Dear Editor:

My wife and I moved to Brookhaven two years ago after considering other towns in this area of the state. We were proud of our choice and have shared that with many.

Tuesday, June 4, changed my whole concept of Brookhaven. “Haven” means “a place of shelter and safety.” When 2,428 people voted for liquor for “growth and for Brookhaven’s future,” I was numbed!

The vote of June 4 makes several things clear: First, you have voted yourselves into the liquor business. Whether you become a bartender or a liquor storeowner, you have given your support to the liquor industry and their further distribution goals.

Their income and persuasive advertising will increase, and you will see and share the consequences.

Second, it has become clear that the churches of the city have lost much of their influence. Methodists have always been opposed to alcoholic beverages and gambling (as in our discipline). It is doubtful that half our numbers even know that.

Third, it is clear that we have put aside the Bible as our guide for life. (Proverbs 20:1; Proverbs 23:29-33; Isaiah 5:11-12; I Corinthians 6:19-20; Matthew 4:4).

All of us know that our nation is declining in any way you measure it – morally, spiritually, economically. Do you really believe that liquor is a fix, a virtue, a blessing? If you list five vices of America, liquor would have to be one, maybe No. 1.

If you list 100 virtues, liquor would never make the list. “Bad trees don’t bear good fruit.”

Whatever your motive, you did not vote “yes” to liquor to please God, and now you are in the liquor business.

Rev. Glenn Martin

Methodist Minister