How many of you here this morning came from “the wrong side of the tracks?” [Draw out some stories about being from “the wrong side”] Did the “wrong side of town” have a name? [I was born on a street known as “Hungry Hill”]

Guess what? Every one of us here has come from the “wrong side of the tracks” at one time or other. Whether you grew up on a swanky estate, a ritzy mansion, a standard suburban “splanch” (split level ranch), a shanty in the woods or a slum in the city, you were on the “wrong side of the tracks” at some time in your life. Whenever we wander out of our comfort zone; whenever we venture away from what feels familiar and safe to us, we are on the “wrong side of tracks.” Off our home turf, we feel vulnerable and threatened, unsure of where we stand, and knowing we “stand ou…