<font color='black' size='4' face='Times New Roman, Times, serif'><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is:</font><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"></span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></u></a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"></span><u style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org/">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a></font></u><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"> </span><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">.</font><br>
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<div style="margin: 1em 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font color="#000000">I’m going to close with a very familiar story- almost a parable- that I use at just about every funeral- just used it at Ms. JoAnn Washington’s funeral last Monday, but it’s worth repeating.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">This story illustrates using crises and mistakes for positives.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Before I retired from teaching, Mr. Spencer Porter was often the art teacher assigned to work with my fifth grade students.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">He was one of the best art teachers I have ever seen.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">If the youngsters were doing art on paper, he would start passing out the supplies, and you could bet that by the time the last student got a paper, some of the first students were already waving their hands.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“Mr. Porter,” they would say- “Mr. Porter, I messed up my paper.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I need a new one.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Mr. Porter would answer, “Turn it over and use the back.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Within a few minutes, the hands would start to wave again.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">“Mr. Porter, Mr. Porter, I messed up the back too!” they would lament.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Spencer Porter’s answer- “I’m not giving you another paper.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Now is your chance to become an artist and really do art.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">Look at your paper on the front, and look at your paper on the back, and figure out what you can turn your mistakes into.”</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">My friends, some of the most amazing artwork came from those students, because their “mistakes” forced them to think outside the box, be creative, and try new solutions to what they thought were impossible problems.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">I only hope they are continuing to apply that kind of thinking to their lives today, and I hope we learn from their example.</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font color="#000000"> </font></span><font color="#000000">The crises we face in our world today, plus those we face every day in the normal demands of living, require fresh, Godly, Gospel solutions and the sure knowledge that with God as our guide, mistakes are simply lessons- lessons to be learned and used for the Kingdom.</font></font></span>
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<font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: </font>
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<u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.org">http://www.stpaulsepisag.org</a></font></u>
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<font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Judy Boli</font>
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