Dear Members and Friends,

Finally we have expressions of the outrage that we have been feeling for some time. What is the outrage? What is it? Is it resentment, or envy, or a little of each? The latest economic news promises a continuing downward spiral, with the disappearance of the middle class. We now have a class of poor people who once were middle class. The middle class has always been the backbone of our democracy and the gatekeepers at a time our freedom was being threatened.

What is the difference between envy and resentment? With envy there is something you can do. With envy you can save your money, which eventually enables you to buy those things which inspired your envy, such as the neighbor’s new car. Once when I bought a new Mercury long ago and drove it into the parsonage driveway, my neighbor came flying out of her house and announced “People who have new cars have accidents and get killed.” She then proceeded to tell me of a man in our town who had just bought a new car in Ticonderoga, and on driving home with his new possession, had an accident and was killed.

Resentment, on the other hand, is an emotion, which is very difficult to handle, because there is nothing you can do about it but be miserable.

The church must be in the forefront in this outrage, as in all justice movements. Let us not be discouraged, but hope that the Original Goodness in all of us will be equal to the task which Love calls us to do now.

I wish for you and all our families a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I hope that in our homes someone will read from Governor Bradford’s Journal before we start our celebration.

Love,