Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Died in Service

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, 'Good morning Alex.' 'Good morning Pastor,' he replied, still focused on the plaque.

'Pastor, what is this?'

The pastor said, 'Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.' Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque.

Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked,




"Which service... the 8:30 or the 10:30?"

Don't blame me. Blame Fran.

15 comments:

  1. Oh it is really terrible, isn't it? I'm glad you posted it. Sort of!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's terrible, Fran, and I blame you entirely, but I'm glad I posted it, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Our choir director once told us that the one hymn he never uses as a processional is God of Grace and God of Glory because he worried that we'd giggle at the line, "Grant us courage, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour."

    ReplyDelete
  4. In all honesty, I got it in an email from my friend Paul. I don't blame him, I still blame me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mary Cauliflower, I love your new name. It was a loooong hour, was it?

    Fran, I blame whoever is handy. It's not my fault. It never is.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I needed a laugh this evening. Thank you Fran and Grandmere!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for a much needed laugh this morning!

    I will never be able to sing God of Grace and God of Glory again!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm with Erika. I suppose it might work as a closing hymn though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mother Amelia
    it would certainly work if you were coming back for Sunday lunch at our house:-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my, Erika. Sunday lunch when I was growing up had no fewer than 9 people and usually 11 to 14. I enjoyed the meal and all the noise. Facing washing dishes afterwards (my job and no dishwasher) was truly a "for the facing of this hour" time for me, though. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is an "oldie but goodie" and I laugh each time i hear or see it. Must have been some sermon that was capable of "doing in" all those folks!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fran and I are pleased to bring a little laughter into your lives. Too bad Mary Cauliflower up there ruined a perfectly nice hymn. The seeds are planted. Singing the hymn will never be the same for us.

    ReplyDelete
  13. As I am sure I have mentioned, I'm a deeply (deeply, deeply, deeply) flawed person.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Petty, ya gotta.

    Mary, I know that now.

    ReplyDelete

Anonymous commenters, please sign a name, any name, to distinguish one anonymous commenter from another. Thank you.