A Walk, A Wedding and an Important Reminder

I was in Philadelphia this weekend to officiate at a wedding.  It was really one of those lovely moments, as a friend who was widowed a few years back remarried.  But that's another story for another time!

While in Philadelphia I took a couple of long walks and was rather impressed by the number of different houses of worship that I passed in my travels.  A Mormon Temple--complete with the angel Moroni on the steeple.  A Lithuanian Catholic Church.  An Eastern Orthodox Church.  Presbyterian church.  A couple of Episcopal churches.  A school founded by Quakers.  A Reform synagogue listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  A non-denominational congregation housed in a repurposed church building that had once housed a denominational church.  And more.  Many more.  It often seemed like there was a house of worship on every corner!

Pennsylvania, of course, was one of the colonies that promoted religious liberty--long before my home state in new England.   It helped pave the way for what eventually found its way nationally into the Bill of Rights and in time each state constitution.

That walk in Philadelphia reminded me that we are not a Christian nation.  And, arguably, never were a Christian nation.  But we always have been a nation that values the right of each citizen to choose whether or not to explore what it means to be human, what it means to be connected to others, what it means to be a part of something that transcends that which is visible.  What a precious right!  Thanks Philadelphia for the reminder.

And Jeff and Lynn--all the best as you set out on your new life together!  Thanks for the honor of officiating--and the chance to stroll through a bit of history!