A call from a parishioner

Yesterday afternoon as I was walking to the bank, my cell phone rings. It was The Kid.

"Yes?"

"Dad ... you need to call this parishioner before she calls the house again. She's looking for you and it sounded important."

Now this is one of my elderly parishioners who hasn't ever figured out that if she wants to talk to me she needs to call my cell phone. Every time ... EVERY TIME ... she's looking for me, she'll call the house. She's the only person who does that. And if she doesn't get me, she'll keep calling until she does.

"Okay .... I'll stop by on my way home from the bank."

When I got to her house, I said, "I hear you needed to find me."

"Yes, come over here please, I need help with this ...... Do you have something to open this with?" as she hands me a wine bottle and three corkscrews that don't work.

"You called me to open a wine bottle?"

"Yes ... it's rather important this time of the day."

So I walked to the church, got the corkscrew that works, headed back, and opened her bottle of white zinfandel. And we shared a small glass of wine.

"I had another one I couldn't open, so I thought I'd try to just break the top off on the back stairs .... now I have glass and wine all over the back porch. I thought I'd call you for this one. And it's not like I HAVE to have a glass of wine, it's just nice at this time of night. It's not all that important, really. That's what the bourbon is for."

The things we do for our parishioners.