Lion Mark Smith Delivers a St. Patrick Easter message

"I grew up thinking Easter was Easter Bunnies and candies, but then I found out that Easter had a different meaning," said Guernsey County Auditor Tony Brown. "I was going to talk to the Lions Club about taxes, but I thought that it might be more important to hear (the Rev.) Mark Smith." Smith is the minister of First Baptist Church in Cambridge.
Smith, reflecting on the fact that it was St. Patrick’s Day, said with a wee bit of Irish humor, "I am one hundred percent Irish. I used to like to fight, but now I delegate my fighting to (martial arts enthusiast) Terry Losego. As a minister I’m not allowed to fight."
"The Irish immigrants were driven away by the English," Smith said.
"They were driven off to the Appalachians and exploited by those who were educated and in positions of power. Smith then related how Jesus of Nazareth lived at a time when the Romans were exploiting people and how Jesus was not accepted by those in power.
"I am free to worship Jesus and others are free to believe what they want to believe," said Smith. "We live in a world of conflict. Not everyone wants us to have that freedom."
"There is fighting in Iraq and tension in the Middle East," Smith said.
"I honor you and all veterans," he said to Lions’ guest Matt Feillo, a veteran recently returned from that war-torn country.
Smith related how some people see the conflict as a sign of the end times prophesied in the Bible. "We need to make ourselves ready. I am thankful that Christ has changed lives. I believe that He will come again."
"I am thankful that the Lions are doing good works for those with needs for eye care," said Smith. "We should try to make a difference by helping others and not by trying to build ourselves up."