One of the clergy members that I have always admired was an old Italian priest I knew years ago. His congregation was limited to a maximum security prison — including death row. He explained to me that ministering to the condemned was the most rewarding assignment he had ever received. He then explained a story from christian mythology to me that he found at Mark 2:17, In that passage, Jesus is eating and drinking with some real sleazeballs, and the “good people” take issue with him for it.
And Jesus, hearing it, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill: I have come not to get the upright but sinners.
A church in Lake County, Flori-duh seems to put this piece of mythology at the center of a recent outreach project. The church put up a billboard that stated “Scumbags Welcome.” Naturally, the “good people” of the 352 area code took issue with the church, called the city, and complained. Much to the City’s credit, it found that the church was well within its First Amendment rights. (source)
