Today is Sadie Hawkins Day. That’s the day in Al Capp’s cartoon world of Dogpatch where unmarried men and women participated in a race. If a woman could catch a man, he had to marry her. And the weddings were done by the itinerant minister, Marryin’ Sam. Sam was an opportunist, trying to make a buck wherever he could. The character reflected Capp’s cynical attitude toward religion.

There have been TV shows with respected characters like the Rev. Matthew Fordwick in “The Waltons” or Father Mulcahy in “MASH.” Too often, however,  the only time a religious leader appears in a movie or TV show is for  comic value or sometimes as the villain.

I’ve known a lot of pastors, ministers, priests, brothers and sisters in my life. Since I am a Lutheran pastor, I may be prejudiced, but most of them are hard-working, faithful men and women doing the best they can. There probably isn’t one that I agree with 100%, but that’s a good thing. A lot of important things wouldn’t happen if everyone was exactly like me.

I appreciate the role pastors play in churches. When my father died, his church didn’t have a called pastor. An interim who had never met him conducted the service at a funeral parlor. He did the best he could, but there was a kind of emptiness in me as a result. I am grateful for the salt of the earth pastors I have known like Ralph Riedesel, Marvin Tack, Larry Pinnow, Ed Holloway and Art Wuertz.

I’ll have more to say next week.

Read Ephesians 4:11-12 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne