Fifty years ago, we were celebrating our nation’s centennial, and I was accepted
into a Summer of Service with Grace United Methodist Church, which is located in
Harrisburg about 500 feet from the State Capitol Building. My job was to go door to
door and listen to the people who resided in the area bounded by Forster to Walnut
Streets and Front to Third Streets. A letter was mailed to area residents, an outline
for interviews and a notecard was developed. I was also equipped with an official
church name tag, a letter of introduction, and a course on “street smarts” before I
went where few folks had gone before.
My travels carried me into homes, apartments, and boarding homes that covered
half a block. I spent one memorable afternoon drinking tea while conversing with a
family from India. On another, I had to hope a rather flimsy screen door would stand
up to a large Doberman before its owner wondered when I would grow up and go by
my real name. And to celebrate the bicentennial, a wagon train rolled by the church
on its way to visit the capitol. At summer’s end, I wrote up my notes into a detailed
portrait of the area, suggested a few opportunities for outreach ministry, and went
my way, not knowing what might come of my work.
I learned a lot that summer.
I learned about pastors, church leadership, persistence, deadlines, diversity, rush
hour traffic, resilience, and the value of a short nap after lunch. Most importantly, I
learned that a lot of good comes from listening.
James thinks so, too.
In the Bible, we hear him say:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and
slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that
God desires. (James 1:19-20 NIV)
Our national history echoes that truth. Two hundred fifty years ago, a Continental
Congress of Americans began the task of declaring independence and forging a new
nation by listening to each other. They spoke their minds, and they resolved their
differences by forging the best of opposing ideas into a common rule of life whose
founding documents begin with the word “we” – “We hold these truths to be self-
evident… “We the people of the United States…”
No one, including me, listens perfectly. Pride, self-righteousness, and impatience
often jam the channels. Listening is a patient work that demands humility, respect,
curiosity, learning, and time that sets us free to work with each other on the way to
creating one people out of many.

Your Pastor,
Skip Spangler