On this Labor Day weekend!

Dear Congregation,

On this Labor Day weekend, I thought it would be good to remind ourselves that, while Labor Day isn’t a religious holiday, it is much more than a vacation day marking the end of summer. What we believe about work is impacted by our Christian faith.

We have some wise thoughts about work in these scriptures. In Psalm 90 we hear the psalmist’s prayer to God, “…prosper for us the work of our hand, O prosper the work of our hands.” In other words, help us so the work that we do is good and meaningful. In Proverbs 14 the plain truth is given that, “There is profit in hard work, but mere talk leads to poverty.” Talk is indeed cheap!

In Colossians 3 we hear, “Whatever you do work at it with all of your heart. As working for the Lord, not for men.” Who you are as a person and how you work are not separate. Put your best self into how you do what you do!

I can remember a former parishioner telling me about the part-time job he got at a lumber company after he retired from teaching. He was given the lowly job at first of cleaning the bathrooms which were pretty gross. Rather than complain or quit, what he did, because of the kind of man he was, was to clean those bathrooms until they sparkled! He was promoted to do other jobs pretty fast after that!

Additionally, what we believe about how workers should be treated by their employers should also be informed by our Christian faith.

Some Florida farmworkers still face inhumane conditions when working in the high heat. Just this past April, Florida House Bill 433, which Governor DeSantis signed into law, prohibits local governments from requiring shade or water breaks for outdoor workers, even though last summer a young, male farmworker in Homestead died of heat exhaustion. Workers on that farm weren’t provided breaks or water in the scorching temperatures. What an unnecessary tragedy!

We will celebrate Holy Communion together this Sunday in worship. Let us pray that by eating and drinking the bread and fruit of the vine we’ll remember that Jesus called us to love people with actions that bring justice and demonstrate love for all.

In Christ’s love.

Pastor Candy