by Don Childers
“When I was a professor,” Gerald continued, believing he had indeed analyzed Benny correctly, “I learned to accommodate administrators like Benny. You have to keep your eye on the goal and do what is necessary to teach.”
Gerald paused and sipped his coffee. Bill had the impression that one part of Gerald wanted to jump up and cuss out Benny but another part kept him peaceful and docile.
Gerald continued, “Benny is really a good and generous person. He gave most of the money for the beautiful lounge and we decided to name it after his wife because she has been so active here. I know Benny can be a pain, but I really think if you can just listen to him you will find him to be a great support.”
Bill could see that he was not going to have much support. “What about his thing about the Second Street Mission?”
Gerald paused and lowered his voice. “Oh yes, the mission! I don’t know all the details about that but I think Benny and some others suspect that the director of the mission has some political ideas that are not, shall we say, correct.”
Here was the Second Street Mission again. Bill had yet to visit the mission, but had heard that it was one of the bright spots in the community. Benny, however, had been an ongoing critic, saying that the mission only encouraged the depreciation of that area of town. Bill had learned that at one time, Benny had wanted to buy the mission building along with several other structures in that area. He had a dream of turning the area into expensive condos and shops. However, other ministers in the community, including the minister of Central Church, had opposed his efforts. When a group of private individuals got together and purchased the building and did a renovation on the mission Benny’s plans were defeated. Benny responded by undermining and eventually pressuring their minister to leave. During Rev. Elliott’s ministry, his support of the mission became his undoing. For Benny, this would have catapulted him into a bigger league. Benny hated the mission and was determined that no minister lend any support to it.
Gerald ended their conversation by saying that since he was the church moderator; the meetings were in reality “official”. He hoped Bill would continue to come to them and show his willingness to work things out. Should Bill choose to not come, Gerald said that was Bill’s right but it could have consequences.
After Gerald left, Bill felt worse than ever. He had had criticism before but somehow this was different. This was his chance and once again someone was threatening it all. Bill decided to just tell Sharon that Gerald understood and that together they had decided to continue the meetings with Benny. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Bill said, not really believing it.
-8-
Winter was in the air. The summer had been better for Bill and Sharon. They had taken some time to visit the kids. Lisa had moved into an apartment with a friend, got a job and decided to spend the summer in Columbia rather than come home. As she said, Maysville was really not her home. Robby continued enjoying the life of being single. He and Bill would have regular arguments over why he did not go to college.
“Are you going to drive a truck all your life?” Bill would say
“Damn sight better than serving a bunch of hypocrites,” Robby would answer and away they would go in the never-ending argument.
After one staff meeting, Bill took the associate Suzanne aside. For years Anita had been the chairperson of the worship committee. Now due to health issues, she was resigning. Bill was wondering if Judy Simmons would be a good replacement. Rick and Judy had become very active in the church since joining and Bill remembered that she had enjoyed working on worship at a former church. In the months since Benjamin’s death, Bill and Sharon had built a friendship with the couple. Judy in particular, Bill discovered, had a degree in art and her home had several of her beautiful landscapes on the walls. She had given Bill and Sharon a beautiful landscape of the Oregon coast, near where Bill’s family used to vacation when he was growing up.
Suzanne thought it was a great idea. “Maybe with some new blood we can make some changes,” she said. “Boy that would be great. You have my full support. But please remember: Anita is best friends with Rose, Benny’s wife. There might be some territorial issues there.”
That evening, Bill stopped by the Simmons’ home. Rick and Judy lived in one of the renovated condos that had been built near the church. It was beautifully decorated with one of Judy’s landscapes hanging above the small fireplace. As Bill entered, Judy gave him a hug and Rick shook his hand and took his coat.
“So good to see you both,” Bill said. “We really enjoyed the dinner and movie we all went to last month.”
“I still laugh when I think of that movie,” Rick said. Judy brought in coffee and cookies. It was now more obvious that she was several months along. Rick and Judy had moved through the loss of Benjamin and were now excited about the prospect of having another child.
Bill added sugar and a little cream to his coffee, took a sip and leaned back in the stuffed chair. “I really appreciate all that you are doing in the church. Sharon and I especially appreciate the times we’ve been together.” Pausing, he added, “So how are things going?”
Rick and Judy looked at each other, smiling, Rick looking at Judy’s belly. “Great, as you can see!”
“Sharon and I are so excited for you.”
They talked of the coming baby and other matters for several minutes. Bill, looking at Judy, finally said, “Well I did have another reason for coming by tonight. I want to ask you Judy if you would consider taking over the worship committee?”
Judy turned toward Rick and then back to Bill. “What would that mean?”
“Well,” Bill replied, “Anita has stepped down and with her several of her friends. If you were the chair it would mean asking some people to serve with you on the committee. The committee helps with worship, but more than that they oversee the vestments and decorations for special seasons like Advent, Christmas, and Easter.”
Judy had come from a tradition that had not observed seasons like Advent. Bill agreed to drop off some resources for her to read. As they talked, Judy became more excited about putting her artistic talents to work.
