“Our granddaughter, Catherine, and Allison’s son, Joseph,” Sister Ruth said.
“Well, if they tear themselves away from the fish and come back to the house, maybe they’ll give me some pointers.”
Allison gave one of her warm chuckles. “Joseph knows food will be available in the Big House. The Hunger Monster probably will strike him before too much longer. Bishop Lyon and Reverend Wright, I’ll introduce you to Cathy and Joseph when they get here.”
She gave a loud, thoroughly unladylike whistle to get Cathy and Joseph’s attention. She motioned for the two of them to come to the house. They reeled in their lines and left the lake.
“Let’s hope,” Allison said, “they wash their hands before they join us.”
CHAPTER 23
Monday, 22 September
Eric’s iPhone rang as he and Allison prepared to leave Jean’s Coffee Shop. Caller ID showed it was Aldersgate. “Mary?” Eric asked
“Yes. Once again, I hate to bother you on your day off.” Mary paused for a few seconds. “I have two things requiring your immediate attention and a third you will like.”
“What’s on our radar screen?”
“Mrs. Alice Hyde. Do you know her?”
“Mrs. Hyde sits on my right, about midway between the first and last pews. We haven’t scheduled an in-home visit with her, but she must be nearing the top of the list.”
“The EMS took her to the hospital last night. She’s not expected to live. The family would like for you to visit her. Mrs. Hyde lost her husband to cancer several years ago. Her daughter and daughter-in-law visit her daily so she can continue to live in her home.”
“Mrs. Hyde’s at City-County Hospital?”
“She is.”
“I’ll change into more appropriate clothes and go to the hospital. What else?”
“Mr. Hannover wanted the SPRC to meet tonight. He agreed to wait until tomorrow night when I told him you don’t like to do church business on your days off, except in emergency situations.”
“I expect he sounded irate?”
“Hostile would be a better word. He calmed down and agreed to have the meeting tomorrow night.”
“I’m sure you deflected his hostility with kind words. Have you called the other SPRC members?”
“I will after you and I finish this conversation.”
“What’s the third thing?”
“Eight people filled out cards during the service Sunday expressing a desire to join Aldersgate. I’ve put the cards on your desk so you can contact the people.”
“Mary, please call each of the eight. Tell them I’m tied up today, and will get in contact with them tomorrow.”
“Good idea.”
“I’ll stop by the church this afternoon in case anything else comes up.”
Eric, Bible in hand, entered the private room in the hospital. Two women at the bedside introduced themselves as Mrs. Hyde’s daughter and daughter-in-law. He had often seen them, without their husbands, sitting with Mrs. Hyde during worship services. Mrs. Hyde lay quietly in the bed with an infusion line in one arm, leads to an electrocardiograph machine, and a urinary catheter. Eric sat in a chair next to the bedside and leaned over the bed. He could barely hear Mrs. Hyde’s raspy breathing. “Mrs. Hyde, I’m Eric Jameson, your minister at Aldersgate.”
“I know who you are. I’m impatient to be out of this earthly life.”
“Are you in any pain?”
“Enough to know I’m still alive.”
Eric looked at the other two women who smiled in response to Mrs. Hyde’s words. He spoke to her again, “Would you like for me to read from Holy Scripture and to pray with you?”
“That’s why I sent for you.” Ms. Hyde closed her eyes.
Although Eric opened the Bible to Psalm 23, a traditional source of solace for believers facing death and other tribulations. He recited it from memory. He next turned to verses seven through nine from the Fourteenth Chapter of Romans:
“We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.”
Eric put the Bible on the bed and held onto Mrs. Hyde’s hands. “Almighty God, whom we worship as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: We know you hear and answer every prayer.” Eric paused in response to what seemed like a surge of pulsating power flowing from him into Mrs. Hyde. The power surge intensified, a vibration seeming to fill Eric’s entire being. Despite his incredibly dry mouth, he spoke over a single low-pitched musical note in his ears, “May all of us in this room be comforted with the mighty promise St. Paul so elegantly and powerfully stated, a promise I repeat in the presence of Alice, her family members, and the Holy Spirit: If Alice lives, she lives to the Lord; if she dies, she dies to the Lord, because no circumstances exist under which Alice can be separated from the love of God in Jesus Christ, not in life, not in death, not in the life to come.” Eric felt as if he might fall out of the chair. “We pray in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The power surge ceased when Eric finished his prayer.
Mrs. Hyde released Eric’s hands, opened her eyes to stare intently at Eric, and then closed her eyes again. She began to breathe deeply without obvious discomfort. Eric saw no signs of imminent danger from the cardiac monitor. He took Mrs. Hyde’s right wrist and felt a strong, steady pulse.
Eric stood up on shaky legs. The two younger women looked at him almost in wonder. He said, “I believe Mrs. Hyde rests at peace. Would you like for me to do anything more? I can stay with you, if you wish.”
“Reverend Jameson, you’ve done a great deal,” the daughter said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard or experienced such a powerful prayer. We’ll stay with Mother.”
“We’ll call you,” the daughter-in-law said, “if her condition changes. You should you go about your other business.”
