Church Sunday

Sunday morning we raced north up Interstate 65 – being delayed to have a quick conversation about our hostess’ Nashville Epiphany ministry and to make a wrong turn – in time for a special worship service at our church put together by the kids and adults who went on youth mission trips – to a youth week at North Carolina’s Montreat Conference Center (see “Montreat”) and to the Heifer ranch global village in Arkansas. Vincent had missed chances to go to Montreat – I think he was a little too young – with First Presbyterian’s (Tallahassee) youth group and with Kirkwood Presbyterian’s (Bradenton) youth group. Vincent and six of the seven other kids – who will almost all be seniors in high school this school year – went to Montreat. A number of younger kids – including Vincent’s friend and prom date Jessi – went to Heifer. Adults we know accompanied them.

Vincent had attended the planning meeting Wednesday and was apparently slated to pour the baptismal water and assist with the prayers. But somehow he got out of the whole thing – even though we raced up there and made it before worship started – admittedly, the sight of avowed atheist Vincent helping lead worship would have been incongruous – although he’s actually participated in Communion once or twice this past year – would have seemed odd – and then irritated me further by apparently TAKING A CELL PHONE CALL and going outside to talk during worship.

Luke helped start the service with a wacky call to worship. As the sermon, four people shared reflections from Montreat/Heifer- including Jessi and our Cottage supper hostess Andrea.

As we do whenever Vincent comes to worship – if there’s not a potluck supper afterwards – we went out to Lunch Bunch – this week to the Chinese buffet in the Mid-City Mall. Vincent got a ride there and I was again annoyed when he wasn’t there when Stephanie and I showed up late. I called him and it turns out he, Jessi, and Guatemala/Montreat comrade (and recent Bluegrass Academy graduate) Douglas were hidden away in some nook at the restaurant. Vincent and Douglas went on to Jessi’s, until I picked him up for a movie later. (They supposedly moved within the restaurant to get away from the kids who were there with their parents – kids from Wednesday night Children’s Fellowship. But those kids love pestering Vincent, and they eventually found Vincent et al. and started tickling him, etc.)

Vincent had survived the weekend – and even participated in the social parts of the meeting and had fun seeing more of Nashville really than we did (although we all – including Vincent – had to get up early Saturday and Sunday mornings – which eventually took its toll on me – when I became ill.)

But the financial cost of this to us added up. The church will take money that we helped raise through card sales to help subsidize the trip, but we won’t ask for a subsidy for Vincent – for whom we paid close to a 100% registration/meals fee – plus Laser Quest, plus lunch Saturday and then really lunch for all of us Sunday (although during the past few weeks we’ve been eating out a lot with Stephanie gone and then back trying to paint, me running nighttime focus groups and no one having grocery shopped for almost a month). But another dollar total rivaled this dollar total (see “Dog of the day”).

-- Perry