No Church Today

This past Sunday the church that I attend canceled service.  Well actually the cancellation came on Saturday but the fact is that there was no service Sunday.  The reason was due to a septic overflow problem in the lone bathroom in the building.  There had been a lot of rain last week and the septic backed up and came up through the toilet and flooded the basement.  There was really no way to have church with no bathroom, a flooded basement and the nursery school located in that same basement.  So the call was made to cancel our church service for that day.

I have no problem with that call as it was the right one to make and I don't believe that God was offended nor do I believe that His wrath will be visited upon New Hope Fellowship.  The pastor made the right call.  This event called to mind some other interesting events that I have experienced on a Sunday as a former pastor. 

Back in the day when I was a preacher man I had the blessed opportunity the lead worship services every Sunday for almost a decade.  It was what I believe I was created to do, be a pastor that is.  I loved my job and couldn't believe that I actually got paid for doing what I did.  Not to be punny but I was in heaven.

At my first congregation, in the Mid-Hudson Valley region of New York, I learned a lot about church management and the goings on of how to maintain the building in which we worshiped, sang, ate, communed, married, buried, confirmed, laughed, wept, hugged, supported, basically the building in which we as a body in Christ LIVED.  Well at that church we used to get our oil deliveries for our furnace on the first and third Fridays of the month.  Well one month in January there were 5 weekends and because of that there was a loophole in our oil delivery process.  You see by the fifth Sunday our oil tank was empty and no one had thought to get an extra delivery for that weekend. 

So, here we were at the beginning of our two Sunday services wondering why the heat wasn't coming on.  We debated whether we should cancel services or not for that day.  We decided to hold services but we had everyone huddled together near the front of the sanctuary while someone put in a call to the oil company for an emergency delivery.  Now I am Lutheran and for Lutherans to huddle together, let alone towards the front of the sanctuary is a miracle in itself. 

It was my Sunday to preach and there I was with an overcoat on over my vestments, gloves on hands, hat on head, with my breath clearly visible as I preached.  At one point during my sermon I just started to laugh at the surreality of it all.  As I broke into a laugh the congregation did too and it was a pretty funny moment. 

The oil truck did show up in time for the second service to have some warmth emanating from the floorboard heaters.  It was kind of neat when all was said and done.

There was another time in that congregation and with me preaching when something not so amusing happened.  I remember it as clear as yesterday.  I had just started to preach when I notice an elderly gentleman seated on the left side pews, to my absolute right, slump down in his seat.  The people around him jumped to his aid and this sweet elderly man named George just past out.  We thought he was having a heart attack (which it wasn't) and the congregation sprang into action.  We were blessed to have a lot of nurses in our congregation and there were no less than five there that morning.  We let them do their thing as someone called 911.

So there I was thinking, "What do I do now?" as there was a grave concern on everyone's mind as to what was going on with George.  The next thing I knew I said in a loud voice, "Let us pray," and we prayed for George as the ambulance was en-route.  They were there in a matter of minutes and they took George off to the hospital. The congregation settled down and in the aftermath I realized that I was still at the beginning of my sermon which did not seem to fit anymore.  I have to admit I was a bit a shaken by it all, though I didn't want it to show on my face.  So I just admitted that the sermon was not pertinent to what happened and I then ad-libbed a sermon based on ROMANS 12:4-6  on how we were all connected in the body of Christ and how we all need each other and our church showed it that morning.  I guess that there are times when God wants us to hear what HE decides should be preached each Sunday.  All in all things turned out well for George who was back in his pew the next week and the church was a little closer for the experience.

Those were just a couple of things that came to mind due to this past Sunday.  Every Sunday is unique, but it seems that some Sundays are more unique than others.  The thing to remember is that God is there through it all and it is He who sets things right.

If I remember more extraordinary Sundays I will be sure to share them with you. Until then, go to church and give God thanks for your life.
Mac.

Blogged with the Flock Browser