CHURCH LADY P.I. Part # 3 Second Service

CHURCH LADY P.I. Part # 3 

Second Service

REMEMBER: This is a mystery and it must be read in order, including the  Introduction, then Part 1, Part 2, etc. due to the fact clues are everywhere. (L-L)

After lunch I spent the afternoon just walking around this little town. I came here a day earlier than planned expressly with the hope of seeing some of it before I had to get to the real reason I was here. I walked up and down the little streets, looked at the little houses with their little flower beds and eventually found myself in it’s little down town area. I wasn’t exactly thinking of anything specific. I was just taking in the atmosphere. I had even stopped focusing on the strange little church I been to, at least I thought I had, until I rounded a corner and found myself staring at a big sign that said, “Harker’s Dry Goods”. Suddenly my entire morning came rushing back to me.

I crossed the main street which was practically deserted and looked in the front window of the store I had heard about that morning. Then I became aware of the fact that not only was this store closed, but all the stores were closed. Many years ago this would not have been unusual, because with the “Lord’s Day Act” in effect nobody would have had a business open on a Sunday. But these days people didn’t even know there was a time when places weren’t open 7 days a week. What a unique little town this was. Okay. I wasn’t thinking the word “unique”. I was thinking the word “weird” again.

Then something else jumped into my head; the houses. They were just like the fashions I’d seen at the church that morning. All the houses were well kept but they were either tiny homes of the poor or huge old mansions of the rich, with no "in-betweens". There seemed to be an absence of middle class homes. Everywhere I looked this place was populated with the “haves” and the “have nots”. Where were the “kinda gots”?

That evening I was not late for the church service. It was to begin at 7:00 pm and when they unlocked and opened the doors, I was standing in the exact same place I was when the doors were shut behind me earlier that day. But the Minister that opened the door for me was not the same Minister who shut the door behind me. That Minister, Reverend Wright, wasn’t there at all that evening. The night service was in the hands of the junior Pastor, Reverend Fortier.

All in all it was a pleasant service and I enjoyed myself much more than during the morning one. I was less distracted through this service and although there were fewer people in attendance, everything seemed to be a little more “together”. For instance, when they put a Bible verse on the screen at the front they actually got it‘s location in the Bible correct. The two men who had been fidgeting in the morning were back, but they seemed less animated and were actually sitting together and not at opposite ends of the sanctuary.

Pastor Fortier helped guide us into Jesus‘ presence with deep sincerity and good old fashioned loving-kindness. It was a time of quiet contemplation, rejoicing and spiritual refreshment. Exactly what I needed to calm my agitated nerves that had been present since attending this same church in the morning. It’s interesting how a different leader can make things so different. But it wasn’t only that. Few of the people that had been there in the morning were there in the evening so the entire service had a different feel to it.

As the service came to an end and Pastor Fortier dismissed us, he also encouraged anyone who felt like lingering in prayer to stay and take some time to “wait upon the Lord.” Most of the people quietly left, but I got off my pew, turned around and knelt on the floor with my elbows resting on the pew seat. I bowed my head to have a good, long talk with the Lord and just let His peace replace the events of the day in my heart and mind. It felt good  to spend some focused time with the Lord, but the troubled face of little Sarah did pop into my heart and mind a few times, but without all the worry this time. I knew it was a definite sign that Jesus was near.

Pastor Fortier said we didn’t have to rush so I lost track of time a little, but every few moments I heard some rustling and concluded it was somebody else finishing up their prayer time and leaving. Yet I had my eyes closed the entire time and didn’t take any notice of anyone or anything specific. Then things got completely quiet, inside and outside of me, and I decided it was a good time to depart.

I gently opened my eyes to discover that the entire Sanctuary was empty except for one inhabitant other than myself. Sitting on the pew only a few feet away from where I was resting my elbows, I looked into a bright face with wide eyes and full red lips. Her head was tilted to one side and she had the expression of one who has an amusing joke to tell. She was wearing a burgundy velvet dress which was partially covered with a green polka-dotted apron and she had one ear tilted toward me.

I spoke, "You must be Velveteen. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

LINK to Part # 4 "Some Bunny's Home"




Copyright 2015 "The characters and events in this story are not meant to represent any persons living or dead and are entirely a product of the imagination of the writer." LR