“Welcome to Middlesex Town Meeting.
We have come together in civil assembly, as a community, in a tradition that is older than our state itself.
We come together to make decisions about our community.
As we deliberate, let us advocate for our positions, but not at the expense of others.
Let us remember that there is an immense gap between saying ‘I am right’ and saying ‘I believe I am right.’
And that our neighbors with whom we disagree are good people with hopes and dreams as true and as high as ours.
And let us always remember that, in the end, caring for each other, in this community, is of far greater importance than any difference we may have.
Welcome.”