“The new year holds many dark and threatening clouds but it also holds a promise for a brighter day. Whether we shall move towards ruin or towards a new bright day depends upon what we shall do.”
In this January 1, 1961 sermon, Rabbi Olan urged his listeners to replace their fear of the future with faith and with actions that build a more ideal tomorrow. Pessimism need not win the day!
“What [Amos] said for his time, may be the challenge to us – the possibility of a hopeful future is real and men may achieve it if they act with intelligence and purpose.”
For some listeners in Dallas and Fort Worth, the anxieties of January 1961 included the ending of the Eisenhower administration and the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, America’s first Roman Catholic president.
Rabbi Levi A. Olan: The Conscience of the City 