Dan Czaplewski posted on August 20, 2007 09:29
We had a pig in church yesterday.
That isn’t a setup or a punch line to a joke. It isn’t a cutting remark about someone who was attending worship, nor did we have a blessing of the animals at Shepherd of the Coast.
Here’s how it happened:
My wife and the Learning Center Director were sitting in the Director’s office during 11 am service. Both had attended earlier services and they were chatting about the first day of school. My wife was looking out the window when she said, “is that a pig that just went by?” It was. By the time they got to the front doors of the church this piglet (not a potbelly, a regular, barnyard variety baby pig) was on his way up the front steps to get into church. They headed him (or her, I’m not sure) off at the pass and cornered the pig in our playground.
The non-emergency number for the police was called and our Director told the dispatcher the story. The dispatcher responded, “you mean pig, like oink, snort, oink?” “Yes,” was the reply. “This is a joke, right?” “No,” was the reply.
Two Fort Lauderdale squad cars arrived rather quickly. I think they wanted to see this with their own eyes. The first officer on the scene asked, “you mean a p-i-g?” Apparently, he felt he needed to spell in front of the animal, lest it take offense at being called a pig to its face (or snout). The officers had the ladies (by now our 3rd and 4th grade teacher was assisting) lure the animal into our handicapped bathroom so it wouldn’t escape. I never knew that pigs were fond of cucumbers, but that was the “bait” they used to trap the pig.
The officers called the Wildlife Care Center and left. I’m sure that they went to the local diner to tell everyone else on the shift about the Lutheran Church with the pig.
The man from the Wildlife Care Center showed up just as people were walking out of our 11 am service. The poor creature gave out one blood curdling squeal and was “guided” into a cat carrier. The pictures will be on our web site by tomorrow.
So, what is the point? I challenge you to come up with a devotional thought for all of this and e-mail it to me. Feel free to forward this as well.
I will offer this: I think we have to be willing to smile a bit more, laugh sometimes, and enjoy being in church. If God, in His divine providence, sends a pig to help us have a good time at church, all we can say is, “thanks be to God!”