Stained Glass Windows

Our church was deep into the middle of a three year building project. The school had been built, the hall was renovated, and now the sanctuary was last on the list, and some people were pretty excited. Pastor "Steve" stood up and proudly announced that the church was about to begin the final stage in the process.

You could feel the buzz in the air, even people who were generally stone faced, were turning to their neighbors and smiling. Pastor Steve began to list some of the plans for the sanctuary, which included more comfortable pews, a better sound system, a higher stage...

It was like Christmas. I thought people were going to start high-fiving each other right there in the isles. Then it happened. Pastor Steve said it: "then we're gonna knock out the stained glass windows and replace them with..."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not kidding. Someone actually yelled "No."

It was the kind of "no" like an action hero yells when his friend dies in movie.Every jaw dropped, and in one motion, heads turned to a little frail grandma-like lady.

Total silence. Even Pastor Steve didn't know what to say. A few seconds more of awkward silence...and then the pastor regained his composure, and told how we were replacing the old windows with new and improved ones.

The windows did get replaced, and the new ones were nice. But every time I look at them I hear the agonizing lament of an elderly woman.