The trade, however, was not altogether even. Here's Father, explaining how the trade came to be:
At first [Pastor Paul] said he'd cover for me if I ever needed to be away. Then when we started scheduling a date, he said that I'd preach at his church when he was at ours. Then later, I find out that I have to do both of his services (Dad's church only has one service, Pastor Paul's has two) even though he's only doing one.Being busy folks, Pastor Paul had to leave Dad's service early to rush back to his church and similarly, after his second sermon, Father had to rush off. Which would have been fine had we not a. sat in the front row, b. been recognizable to the entire congregation, and c. decided to leave as a baby dedication was starting. We scurried off behind the stage and had a little conversation like this:
Moi: Is there an exit here?
Father: I don't know. I think I've tried it once.
Too bad he tried the door on the opposite side. We went through a dark passage way that led to three doors. Two of them said "Not an Exit" and the only one marked Exit had a door that was blocked and could not be opened. I would have been happy just waiting it out in the dark until service ended, but Father had places to be and Father doesn't avoid confrontations and awkward situations like a plague. Which meant that we had no choice but to walk back to the very front of the sanctuary as service was still going on. The entire congregation was in prayer when we stepped back in and the fearless Jill had to escort us as we walked down the center aisle, from the very front to the very back, for the entire church to see. Moral of the story, kids: Don't ever skip out of church early. It can only end badly.
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