At my church tonight, we had a festival of lessons and carols, which was also a candle-light service. We sang mostly well-beloved songs. There was one song I didn't know well, and one that I knew pretty well--"Of the Father's Love Begotten"--but that I could tell most of the congregation was struggling with.
Where I was sitting, I could see up the center aisle, and half-way the front, next to a pew was a fire extinguisher. At first I wondered about it, and wondered if someone in that row had an oxygen tank. Then I thought maybe it was required by the fire department. A few years ago, they made law in our fair little city that churches that have a candle-light service have to get a permit from the fire department. I thought, maybe it's a rule that they have a fire extinguisher. Then I pictured the elder who was sitting there leaping to his feet and spraying a candle-holding member of the congregation with the fire extinguisher and covering them with that white foam. I almost got the giggles, but I forced my mind away from the picture and stayed serious. Later the fire extinguisher caught my eye again, and I almost giggled again, but I controlled the impulse. Other than those lapses, it was a fine service.
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