Constitution reform in Alabama made its way to Washington March 16 as part of Alabama Day at the Washington National Cathedral.
Crosscreek Baptist Church Pastor James L. Evans of Pelham highlighted the state’s struggle with its constitution as part of his Alabama Day sermon at the Cathedral. During his sermon Evans called for changes in the 102-year-old document.
U.S. Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, as well as U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt of Haleyville, took part in the service, which was part of the Cathedral’s monthly State Day program.
The church recognizes a different state every week, but once every four years states have a “major” day of recognition with guest preachers and special events.
Using Scripture from Genesis 22, Evans paralleled the story of Abraham’s willingness to give up his son, Isaac, with the necessity of Alabamians to resist “our gut instinct to conserve, to hold on, to grasp tightly what we have out of fear that we will lose what we have or get something worse.
“But if we read the gospel correctly, there is a real chance that in striving to save what we have, we will end up losing what we really care about: a solid future for our children, adequate care for our elderly, and an economic environment that will allow the poor in our state the chance to work out of their poverty,” he said.
Evans said the state constitution, which was written in 1901 and has been amended more than 700 times, practically disenfranchised blacks and poor whites.
Sessions, who read from the Book of Romans during the service, said he thinks the state is “wrestling hard” with issues such as “what we’re going to do with the constitution and what we’re going to do about our tax base.” And “like a lot of things, when you have a hundred years go by, you can come in and look at it afresh and make improvements,” Sessions said.
Alabama values
Evans also noted values held by Alabamians.
“We value work,” he said. “We believe that a person’s life is often defined by where and how they invest themselves ina chosen vocation.
“We also value faith … and family life,” Evans noted.
But along with the good values, Alabamians also face other issues.
Evans said when deciding the subject of his sermon, he thought, “Since the Cathedral was offering prayers and praise for Alabama, constitution reform was what we need to be praying about because that is the area where we struggle.
“Everything we’re trying to do economically and politically is hamstrung by the constitution,” Evans said. “So, why not talk about it here where we’re supposed to be praying?”
Of the estimated 1,175 worshipers who attended the service, 350 were from Alabama, Cathedral officials said. Leading the service was Henry Parsley, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. A reception sponsored by the National Cathedral Association and Auburn University Alumni Association followed the service.
(TAB contributed)
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