980’s called “Cheers.” Some might still be able to sing the theme song. But if not, let me remind you of the refrain. “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.” There is something in those words that speak to us all. In a world where we are so scattered, so short on time, so fragmented, it is a real gift to enter into a place where your name is known. Being known is a true gift. But having people know your name is only the beginning. Being truly welcome is something much more.
When do we know we are truly welcomed and not just merely included? Before I attempt an answer let me do some defining first. Being included means you are part of the group. Learning to be included can often mean succumbing to peer pressure, however slight. In any new setting we are required to figure out what is socially acceptable, how to act, and even what to wear. This pressure is particularly acute when we are in high school and throughout our early adult years. If you do not find yourself pushed or challenged to follow them it means that you may not be all that concerned, or that you are already well acclimated to the group or groups you spend the most time. It might be time to widen your circle a bit.
In our social groups, friends, and even family, we might be included but that does not mean we are welcomed. Being welcomed goes far beyond someone knowing your name or knowing how to act in certain company. Being welcomed allows us to fully let down our walls, put down our masks, and even lay down our agendas, and simply be who we are without feeling pressure to change. Have you ever had that experience? Have you ever been truly welcomed with no strings? If you have, you know what a precious gift this can be.
Because true welcome is so uncommon, it can be hard for us to truly let down when a real welcome is offered. In social or work settings, it can actually be harmful or seen as a sign of weakness to let down the walls. So we accept half hearted or simply socially acceptable forms of inclusion, but welcome is a precious commodity. So, when a church says that it is welcoming, more often than not, we are really saying we are willing to include people.
When Jesus sends his disciples out into the world, he gives them a commission to preach and heal and tell people the kingdom of God is at hand. While they are on the journey they will be able to do deeds of power. And yet, Jesus makes sure when they go, they will have to rely on the hospitality, generosity, and welcome of others for their needs. There will be no expense account, no relying on the hospitality of people they already know and who know them. Instead, they will have to learn to receive a welcome from people they do not know. This is the basic struggle we have with evangelism.
Jesus sends us out to make disciples and the church has too often understood this to mean we are to force people, argue people, coerce people into belief. In doing so we have been able to build big buildings and large programs. But this is not evangelism. Instead, Jesus knew that when the disciples would stop healing, and preaching, they would be much more interesting when they let down over a meal. The shared vulnerability would be way more powerful than any convincing argument or promised program. Sitting down over a meal can be a truly transformative moment, particularly for those who are seeking to follow Jesus’ call to welcome all people to the table.
Mark Yaconelli is the son of a preacher and a long time youth specialist. He has done a lot of work with contemplative prayer and ancient spiritual practices in youth work and found out that it works. He tells a story that I believe expresses the power of true welcome. Mark had gathered his youth group to do some role playing. They were given a chance to play a role around the difficulty of talking about our faith to people outside the church. The two roles were one person of faith talking to a person hostile to faith. As the role play went on, it became obvious that Daniel was no longer role playing as someone hostile to faith. Things finally came to a head when Daniel finally said, “Listen, I was born in South Central – one of the roughest parts of Los Angeles. When I was four years old, my best friend and I were walking to the park when a gun fight broke out. We stood frozen – just watching these gang kids shooting at each other. My friend Benjamin got hit in the chest by a stray bullet. What kind of God allows a four year old to die like that?”
The room got silent and no one quite knew what to say. After a few moments of silence another boy, Jake, offered to take the role of the person of faith. When he sat down, Jake looked directly into Daniels eyes and said nothing. After another moment of silence Daniel finally spoke and said, “So what do you have to say? That my friend Benjamin went to a better place? That this was part of God’s plan? That God makes us suffer so we’ll turn to him? How can you possibly believe all this crap about God being a God of love?” Jake said nothing. He keep looking at Daniel as the silence continued. Then, slowly tears began to stream down Daniel face. Slowly, without saying a word, Jake stood up and embraced Daniel.
No words were ever exchanged between these two and they never talked about it afterword. But there was a marked changed in the group and the way Daniel began to change his life and grow deeper in his faith and life. It is, I believe, because he found a place, a moment of welcome. A place of grace, no words, no expectations, no peer pressure, he simply found the love of God in a welcome place to be exactly where he was at that moment.
This is what welcome is all about. The church can no longer settle to be a place where we include people. We have to go out of our way to welcome others. If you do not know someone in this room, or in the church, reach out to them, particularly if you have been here over five years. Or for that matter, take time to extend a welcome to anyone who is in need. It may be a word, it might be an acknowledgment, it might simply be providing space. This is how we will be a welcoming place.
Likewise, we need to remember the words of Jesus. We need to be open to the welcome offered by others. When a welcome is offered, don’t give pat answers or half hearted stories about how everything is alright. We are invited to offer welcome because it is welcome that we all need. We need to be a place that goes well beyond knowing everyone’s names, but it better start there. The welcome we have been offered in Jesus is not about social graces but complete transformation. Everyone is hungry for a welcome, let us find someone who is in need and offer it. And when we are in need of a welcome, it is my deepest hope that Westminster will be a truly welcoming place. We can get there. Amen? Amen!
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