Editorials & Other Articles

were working on. They had told us that he would be next door, and that there would be time for shaking hands, greeting, and all of that, but to try not to interrupt. The church furnished lunch for both crews, so we had a chance to visit. I think, at his request, there are no plaques, though the people who own the homes know he worked on them, because, of course, they also help with construction.

I spent more than 20 years volunteering during summers and on weekends with Habitat, and with a couple of other home renovation ministries sponsored by my church, which, like the Carter's church, Maranatha Baptist, belonged to the more liberal Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I never met a conservative, Evangelical, fundamentalist, right wing political extremist at any volunteer project, and in fact, my wife and I were talking about this the other day when we heard the news about Carter. These volunteer groups, all made up of Christians from like minded churches, were great places to facilitate Democratic political conversations because there wasn't anyone around who represented the other side.