September 6th will mark the annual day in the year when our nation typically takes note of the importance and value of workers who contribute their labor to the well-being of not only themselves but to our economy and to the well-being of our nation as a whole.  This celebration of the value of work is deeply rooted in our American culture going back to the Puritan beliefs about work being a God-given responsibility that benefits both individuals and society.  The American myth about how individual hard work leads to riches and respect was promoted by the stories written in the mid-nineteenth century by the one-time Unitarian minister named Horatio Alger and later legitimized by the idea of the Protestant work ethic in its claim as the foundation of capitalism.  This ideology about the assured benefits that come from hard work also carried with it a negative belief that those who live in poverty are lazy and indolent.

In this service, the congregation will be invited to explore the truth about these age-old claims regarding the value of work and whose labors we should celebrate as one of the most prosperous nations in world.    Rev. Lou Snead’s sermon is entitled “Whose Work Are We to Celebrate on Labor Day?”, when we are living through a pandemic and the wealth of our nation continues to be accumulated by only a small minority of our population.