“You will have my full support in whatever you do. My style is not to micro-manage but to give a lot of freedom for creativity. Of course, there are some limits, but not many,” Bill said.
It did not take much for Judy to agree.
“Great,” Bill replied. “Now, coming up right away is Advent. It begins right after Thanksgiving. I can give you the notes from the committee and some resources if you stop by the office later this week.”
Bill was elated. Even though the decorations were beautiful, there had been no flexibility with Anita. Everything had its place and everything had to go as Anita wanted. Bill and Suzanne and others had had some new ideas that had never gotten anywhere with Anita. He was happy that there was new blood getting involved in the congregation. It would be a disastrous decision.
-9-
The centerpiece of Anita’s decorations for Advent and Christmas was a huge wreath. It was a massive circle of fern that included angels, bells, purple ribbons and other stuff crammed into the circular monument. Benny and his wife, along with Anita, donated the wreath in honor of their parents. During every season the great wreath was placed upon the cross at the front of the sanctuary. The wreath, in fact, overshadowed the cross that, in effect, simply served as a platform for the great wreath.
Judy, as the new chair of the committee, was not particularly hostile toward the wreath. She actually thought that it was quite attractive in its own way. After Anita had resigned she had welcomed Judy to the committee and told her that at Central Avenue there was a true spirit of creative freedom. So when Judy suggested that they change from the traditional purple vestments to the new blue colors being used in many churches for Advent, her suggestion was greeted with enthusiasm by members of the committee. Members of the committee were experiencing a new sense of freedom now that Anita had retired; ideas that they wo
uld never have suggested with Anita at the helm now were put forth and greeted with enthusiasm by Judy. They decided to give a “new look” to the sanctuary. So it was that they decided to move the wreath.
Judy and the committee felt that the wreath was overshadowing the central cross and so decided to place it above the double doors at the entrance to the sanctuary. The great wreath should welcome people into worship.
The decorations went up right after Thanksgiving. Bill and Sharon were in St. Louis with Robby and Lisa. Robby wanted to show off his newly acquired skills as a cook. To his father’s joy, Robby seemed to be expanding his horizons and learning a trade that would get him out of being a delivery person.
Robby delighted the family with a gourmet roasted turkey, a new recipe for mashed potatoes, home-baked rolls, various vegetable dishes, recognizing that his mother was vegetarian, as well as wine and a home-baked desert. After dinner, the family settled down to watch football games on a new big-screen television Robby had purchased. It was then that Bill’s cell phone rang.
“Hello, this is Bill.” Bill spoke quietly and got up and moved to the far side of the living room. He had thought about turning his cell off but left it on because he had thought he might get a call about Harold Peterson who was in ICU. He was surprised to hear Benny’s voice.
“Oh, Hi Benny,” Bill said, “Happy Thanksgiving!” The family could tell from Bill’s tone that all was not right. Sharon motioned for Robby to turn down the television. She could tell from the one-sided conversation that the call was not about Harold. Sensing the growing tension in Bill’s voice, she got up and walked over and sat beside him, touching him. Robby and Lisa were engaged in their own conversation about politics.
“Yes, I knew Judy was going to change some things in the decorations,” Bill said, his voice growing tense.
Looking at Sharon, Bill rolled his eyes and continued. Sharon could only hear one side of the conversation; it was like listening in to a comic routine, only it did not seem funny.
“No, I did not know where she was going to put the wreath.” In the pause Bill got up and began pacing and gripping the phone tighter.
“Say, Benny, you know Judy and Rick are new members, young members; the kind of people you wanted to attract. I think that we should not be too hard on them.....
“Well, Benny, I am here with my family right now. I understand your concern, but I am not just going to call Judy and tell her to put the wreath back on the cross and take down all that ‘new crap’, as you call it. Frankly, I think it is nice to see some changes. . .
“Yes, I hear you; Anita may be upset but she is no longer the chairperson of the committee.
“Well, I tell you what, when I get back. . . No, I am not coming back right away. . . I think this is not all that big of a crisis. . . yes, I understand what you are saying. . . well; I am not going to leave my family to come back. Have you called Suzanne? Oh, you did talk with her.
“Now Benny, you need to calm down. I don’t think this is a legitimate reason to fire Suzanne, she is a great associate. She is doing a great job. She can be rather blunt at times. Actually, I admire her.”
“Well that is your choice, you can call Gerald and the board but I really do not think this is that big of a crisis. . . ..well okay, goodbye.”
By the time Bill was through with the conversation and the five other phone calls that came his way, he could hardly settle down to enjoy the rest of their holiday. Sharon and Lisa had not seen Bill this upset in a long time. Robby just smiled with a “what do you expect, this is why I don’t go to church” look. But he too said he was sorry and hoped it all worked out. Sharon was not so sure and was also not sure about how she felt about it all. They were not going to move again.
