25 November 2008

Saying My Farewell....

Apparently my days are numbered.

Today a man came into the church office asking for assistance for gas money. Our secretary politely told him we didn't have any funds to give out at this time. Here's how the conversation played out.

Man: I need to know where I can go to get some help then.
Nancy begins to speak: Well, have you tried ...
Man: (cuts her off) and don't even tell me to go to PCM because they're not going to help me, there's no way.
Nancy: I'm sorry, but that's where we usually refer people.
Man: I've been to nine churches today in this town and no one will help me get out of here. I'll be honest with you, I don't like Paducah.
Nancy: I'm sorry to hear that. (She's been here most of her life.)
Man: I tell you what, too. What's going on in this town, God doesn't like. Until churches start seeing people as people and not as dollars, God's going to be unhappy.
Nancy: (staying very calm; I was impressed) Sir, we would be happy to let you apply for assistance next week when our pastor is in, but he makes those decisions and he's on vacation today.
Man: (puts his hands in a prayer position) God is going to rain down His revenge (his exact words, I kid you not) on Paducah. And you can expect that to happen in January. Have a nice day.

And he left!

So if you want to say goodbye to me before God smites me in January, I'll be taking the remainder of my vacation time surrounding Christmas.

7 comments:

Tim said...

I hear that tin-foil hats are just as effective against smiting as they are for the DHS's brainwave monitoring system.

Ferris Family said...

You better high-tail it out of there!

erinberry said...

Oh my goodness, that is scary!

A.B. said...

Dear Erin, I've always loved you. I hope you live it up from now until January!
Love, Amanda

Jack said...

Congrats. They don't let me handle benevolences around here anymore because I'm a softie.

How would it change the situation if you'd seen him as a person and not just money? That reference doesn't even make any sense in his context.

Next time, ask him if he sees the Church as free money, or as people.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Hate that I missed that. =P Don't worry about the world ending- the Cubs still haven't won another Series. THAT will be the sign that the apocalypse is upon us. ;-)

Jillian said...

Hey Erin! I have a lot of time on my hands today, and decided to check out your blog in more depth, for once. After reading this entry, I really must ask...did anyone ever tie this kind gentleman and his pronouncement of judgment to the ice storm? It did hit in January! o_O

Just thought that was funny. :-)