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On Sunday Morning

First and foremost, much thanks and appreciation to the Madison Exchange Club for sponsoring a great Independence Day Parade! Measured by the attendance along the parade route and by the number of groups marching, it was welcomed by all and brought great joy to our community.

As our country was founded on faith and trust in God, I was also encouraged by two recent letters to The Source, by Dottie Simonides on June 24 [“Greatly Dismayed”]and Rose Ann MacDonald on July 8 [“Can’t Even Acknowledge”], both stressing the importance of making time for worship on Sunday mornings. With faith being the cornerstone of our nation’s independence, we need to pray for our country regularly for its continued growth as a more perfect nation, especially during these difficult times. That said, given the pandemic year we have all endured, we will be excused this year for the joy of gathering as a community for the parade on a Sunday. Matthew chapter 12 even says: “Good Deeds may be performed on the Sabbath.”

Many thanks for the good deeds of the Exchange Club for sponsoring the parade and to the many who help put on the parade, including public safety officers and town employees. In the future, I just hope that we will heed the advice of these two letters and avoid Sunday morning for the start of the parade. I would suggest going one step further, that we adopt a town proclamation to avoid all townwide events prior to noon on Sunday. This small act would be a welcome acknowledgment of the importance of family time and religious services of every faith, most of which in Madison are focused on Sunday morning.

Justin Murphy

Madison