I’ve often said that my vision for Tucker is a community where individuals and families can ‘live, work, play and pray’, all in their own community, for their whole lives if they choose to. As we enter the holiday season, I thought it might be a good time to examine that last aspect: ‘pray’.
When I mention that in speeches, it’s not to endorse any particular religion or to push the institution of religion on anyone. Instead, it’s to acknowledge what our faith community has meant to Tucker for generations, and to nurture it for the benefit of future generations.
In 1829, a group of Tucker-area residents founded Fellowship Baptist Church. That church served those families – and the Tucker community – for over 170 years. Tucker’s First Baptist, which many of us pass everyday driving down Lavista Road, has been around since 1893. The Methodists started their church in Tucker in 1904. Tucker First Presbyterian, now on Fellowship Road, was founded near Embry Hills in 1894. Today, there are dozens of faith institutions working within our City limits.
It’s not just that these faith groups have been around in our community for a long time, but it’s impressive to consider how much good work they have done for the betterment of Tucker and its people. You’ll read on Page 4 about NETWorks, which is supported by our entire faith community, and their ongoing efforts to provide food and job assistance to neighbors who are going through tough times. Several of the churches in Tucker offer after-school tutoring and mentoring to students who don’t speak English as their first language. The comfort they have provided to the sick and the suffering, the practical help they have provided to those in need and in hardship, the joys they have multiplied through weddings, baptisms, homecomings and a million other celebrations; how could we ever calculate the value? And what would we do without them? Whatever our individual roles or relationships with these institutions of worship, we can all be grateful for their presence and for their service and sacrifice over these many years.
My prayer for you is that this holiday season is full of joy and blessed times with family and friends. And may we all remember this one unarguable truth: we can never go wrong by loving our neighbor as ourselves.
