Objects: a tambourine, a trumpet, and something representing a soldier, like arm stripes

Good morning, boys and girls. Perhaps you know what I’m holding up:

This is a tambourine; listen to the noise it makes.

This is a trumpet; it can make a loud sound.

And these are military stripes; they don’t make any noise at all.

I show you these three things because they tell us about a saint who shaped the Christian church years ago. His name was William Booth. Mr. Booth grew up under poor circumstances and was a part of the Christian church. It worried him that more wealthy Christians didn’t seem to invite the very poor into their churches. Mr. Booth was also concerned that if very poor people came into the wealthy’s churches, the poor wouldn’t be comfortable and stay very long.

This stripe t…