Appropriate, as it is Sunday. Today drove 85 minutes to attend a UUA meeting. [don’t make me spell it out]. The day was sunny and dry and likely no traffic. I knew: 1. it would be a beautiful drive. 2. it would be somewhere in PA leaving me no idea of where I was. 3. it would be a gathering of rather-like-minded folk. It was certainly 1 & 2. 3 is swirling around in my head. I much appreciated the thoughts read [prayers in another setting] and greatly appreciated the nice person who, out of all I passed to get to a seat, stopped me to say welcome and chat. It was a small group, perhaps 20, in a small room. After the service was over, I sat for a minute and the nice person moved on. Congregants had to move around me to move toward the coffee klatch table. It was remarkable how they would practically stumble over my feet, pick themselves up without as so much a hello and move on. I mention this because it harks back to my complicated childhood. On Sunday my family was, with a couple of other families, responsible for a small church in a dirt-poor community. It was there I was taught the intrinsic value of each person, the threshold fear every newcomer has and how easy it is to make contact to help them feel at ease. What I experienced today, I have experienced hundreds of times in various and sundry religious settings. It is such a simple skill to learn and makes all the difference. [cue music and offering].