Part 7 (1/2)
”We know nothing of that journey up from Bethlehem,” he said.
”Thank you, Reverend Wall,” Rose said. ”After the sermon, the choir sings 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and Mary and Joseph-””What message does the story of their journey hold for us?” Reverend Wall said, picking up steam.
Rose was hurrying up the aisle and up the chancel steps. ”Reverend Wall, you don't need to run through your sermon right now.”
”What does it say to us,” he asked, ”struggling to recover from a world war?”
Dee nudged Sharon.
”Reverend Wall,” Rose said, reaching the pulpit. ”I'm afraid we don't have time to go through your whole sermon right now. We need to run through the pageant now.”
”Ah,” he said, and gathered up his papers.
”All right,” Rose said. ”The choir sings 'O Little Town of Beth-lehem' and Mary and Joseph, you come down the aisle.”
Mary and Joseph, wearing bathrobes and Birkenstocks, a.s.sembled themselves at the back of the sanctuary, and started down the center aisle.
”No, no, Mary and Joseph, not that way,” Rose said. ”The wise men from the East have to come down the center aisle, and you're coming up from Nazareth. You two come down the side aisle.”
Mary and Joseph obliged, taking the aisle at a trot.
”No, no, slow down,” Rose said. ”You're tired. You've walked all the way from Nazareth.
Try it again.”
They raced each other to the back of the church and started again, slower at first and then picking up speed.
”The congregation won't be able to see them,” Rose said, shaking her head. ”What about lighting the side aisle? Can we do that, Reverend Farrison?”
”She's not here,” Dee said. ”She went to get something.”
”I'll go get her,” Sharon said, and went down the hall.
Miriam Hoskins was just going into the adult Sunday school room with a paper plate of frosted cookies. ”Do you know where Reverend Farrison is?” Sharon asked her.
”She was in the office a minute ago,” Miriam said, pointing with the plate.
Sharon went down to the office. Reverend Farrison was standing at the desk, talking on the phone. ”How soon can the van be here?” She motioned to Sharon she'd be a minute. ”Well, can you find out?”
Sharon waited, looking at the desk. There was a gla.s.s dish of paper-wrapped cough drops next to the phone, and beside it a can of smoked oysters and three cans of water chestnuts.
Probably for the 'Least of These' Project, she thought ruefully.
”Fifteen minutes? All right. Thank you,” Reverend Farrison said, and hung up. ”Just a minute,” she told Sharon, and went to the outside door. She opened it and leaned out. Sharon could feel the icy air as she stood there. She wondered if it had started snowing.
”The van will be here in a few minutes,” Reverend Farrison said to someone outside.
Sharon looked out the stained-gla.s.s panels on either side of the door, trying to see who was out there.
”It'll take you to the shelter,” Reverend Farrison said. ”No, you'll have to wait outside.”
She shut the door. ”Now,” she said, turning to Sharon, ”what did you want, Mrs. Englert?”
Sharon said, still looking out the window, ”They need you in the sanctuary.” It was starting to snow. The flakes looked blue through the gla.s.s.
”I'll be right there,” Reverend Farrison said. ”I was just taking care of some homeless.
That's the second couple we've had tonight. We always get them at Christmas. What's the problem? The palm trees?”
”What?” Sharon said, still looking at the snow. Reverend Farrison followed her gaze. ”The shelter van's coming for them in a few minutes,” she said. ”We can't let them stay in here unsupervised. First Methodist's had their collection stolen twice in the last month,and we've got all the donations for the 'Least of These' Project in there.” She gestured toward the Fellows.h.i.+p Hall.
I thought they were for the homeless, Sharon thought. ”Couldn't they just wait in the sanctuary or something?” she said.
Reverend Farrison sighed. ”Letting them in isn't doing them a kindness. They come here instead of the shelter because the shelter confiscates their liquor.” She started down the hall.
”What did they need me for?”
”Oh,” Sharon said, ”the lights. They wanted to know if they could get lights over the side aisle for Mary and Joseph.”
”I don't know,” she said. ”The lights in this church are such a mess.” She stopped at the bank of switches next to the stairs that led down to the choir room and the Sunday school rooms. ”Tell me what this turns on.”
She flicked a switch. The hall light went off. She switched it back on and tried another one.
”That's the light in the office,” Sharon said, ”and the downstairs hall, and that one's the adult Sunday school room.”
”What's this one?” Reverend Farrison said.
There was a yelp from the choir members. Kids screamed.
”The sanctuary,” Sharon said. ”Okay, that's the side aisle lights.” She called down to the sanctuary. ”How's that?”
”Fine,” Rose called. ”No, wait, the organ's off.”
Reverend Farrison flicked another switch, and the organ came on with a groan.
”Now the side lights are off,” Sharon said, ”and so's the pulpit light.”
”I told you they were a mess,” Reverend Farrison said. She flicked another switch. ”What did that do?”
”It turned the porch light off.”
”Good. We'll leave it off. Maybe it will discourage any more homeless from coming,” she said. ”Reverend Wall let a homeless man wait inside last week, and he relieved himself on the carpet in the adult Sunday school room. We had to have it cleaned.” She looked reprovingly at Sharon. ”With these people, you can't let your compa.s.sion get the better of you.”
No, Sharon thought. Jesus did, and look what happened to him.
”The innkeeper could have turned them away,” Reverend Wall intoned. ”He was a busy man, and his inn was full of travelers. He could have shut the door on Mary and Joseph.”
Virginia leaned across Sharon to Dee. ”Did whoever broke in take anything?”
”No,” Sharon said.