Waiting on Patience

Faith leads to involvement and involvement leads to politics -- or what I call the dark side. Oh, I'm hearing Darth Vader again. That breathing which does not instill comfort, but does bring a smile to my face. After all good does win out over the dark side, right?

Being a person who can multitask, I am also hearing multiple sound tracks. As I'm hearing The Gambler with Kenny Rogers singing, "Know when to walk away and know when to run..."

Do I have your interest, or have you already clicked off the page? No worries.

A call came from the parish secretary yesterday. I need to call the parish custodian and let him know that the picnic is in the hall this weekend. Really, he hasn't read the bulletin or seen the posters, sign up sheets or the big sign at the front door? In the past signing up with the rectory means the parish personnel knows there is an event taking place. I call.

He asks, "Did you move some tables when you were in the hall with the middle school youth?" The answer, "No, we lowered some chairs, but didn't move tables." His response, "Then a sister is lying. And by the way do you need anything for the picnic this weekend?" Really how did I get caught in a she said, she said? And by the way, no we have all the supplies we need, though a few extra trash can liners would be great.

Conversation over, I run an errand, still pondering the call. Really she said, she said. Ah, can we both be right? What if the tables were moved prior to my entering the hall by an occupant before me? I call the custodian back and leave that message. For who truly wants to believe someone involved with the church is not forthcoming. Hey, if we had scratched the floor, I'd admit to it. For ownership is empowering. It builds confidence and trust.

Next scene to the drama: Later in the day, the secretary calls back summoning me to a meeting with the parish business admin. I ask, "And the agenda is?" She has no clue. I politely ask her to relate to the business manager to call me with an agenda or I won't show. Despite having my name in the bulletin for "Call Patty if you want more info or want to help with...," I'm a volunteer. Is the writing on the wall? Is it time to look for a greener pasture, where I'll keep my hands folded in prayer instead of raising them to signal, I'll help with that.

I just realized this post ends with a bit of a cliff hanger... tune in next week, folks when all will be revealed. In the mean time I'm off to pick up supplies for the pie eating contest and the parfait station. For everyone loves parfait!!!