“God bless you all,” Eric said as he left the room, not sure his trembling legs would take him very far. He had to find water and a quiet place to contemplate what had transpired in the room. He thought to himself: The encounter with the Holy Spirit in Mrs. Hyde’s hospital room felt more intense and earth-shaking than what I experienced in my room at Walter Reed. Will I ever experience such an encounter again? If I did, could I withstand it?
Eric and Allison sat on her back deck, enjoying their end-of-the-day cocktails, when his iPhone rang. “Eric Jameson here, Miz Lizbeth.”
“Are you with my goddaughter?” Miz Lizbeth’s question came without any introduction.
“I am.”
“Does your fancy phone have a speaker function?”
“Yes. Do you want me to activate the speaker?”
“I do.”
Eric turned on the speaker function. “You’re live,” he said.
“Allison, do you have any idea what your great and good friend has done?”
“He’s started World War III?”
“That’ll be tomorrow night. He didn’t tell you about his hospital visit this morning?”
“No. Was one of his parishioners sick?”
“Alice Hyde, at death’s door.”
“Has she passed?”
“Absolutely not. She’s made a miraculous recovery. Her daughter and daughter-in-law say the Holy Spirit descended upon Alice’s hospital room. They testify to feeling the power flow from Eric into Alice and out into the entire room.”
“What’s going on with Alice right now?”
“She’s raising hell about getting out of the hospital and going home. Says she’s cured, thanks to Eric.”
Eric asked, “You’re sure about all of this?”
“Indeed. The whole town’s talking about it. What do you have to say about the events?”
“Let’s go with the flow, so to speak. I felt a surge of power when I prayed. I’m not ready to talk about it in detail because I
’m still assessing what happened.”
“Allison,” Miz Lizbeth asked, “why are you out of the loop on these events?”
“I spent all day at court in Athens and haven’t been to my office.”
“Eric,” Miz Lizbeth said, “people may descend upon you for healing. How’re you going to handle those requests, if they come about?”
“I’m thinking. I’ll get back to you.”
“Well and good, although I’d appreciate your saving some of the power for me. I wouldn’t mind walking again.” She gave an uproarious laugh and changed the subject. “Don’t worry about the SPRC meeting tomorrow night. I’ll use an appropriate military term: We’ll outflank George Hannover. He’s lacking in the brains department.”
“You think he’s upset about the ceremony Sunday afternoon?”
“That’s his proximal distress, although the fear of Aldersgate and this county moving into the new century underlies all his anxieties.”
“May I reasonably infer you talked in detail with Bishop Lyon and Reverend Wright at your home Sunday afternoon?”
“Certainly I did. You have strong support from them. We’ll play their cards when and if we need to. Keep the faith. Enjoy the brouhaha.” Miz Lizbeth disconnected.
“All right,” Allison asked when she had refilled their drinks, “exactly what happened this morning?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Let’s pretend we’re in court and you’re my witness. Reverend Jameson, please tell the court, in your own words, what happened this morning.”
Eric recounted the morning experiences, from his perspective. “In summary, I know something wonderful, if not totally unique, happened. I’m still struggling with how to process the events.”
“What do you mean, if not totally unique?”
“Many accounts exist, from the Gospels through today, of people responding to the Holy Spirit through the prayers of others.” He looked out over the yard behind the deck. “I had no idea I might be involved in such an occurrence.”
“What will you do if people insist on your praying with them for healing?”
“For the sake of discussion, let’s stipulate I invoked the power of the Holy Spirit this morning. Let’s go even further and say Mrs. Hyde experienced the Holy Spirit and has had a miraculous recovery. Do I dare continue along this path? The experience with Mrs. Hyde may have been a one-time event. What if people expect me to facilitate their healing through the power of the Holy Spirit, and healing doesn’t take place?”
“You don’t feel you’re up to the task? After all, you’re a Medal of Honor recipient, and you’ve already demonstrated great courage in this church.”
“I don’t see the linkage.”
“What’s the problem? Do you fear failing?”
“I don’t want to be presumptuous.”
“While you’re thinking, be ready to deal with the people who will want your help, whether or not you can provide what they desire.” Allison thought for a few minutes. “We terminated our Wednesday night prayer services many years ago. Why not restart them with a focus on healing? What’s the downside?”
“What if no one is healed?”
“Depends upon how you structure the services, what you do and don’t promise.”
“I hope the local TV stations don’t get wind of what happened this morning.”
“Keep the faith. You may have a great gift, and an equally great burden to bear. Maybe you should talk with Reverend Wright.”
“Perhaps I should.”
CHAPTER 24
Tuesday, 23 September
George Hannover, profound irritation obvious on his flushed face, opened the meeting. “I call this session of the SPRC to order. Let us pray.” Hannover continued with only a slight pause. “God of our Fathers, help us eliminate all forms of heresy from our midst. Help us concentrate on the true meaning of the Bible. May we do what you have taught us. Amen.”
“Your prayer gets an affirmative Amen from me,” Eric said.
“From me, as well,” Miz Lizbeth said.
