Pastor's Page for June 2008: A Tribute to Fathers

Let me be the one of the first to say to all of the fathers at Advent United Church of Christ that I love you for what you do and for who you are.

Much is made of the importance of mothers, and, of course, that’s a reality, but not as much is made of the importance of fathers, and that is a travesty.

There is no person who can take the place of a good father. Girls learn to be young women who take pride in themselves, and boys learn to be men from fathers who care. There is nothing more precious than a little girl holding onto her father’s hand, and being taught how a man treats a woman, or a little boy looking at his father and imitating all that he does, learning what it means to be a man. There is nothing more powerful than a father guiding a child with the sternness that is unique to men, teaching lessons far more easily than we as women do. There is nothing like the sound of a father’s voice, which can, at the same time, reveal love yet direction for a child’s life.

You, fathers, are more important than you realize.

I have seen the fathers in this congregation at work, men who are birth fathers and men who are foster and/or adoptive fathers. I have seen the children respond to you with a deference and a respect which we need more of in our community. I am saddened by the fact that so many children, of all races, have no father figure in their homes. I am convinced that many women who pick the wrong guy in their lives do so because they are so desperately looking for male love and direction, and we know that many of our boys end up in prison because they, too, lacked male direction and imitate what they’ve seen too many of our men do.

We need more fathers – fathers to their own children and fathers to the community’s children.

We need more of YOU.

My hat is off to all of you. I hope you receive more than a tie or a pair of socks today, but if you get one of the traditional “Father’s Day” gifts, please know this: your worth cannot be measured. I pray that more and more men take the role of father as seriously as I have seen you do, and that in that action, help lead our little boys and girls to their destinies.

God bless you.

Pastor Smith