Religion and Vulnerable People

When I was a child, I attended a Presbyterian church in Strathmore, California. The pastor was A. Luke Fritz (for Alfonso), who was one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met. He was a thoughtful preacher. Somehow he managed to keep his congregation at peace during the Vietnam War. He was a Boy Scout leader and led a backpack trip to the top of Mt. Whitney every summer for many years. I went on this trip in 1978. Not only did he lead a Boy Scout troop, but he took time to talk individually with each of us. He would ask us questions and make us think. The question for which he was most famous was, “What is courage?” He knew all of us boys would answer, “Not being afraid.” To which he would respond, “Only a fool is never afraid. A courageous person acts despite fear.” See, I still remember this. He was a giant of empathy.

One day in church, a middle-aged mother and her two young daughters came to church after the service had started. And they were weeping very loudly the whole time—during the songs, during the sermon. I never found out what the problem was. It was easy to guess that it must have been something to do with the husband/father, and it was something bad enough to make all three of them weep uncontrollably.

My point is that the woman and two girls were extremely vulnerable right then. A single word could have lifted them or crushed them, especially from a respected clergyman. They were incredibly lucky to have come to Rev. Fritz’s church.

But suppose they had gone to one of those big fundamentalist churches. Oh, I’m sure one of the army of assistant pastors would have helped them. But the big, money-hungry churches would also have used the opportunity to slip in a word to let the three vulnerable females know that God wanted them to give their money and their devotion to that particular church. Big-time preachers prey upon people during their times of vulnerability in order to build up wealth and power. That’s how they get to be big-time preachers. They do things that would get any licensed counselor out of business. There ought to be some way to shut down preachers who offer sham counseling. Rev. Fritz did not do this to anyone. His help was the real thing. Predictably, his church was not rolling in dough.

I sent him a letter after he retired. I let him know of my success in life, and my appreciation for his help. He wrote back saying that he had had so much surgery and replacement parts that he was no longer Cool Hand Luke but Second Hand Luke. Same sense of humor! Soon thereafter his widow sent me a copy of the funeral brochure.

One additional point: don’t wait to tell someone you appreciate them, or it might be too late. I almost missed my chance to thank Rev. Fritz.