THE CURLY SHUFFLE?

“...for the hasted (i.e. “was hurrying”), if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.”  (from Acts 20:16).

Some of you (especially guys) will remember a comedy song from the 1980s called, “The Curly Shuffle”.  It was a silly song about “Curly” of The Three Stooges and how he would whip himself into a frenzy,  literally spinning around in circles on the floor while yelling the nonsensical, “Wooo Wooo Wooo Wooo Wooo...”!  I think the reason a lot of men LIKE The Three Stooges is that they say and do things you’d LOVE to be able to do in real life, but can’t. 

Lately I’ve been telling people that I’ve been “running around like Curly Howard”.  And I have been!  All that’s missing is the shaved head, and the yelling, “Wooo Wooo Wooo Wooo Wooo...”.  Pretty much, everything else is there.  My daughter Amy gets married in Springfield, Missouri on Saturday, March 15.  She and her new husband David will also have a “Massachusetts reception” at the Eagles’ Club in downtown Framingham exactly one week later. At our tiny church, I’m the pastor and “chief cook & bottle washer” as I tell people.  In a typical week, I do the work of 3-4 people, and that’s the truth.  I do have a volunteer secretary about 5 or 6 hours a week.  Otherwise, I wear more hats than I’d care to!  My wife Mary Ann is the Treasurer.  It really should NOT be that way, but right now there’s pretty much no one else to do that job.  My son Jon pretty much runs the worship team and handles the sound system.  We have not ALL been away on a single Sunday in several years.  Mary Ann and I are also the only Sunday School teachers. 

What goes on at a little church?  Well, just TODAY, Mary Ann (who works full-time at Marian High School) and I have been dealing with a gas shutoff notice for the parsonage (our residence), an electric shutoff notice for the parsonage, a telephone shutoff notice for the church building, and trying to figure if we arrange a delivery of oil for the church building or if that’s too risky. (Mary Ann has to pay the church mortgage, and that will pretty much “clean out” the account.)  I took out some trash at the church only to discover I had mold and mildew growing in the trash can so I had to clean that up with bleach and water.  I tried to get some paperwork done this morning...well, some of it got done.

I probably have at least 65 things to do before we leave on Monday to drive to Missouri.  (Incidentally, someone will be staying at our residence part of the time we’re gone, and the other part, it will be pretty carefully watched, in case anyone is thinking about doing something they shouldn’t do!)  Will I get those “65 things” done?  I need to, and yet it doesn’t look likely!

So for you “guys” who know how to pray, please pray for our trip!  On Sunday, March 16, Craig Bellisario of New Covenant Christian School will be speaking at our church.  THAT week, church will start at 9:30 a.m. rather than the usual 10:30. 

I don’t know if I’ll get to do any blog posting while in Missouri or not.  I will just have to see how things go!

Well, back to the Curly Shuffle,  ”Wooo Wooo Wooo Wooo Wooo...”