January (Web-only) 2001

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At last church service as president, Clinton gives the sermon
It was Clinton Day at Foundry United Methodist Church as the First Family worshiped as First Family for the last time there (apparently they're otherwise engaged next week). Chelsea Clinton read the Old Testament passage from Isaiah, Senator Hilary Clinton read from 1 Thessalonians (since it's not part of the common lectionary, Weblog doesn't know what part of 1 Thessalonians she read from), and the preacher was William Jefferson himself, speaking on "'Reflections and Anticipations." The Washington Post reports that Clinton abandoned his notes for most of the 13-minute sermon, but still had plenty to say. Lots of jokes, for example:

1. "I will try every day to remember, as apparently for the first time in my life I will be able to earn a sizable income, that Christ admonished us that our lives will be judged by how we do unto the least of our neighbors."
2. "I anticipate that for some several months I will be disoriented when I walk into large rooms, because no one will be playing a song anymore."
3. "I anticipate that my Christian bearing will be tested by a return to commercial air travel, where I will reap the rewards of not having succeeded in one of the things I tried very hard to do, which was to end all those backlogs."
4. "I look forward to finding out whether John Quincy Adams was right when he said there is nothing so pathetic in life as an ex-president. Or whether, instead of his words, the life of John Quincy Adams and the life of Jimmy Carter prove exactly the reverse."

Clinton also used much of his time to praise the church for its support of him and his policies. "You cannot imagine the peace, the comfort, the strength I have drawn from my Sundays here," he said. ...