Crash, Bang, Boom

Last Thursday, I was sitting in my office at Mount Vernon when I heard a loud crash. At first I thought it might have been a loud clap of thunder, or that someone had fallen down the steps while carrying a piano or something. Turns out the sound was a white oak tree landing outside my window.

My daughter and I were the only ones in the building at the time. Everyone had left for the day, and we were hanging out waiting to go to Denny’s for the Thursday night supper club. Walking around back to examine the damage I saw that the tree missed the church building. But the air conditioning unit was not so lucky.

Some of you may recall that the church was having problems with their HVAC system last winter. Several worship services in January were held in a classroom on the second floor until it was “repaired.” I use that term lightly because the repair guy explained that he was able to get it going with some WD-40 and duct tape, but the system needed to be replaced.

HVAC systems for churches aren’t cheap. Those of you who remember our old building will remember that we had problems with our own system. While Pastor Betsy and the Church Council struggled with what to do, I was able to relax and think, “Thank goodness it’s not my problem.”

As I write this article the problem is still unresolved. Before the AC guy can assess the damage, the tree guy needs to cut away the offending tree, which is another huge expense. In the meantime, we will continue worshipping in a non-airconditioned fellowship hall. The Christian church managed to survive for 1900 years without AC, so I think we’ll survive. I’ll see you Sunday, wearing short sleeves and waving my VHBC funeral fan