WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES!

“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,” (Matthew 17:1)

Last Monday night (December 8) I went to the 2007 Christmas Dinner of the “Central Massachusetts Section” of the Assemblies of God. It was held in Fitchburg at what used to be known as the Fitchburg Assembly of God church. (It’s now “Crossroads Church” or something like that. Right now in the Assemblies of God it’s considered really uncool to have “Assembly of God” or “Assemblies of God” in your church’s name so I guess that makes the name “First Assembly of God of Framingham” QUITE uncool!)

The Assemblies of God in the U.S.A. are divided into “Districts” which would be like a “Diocese” in the Catholic Church. We’re located in the Southern New England District. Then the Districts are divided into “Sections”. Our “Central Massachusetts Section” is one of the largest in the District. Framingham has the distinction of being the easternmost church in the Central Mass. Section and Orange is the westernmost. I like when a Sectional function is in a place like Marlboro because it’s close by, but I really don’t like to drive to Fitchburg. I know commentator Mike Barnacle is originally from Fitchburg. He likes to affectionately refer to the Fitchburg/Leominster area as “The Kingdom”. My own opinion of that area is not so affectionate. It’s geographically isolated and a pain to get to Fitchburg. And when you DO get there it looks like Worcester, only worse.

My wife starts work at Marian High School VERY early in the morning and can be falling asleep at 8:30 p.m. She really didn’t want to go to the Sectional dinner for that reason, and I couldn’t blame her. The dinner was actually pretty good and the evening was pretty good, but afterward the pastor of our church in Marlboro commented to me that he’d gotten lost trying to find the Fitchburg church. I commiserated with him, saying that while I’d found it THIS time, I’ve also been lost in Fitchburg in the past. He said he’d call me on Friday and that maybe we could set up a time to get together for coffee sometime soon, to which I agreed.

I did not hear from him on Friday, and I wasn’t surprised. That was the morning after the ice storm, and he lives in Worcester. Boy, I feel delighted and yet almost guilty that I live and work in Framingham! SO many areas were devastated by last Thursday night’s ice storm. Fitchburg is one of the hardest hit areas with trees down and wires down all over the community. Had that dinner been scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15 or really anytime between Dec. 12 and Dec. 16, it wouldn’t have happened! Many of the towns I drive to on the route to Fitchburg were also devastated. In fact, much of Marlboro was pretty hard hit. Framingham borders Marlboro, and Framingham had no ice, no downed trees and no loss of electricity. WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE.

In 2007, my daughter Amy experienced one of those devastating type ice storms in Springfield, Missouri. The only previous such storm there on record happened in 1954, so everybody was quite unprepared for it. I’ve seen many photos of the January 2007 Springfield, Missouri ice storm, and it the current photos on T.V. of Fitchburg look identical. Parts of Springfield, MO had no electricity for nine days. Amy and several young people went to stay at a friend’s home in Kansas City, KS until things in Springfield were back to normal. I’ve seen a number of people on the T.V. news who similarly report staying with relatives in Boston suburbs such as Newton. Thousands and thousands have no electricity and it doesn’t look like it will be back on any time soon.

I drove through that area just a week ago with no idea what was coming.
MANY churches in that area had services canceled today. I feel for pastors who have frozen and broken pipes in their church buildings and in their homes. There will also be so many consequences for computers and other modern electronic devices of power being off for more than 24 hours straight. We got “Verizon FiOS” last January. One of the BAD points of it is that it runs off of electricity. There’s a battery backup with the FiOS system so that even if you lose electricity for up to 24 hours, you’ll still have telephone service. That system fails after 24 hours and in most cases would necessitate a service call for a new battery after power is restored. That’s also true with church emergency lighting, certain fire alarm system batteries, etc. I am SO glad I don’t have to deal with all that stuff, but those who DO will need our prayers.

Yes, what a difference a week makes!