Church Slugs

Most of us subscribe to the theory that we like all types of people - as long as they are all our types. But the Church has been called to celebrate her diversity, not her conformity. There is no one right way to express the presence of Christ or the welling up of God''s Spirit in your life. E Unus Pluribum, "out of one, many," should be the joyful affirmation of a Christbody community.

Though you are reading this in the dead of winter, publication schedules demand that this writing take place during the dog days of summer. Summer's beauty is at its height: Gardens are producing luscious real tomatoes; there is fresh corn-on-the-cob; flowers of all sizes, shapes and colors decorate the landscape.

But amidst all this abundance and loveliness there is a dirty little war going on; it's called "gardener versus the slug." With an unerring instinct these disgusting, slimy, slobbering creatures pick the evening before your fancy patio dinner party to launch an all-out assault on your precious petunias and impatiens. The next morning it looks as though a herd of tiny, slim-footed cattle had grazed its way through your flowers beds and boxes. Driven by righteous anger, you plot your counter-attack. Going for the simple but sure, you cover your garden space with three inches of Morton salt and stomp about purposefully in your heaviest boots for an hour. So much for the slugs...