Can you read the writing on the wall? I never understood graffiti until I was in my first parish in Orange, California. We were there to care for the immigrant community that picked oranges. As the Los Angeles suburbs expanded into Orange County the orange groves were replaced with housing developments. Inevitably, these developments were walled in and, just as inevitably, the walls were graffitied. The barrio felt more and more boxed in. I finally got it. The graffiti was saying, “I am here. I must be taken into account. I still matter.” That same cry to be noticed and considered is still shouted to churches, communities, governments. Everyone matters and deserves attention by decision makers. Do we read the writing on the wall?
