Superlatives - The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane

Sermons from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

When I was graduating high school, our yearbook staff held an election for hope in the form of our senior superlatives. You all may remember these from that time in your life. Each day at the lunch period, for a week, students could go to the special table in the lunchroom and cast their vote for their peers, that they felt were well deserving of a title that would mark the reality of the present, but also to help propel that person forward into the world with a community affirmed identity. There was most likely to succeed. Life of the party, most kind, class clown, best smile, and most likely to run for president. We waited with anticipation for the votes to be counted, the answers would be printed in our senior yearbook, enshrined for all to see, a symbol of our hope for what was to come. I remember huddling in the hallway with my friends as I ran my finger down the list, reading at a rapid pace. There was my name, Melanie Jonakopoulos: biggest tree hugger.