you all have a powerful urge to communicate.

I know it. I see it. Your urge

to communicate God’s love,

to bring people into this church,

to help them,

to save them

to make their lives better,

and their afterlives

everlasting.

You have that powerful urge to communicate.

But you are failing

because the distance between

you

and everyone else
is

insurmountable.

But I’m here to tell you,

the distance

is you.

It’s me.

It’s all of us.

We put the distance there.

When we shun our neighbors,
when we judge our friends,
when we look down at people
from other places

and other religions,
we create

an insurmountable distance
where there is no distance at all.

Where are we today?

Where are we
today?

I say

we are no longer a congregation that believes in Hell.

A radical change: we are no longer a congregation that
says, “My way is the only way.”

We are no longer

that kind of church.

(End of sermon.)

(PASTOR nods to Music Director …)

(Organ plays. If there’s a band, then the whole band plays.)

(PASTOR sits down.)

(Music plays in silence.)

(A set of projected images play on the wall behind the pastor …)

(A lake)

(Majestic mountains)

(A tree in a field)

(The Grand Canyon)

(A dove)

(The sky)

Associate Pastor Joshua will deliver the prayer for the sick,
for those who can’t be here today.

Brother Joshua…

(ASSOCIATE PASTOR JOSHUA stands, takes a microphone.)

(Pause.)

(Then, reading from a list.)

ASSOCIATE

Please bow your heads in prayer.

Dear Lord,

We bring to you members of the congregation,
who are ill. Their bodies have failed them,
but even so, we know you will not.

We ask that you watch over,

Jack Rafferty,

Helen Mounts,

Abe Jimenez,

Maxine Judson,

Peter Stanford,

Bethany Tallis,

Sandra Coleman,

Agnes Silver,

Herman Santiago,

Tiffany Leveroux,

Rachel Stein,

and Earl Browne.

An’ if there are others in our family, who are sick,

who we did not mention,

please look after them too.

In the name,

and the power—the cleansing power—

of the holy blood of Jesus …

Amen.

(Music comes to an end.)

(Pause)

(Goes to return to his seat.)

(But then, stops.)

(PASTOR watches.)

(Then he narrates to the audience.)

PASTOR

And we all look at Associate Pastor Joshua.

He just stands there at the pulpit.

I say to him,

“Brother Joshua?”

ASSOCIATE

(Leans into the microphone.)

… I find myself

wrestling with your sermon
I …

PASTOR

…

ASSOCIATE

…

PASTOR

(Still very calmly, to ASSOCIATE.)

Go on …?

ASSOCIATE

Because what you said in your sermon
seems to go against everything
our church believes.

PASTOR

What do we believe?

ASSOCIATE

We believe in Satan,

and we believe in Satan because the Bible tells us

Satan is

real.

And we believe in Hell,

because the Bible tells us Hell is there,

that Hell is the price we pay for sin

PASTOR

where?

ASSOCIATE

“where” what?

PASTOR

where does the Bible tell us that Hell is waiting for us?

ASSOCIATE

uhhhhh, seriously?

PASTOR

Yes.

ASSOCIATE

…