-10-
When Bill got to the office the next week, Suzanne was waiting to see him. As Bill walked into his office, Mabel just rolled her eyes and handed the two of them café mochas. “I thought you both could use a little pick-me-up!” she said as she closed the door to the office.
Suzanne sipped her coffee, composing herself, and spoke first. “I am sorry all this has happened and ruined your holiday. I thought I had it under control and I told people not to bother you and that I could handle it. Benny said something like a woman can’t really handle anything. That really burned me, but I kept pretty calm. Anyway, this is what happened as best as I can piece together: Judy and her committee came up Saturday morning to decorate the church. She is really good. She had everything organized. Well anyway, they left about noon and sometime in the afternoon, a friend of Anita’s brought her to the church to see the decorations. I understand that she took one look and went ballistic. She stormed out of the church and hit the phones. She called Judy and told her off, called Benny, called everyone she could think of calling. I went over to Rick and Judy’s and I think I had the two of them calmed down. I tried to explain that churches are filled with imperfect people and that one of our tasks is to learn to love some pretty hard-to-love people. I think it worked. Then on Sunday, I heard that several people had called you and I could sense something was afoot. What, I didn’t know.”
Bill listened and tried to look calm. He wondered at the growing sense of panic he was feeling. It was like some hidden monster that kept stirring within his gut no matter what he tried to say to himself. He was feeling trapped. He caught the words “I think I will begin looking for another call after the New Year” and was suddenly brought back to the real world.
“Are you resigning?” Bill asked Suzanne.
A thought struck Bill and he looked at a photo on the wall. “This could be a way out,” Bill thought to himself, “Benny had never liked the idea of a woman minister and Suzanne’s resignation might appease Benny and save me.”
In the moment that he had the thought Bill was furious at himself. “That would be wrong,” he said to himself, “and I would be nothing but a coward. It was time to take a stand.”
Looking back at Suzanne Bill had made a decision. “I hope you are not thinking of resigning. You are not responsible, I am. You do such a good job and I am sorry that you had to take the heat on this one.”
Bill could see that his comment had begun to calm Suzanne down. As they talked, Bill assured her that Benny was just one member and that from his perspective the congregation would be supportive. Of course, Bill added, he really did not know if Benny was more mad at her or at him for not coming right back from St. Louis. “I will probably be fired—after all, as we all know, you don’t cross Mr. Benny!”
Suzanne looked at him with tears visible in her eyes. “I guess I did not think that you were on the hot seat. Maybe both of us should start packing!” This brought a nervous laugh from both of them.
“All this over that damn wreath!” Bill said and added, “I would like to see it fall down and smash into a thousand needles and pieces.”
“That would be an answer to prayer,” Suzanne said as she left.
As Suzanne left, Bill was actually thinking that the situation might be handled. Leaving the office he decided to go into the sanctuary to pray. Surely God would do something to help this to work out, Bill thought as he entered the sanctuary.
Looking up, he saw—perched right over the cross—the great wreath. He just stood and stared at it. “That damn wreath!!” he thought to himself. “So much for peace on earth!” Bill said and realized he was not whispering but almost yelling.
-11-
Over the next few weeks things went from bad to worse. Tom and Sarah Jenkins came to see Bill. They spent an hour venting their anger and frustration and telling Bill that they were going to seek another church. The hardest visit that Bill made was to Rick and Judy. Bill tried his best to allow them to vent their anger but his heart was not in it. He was not surprised when they told him they would not be coming back to the church.
It was time for the monthly meeting with Gerald and Benny. Bill told Sharon that he was not going to attend.
“Finally!” she said and gave h
im a kiss as she continued grading papers. Bill fully intended not to attend, but the next day found that he was driving toward the country club as if he were going to his own execution. “I can handle this,” he said to himself. “God will work it out,” he said to himself.
As Bill entered the restaurant, he had little appetite. He could tell from the expressions on Gerald and Benny’s faces that this was not going to be an occasion when they would give him his Christmas bonus.
As Bill sat down Benny began as one with a mission. Benny did not address him as “Bill” but as Reverend Thompson.
“Well, Reverend Thompson, I am sorry all this has happened during Christmas,” Benny said sipping his coffee. “Some of us are pretty upset about the way you have handled this wreath situation. I now have heard that two families are leaving the church over this. Some of us feel that you are not decisive and that lack of leadership is why this blew up and caused people to leave the church!”
Something changed within Bill. He suddenly felt warmth filling his body. It was not from the coffee or the glass of wine he had had before coming to the meeting. He suddenly did not feel afraid. He just smiled.
Benny continued with Gerald nodding in approval. “Now Bill, I don’t want you to take all this the wrong way. We only have the best interests of the church in our hearts. I recognize that you are pretty new and, well, it is Christmas after all.”
Gerald entered the conversation. “What we are saying is that the Board, well, at least I have assured Benny that this sort of thing won’t happen again. I have talked with Suzanne and assured her that her job is not in jeopardy and neither is yours. We just want your assurance that you will work with us. I took the liberty of calling Dr. Pearl and explaining the situation to him. He is very supportive of you and of our idea.”