Hannover glared at Eric and Miz Lizbeth. “I call for a vote from this committee to remove Jameson from his position as pastor of Aldersgate.”
“On what grounds?” Eric asked.
“For one thing, because you and Allison Stevens have an immoral relationship.”
“Could you be more specific?”
Hannover removed packets of black and white photographs from his briefcase and passed them to each committee member. “Look at the date and time signatures on these photos. They clearly show Jameson leaving Allison’s house early in the morning, after spending the night together. Our members won’t like the idea of you fornicating with your paramour outside of marriage.”
“These photographs only show Ms. Stevens and me fully dressed on her front porch early in the morning of September 20th.”
“Can you keep a straight face and deny you’re having an illicit affair with her?”
“I won’t deny I am in love with Ms. Stevens and, as consenting adults, we express our love physically. I deny your characterization of the relationship as illicit. As soon as she agrees, I intend for us to be married.”
“But you aren’t married now, and you’ll marry in this church over my dead body!”
“You don’t possess the power to stop the process,” Eric said.
“This committee does.”
“Mr. Hannover, before we go any further,” Eric said, “I will speak to my lawyer, Ms. Stevens, about suing you for defamation if these photos leave the confidentiality of this room.”
“I won’t make my copies public,” Miz Lizbeth said, “and I doubt any other committee member will do so, unless they want to be named as co-defendants with George.”
The committee members passed their packets of photos back to Hannover.
Eric briefly met the eyes of each committee member in turn. “Let’s proceed then. Do you have anything else on your mind, Mr. Hannover?”
“I for damn sure do.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“You conducted a public marriage ceremony for two queers.”
Miz Lizbeth said, “George, queer offends many of us in the context of your statement. Why don’t you use homosexual or gay instead?”
“I won’t engage in any fancy politically correct liberal talk. Queer is still queer.”
“Would you be so upset if I had conducted the ceremony in private?” Eric asked.
“You violated the Bible!”
“Let’s review what happened. Sunday afternoon I conducted a ceremony of committed relationship between a member of this church and his partner—not a marriage ceremony.”
“Fancy talk designed to obfuscate what you did.”
Miz Lizbeth broke out in unrestrained laughter. “George, isn’t obfuscate rather fancy for you, a plain-spoken man?”
Hannover slammed his right hand fist into his left palm. “There’s a motion before this committee. Let’s vote.”
“Mr. Hannover, only the district superintendent and bishop can remove me from this pastorate. This committee may make a recommendation, nothing else.”
“Aldersgate belongs to us, not the district superintendent and the bishop. If they don’t remove you, we’ll simply take this church out of the North Georgia Conference. We own the church, and don’t you forget it.”
“Apparently, you haven’t read the deed to this church.”
“What?”
“The church buildings and property belong, lock, stock and barrel, to the North Georgia Conference, not to the local members.”
“We own this church, not the Conference.”
“Once again, George,” Miz Lizbeth said, “Reverend Eric has put you in your place. He’s correct.”
“We’ll go to court to settle the issue of ownership.”
“You’ll certainly lose,” Miz Lizbeth said, “and I, for one, will not agree to waste this church’s funds on a stupid legal case.”
“Mr. H
annover, what really troubles you about my ministry?” Eric asked.
“Like I said, you want to turn Aldersgate into a queer church.”
“Didn’t you listen to my sermon Sunday morning?”
“A pile of liberal crap.”
“Can you use Holy Scripture to refute what I preached?”
“Your own words convict you of blasphemy.”
“George, did you know the district superintendent and the bishop attended the commitment ceremony Sunday afternoon?” Miz Lizbeth asked. “Those two theological experts would not have been present if they thought Reverend Eric promulgated blasphemy.” She laughed again. “Do you know the meaning of promulgate?”
“I did not conduct a marriage ceremony between Raymond Taliaferro and Charles Thomas, as those of you who attended well know,” Eric said.
“Before you go any further, Reverend Eric,” Miz Lizbeth said, “I’d like to ask George a question.” Eric nodded in agreement. “George, do you know who Charles Thomas is?”
“I don’t care,” Hannover said.
“He’s the economically conservative Republican Speaker of our state House of Representatives.”
“No way; must be another Charles Thomas.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“If what you say is true, the good Christian people of this great state will vote that queer out of office next November or maybe recall him immediately.”
“Might be an interesting campaign,” Miz Lizbeth said, “because Charles knows the dirt on virtually all of the House members, even those Republicans who remain closet homosexuals.”
“The politics don’t matter. The issue before us is Jameson’s removal from this church, hopefully from the ministry as well.”
Randall Foster raised his hand. He had a reputation of immense gravitas and respect, a reputation enhanced by his lack of frivolous comments in public and private. “George, have you heard what happened yesterday with Alice Hyde and Reverend Jameson?”
“What do I care?”
“You should care a lot,” Randall said. “Alice literally lay at death’s door in City-County Hospital. After Reverend Jameson prayed over Alice, she underwent a miraculous recovery. She’s pitching a hissy fit to get out of the hospital.”
Comfort and Affliction Page 19
