THE CHURCH AS IT HAS BEEN IN AMERICA

One day an older man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking things up and gently throwing them into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said "I made a difference for that one.”
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THE CHURCH THAT I PRAY FOR ELYSIUM TO BECOME

One day an older man was walking along the beach when he noticed a group of people and some large objects moving near the ocean.

Approaching the group, he saw they were using a large bulldozer, a frontloader, several small backhoes and dozens of them were furiously working with shovels. He asked, “What are you doing?”

One of the group replied, “We're saving starfish and moving them back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If we don’t get them back in there, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the young man returned to the group, picked up his shovel and went back to work. After 10 minutes of intense-but-exhausting labor, the beach was cleared, the starfish were back in the water and the group prayed and disbanded.

Then, smiling at the older man as he passed him, the younger one said "Next time, grab a fucking shovel.”