They were already there when I arrived during the Gloria. The brother caught my eye first: he stood at the choir loft rail to my left and marked hash-lines in rows on a paper. He threw his sister standing next to him a frustrated look whenever another family below joined a pew he'd already counted. She also counted pew-sitters on her side of the center aisle and jotted down the number on her paper.
I wanted to ask them what they were doing. Whether it was a project for school ... or their church.
As the second reading was announced, I told Kenny that it would be a worthwhile passage for him to memorize. The lector read with such emotion - she seemed to be on the verge of tears - that our guests were intrigued. They listened and seemed moved by the summation:
"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ..."But they caught themselves, especially him, and refused to be swept up. How ironic it would be. They quickly bolted out of the church during the Gospel Alleluias. Consequently they missed the reading from John, including 3:16.
Yes, "gospel in a nutshell" Sunday. What a shame that not everyone is back from summer vacation yet.
Our bulletin doesn't record attendance numbers, 'though it gives collection totals. So, I suppose one could reasonably deduce attendance from collection: one dollar per family per week.
cf. previous post: Tracts in the Church Parking Lot
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