One Has to Keep Trying

More attractive volunteers could have increased traffic.

After the early service I headed to the Summer Days festival. Foster City gave the church and other local non-profits free space for a display. All we needed were volunteers to staff the booth.

Only a few people stopped to talk. One gentleman, an African-American, gazed at the photo of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry with a puzzled expression. Two words, "Meghan Markle", did the trick.

Climate-change information (click to enlarge)

Bishop Curry's rousing sermon at the royal wedding last year made an impression far beyond the Episcopal Church. With every month his election looks smarter.

Another passerby viewed the information on climate-change--one of the church's initiatives--and talked about the public transportation in her native Singapore (McKinsey ranks it one of the best in the world).

Our Bay Area systems are more extensive (on the Peninsula we can take Caltrain, express buses, or BART to San Francisco) than most cities, but there's no question that the automobile traffic is horrendous.

With rides, fun, and food only a few feet away, talking about religion, social justice, or climate change was unappealing to festival goers. But one has to keep trying.