The Visitation Part 4

"You're not telling me to compromise?"

"No. I'm just telling you to be wise. Be discreet."

He thought about that a moment, and finally-finally-he relaxed and smiled. "Okay, Travis. I gotcha."

"All right. That's all I'm going to say."

The bra.s.s handle on the big paneled door yielded, and the door opened. There were two other men in the foyer, and the moment I saw them, I thought I'd seen everything. Howard Munson and Andy Barker were standing on either side of the sanctuary door, peering into the sanctuary like two kids sneaking a peek at something forbidden. They turned as we entered and recognized me at once.

"Travis!" said Howard, the older one with the balding head and wire-rimmed gla.s.ses. He offered his hand. "Great to see you again!"

I introduced him to Kyle and told Kyle how he pastored the Gospel Light Pentecostal Tabernacle over on the southeast corner of town, that little white chapel near the grain elevators.

Howard introduced Andy, a young wheat farmer with stern-looking eyes even when he smiled. Howard said nothing about the small, independent Bible study Andy led in his home, a little group that had split off from Howard's church over a dispute about- well, about Howard. I didn't tell Kyle about Howard having a strong, negative opinion about every other church but his own, but Kyle may have noticed my surprise to see these two together and within the walls of a Catholic church. Of course, neither had actually gone farther than the foyer.

Howard looked through the sanctuary door again, shook his head in pain and disgust and muttered to us, "Incredible. Just incredible."

The sanctuary was a comfortable, intimate place that could seat, I figured, about a hundred wors.h.i.+pers. It was warmly colored, with dark wood pews, red carpet runners down the aisles, and bra.s.s fixtures. The crucifix was in its traditional location, on the front wall above the altar, illuminated by a ceiling-mounted spotlight.

There were at least twenty people occupying the pews toward the front. Some were kneeling, some were sitting, all were looking steadfastly at the crucifix. I recognized the couple I'd seen at Judy's the night before sitting right on the aisle.

"They're waiting for the crucifix to cry again," Andy whispered.

"Incredible," Howard repeated, shaking his head again.

The ladder Arnold Kowalski had used to reach the crucifix was still where he'd left it, and now a man sat next to it reading from a psalm book.

Howard leaned close. "That's some kind of lay a.s.sistant sitting up there. I understand if anything happens, he's there to maintain order and a.s.sist people climbing the ladder."

What was I feeling? Awe? Foreboding? Even in my skepticism, I couldn't escape the fact that, real or imagined, nothing like this had ever happened in Antioch.

"Where's the meeting going to be?" I asked.

"Uh . . . I think in the fellows.h.i.+p hall."

I could tell Howard didn't want to go into the sanctuary. He asked in a whisper, "Is there another way to get there?"

I pointed toward a door at one end of the foyer. "I think it's through there."

We went through the door and down a hall to a sizable, multipurpose room. Most every church has such a room for wedding receptions, potlucks, and socials. At one end was a large pa.s.s-through into a commercial-sized kitchen, and coffee was available on the pa.s.s-through counter. Four folding tables were arranged in a square in the center of the room, and already the other ministers were mingling.

"Hey Travis!" Sid Maher, the Lutheran pastor, stepped up to shake my hand, and I introduced him to Kyle. He was tall, dark-haired, and bespectacled-a likable guy. His burden for unity among the pastors made him even easier to get along with, and he was glad to see me-with caution. "We're going to be sharing information and concerns, but I don't think we'll need to debate anything."

"I just came to listen," I told him.

He smiled and patted me on the arm, then turned to Kyle. "You have some tremendous shoes to fill."

"I think he brought a pair of his own," I quipped, and Sid laughed.

We helped ourselves to some coffee.

Burton Eddy stepped up to introduce himself. He was short, with black, horn-rimmed gla.s.ses, and wild brown hair. He pastored the local Presbyterian church and was, to put it mildly, a liberal. "Welcome to the booming metropolis of Antioch!" he told Kyle in his whiny, sneery voice. "How's the church going?"

"We're taking this town for Christ," Kyle announced unabashedly.

Burton gave him a fatherly pat on the shoulder. "You'll get over it." Then he turned to me. "Travis, I never got a chance to extend my condolences to you. Marian was a saint if ever there was one."

"Thank you. You're right."

He laughed. "On that we can agree!" He looked around the room, checking out who else was there. "And I trust we'll strive for consensus on other matters today?"

"I'm just here to listen," I repeated.

He gave me the same pat he'd given Kyle. "Good to see you."

Sid Maher was chairman of the ministerial and was taking his place at the center of one table. Kyle and I were headed for the table when a big-framed man with heavy jowls came up to greet us-effectively blocking our path to the chairs. He spoke to Kyle first and didn't even look at me. "And you must be the new minister at the Pentecostal Mission church."

"That's right," Kyle said boldly, shaking the man's hand. "Kyle Sherman."

"Armond Harrison," the big man answered. "Pastor of the Apostolic Brethren."

Kyle hesitated-digesting the church's name, I figured-before saying, "Okay."

"I understand you've brought a guest today?"

Kyle hesitated again.

"He's talking about me," I told him.

"Oh! Yeah, sure. Travis and I are together."

The big man weighed that for a moment and then gave a slow nod. Then he moved in closer-so close that Kyle had to s.h.i.+ft his weight backwards-and peered at Kyle through his thick bifocals. "Of course, you were aware that this meeting is just for the ministers."

"I'm only here to listen," I told him in as pleasant a tone as I could muster.

"And Travis is my guest," Kyle confirmed.

Armond Harrison directed only the briefest glance at me, then spoke to Kyle. "I suppose each minister is free to bring a guest.

Nice to have you here."

He turned away as Kyle and I took our places at the table.

"What was that all about?" Kyle whispered while trying not to look like he was.

"It's a great story," was all I said, sitting down. With one discreet glance, I saw Armond Harrison settle like a sinking s.h.i.+p into his chair directly across the square from me. He caught my glance, and his narrowed eyes sent a clear message back. It was just like old times.

Sid opened the meeting with a prayer and then made some opening comments. He thanked Al Vendetti, sitting to his immediate left, for opening Our Lady's facility to the other ministers-I think we all nodded in agreement except for Howard. "It's the first time we've ever met here, which is one historic note. The other might be the large attendance."

We laughed politely. I counted ten ministers. Nancy Barrons, Brett Henchle, and I brought the total attendance up to thirteen.

Nancy had her notebook ready; Brett sat next to her, looking ill at ease and out of place in his uniform. Sid acknowledged their presence but only glanced at me and nodded.

"So . . . now . . ." He looked around the table. "If we can go about this in a somewhat orderly fas.h.i.+on, why don't we recap what we know so we all have our information straight? Al, perhaps you could start?"

Al Vendetti was dark and Italian, in his forties, with his Philadelphia roots easy to guess in the way he talked. He cleared his throat, quickly caught everybody up on what had happened to Arnold Kowalski, and then explained the people now sitting in the sanctuary. "We have pilgrims in town. One couple came from Moses Lake, three came from Seattle. There are some from Spokane and some from Ritzville. Word's getting around, and they're here just to wait and watch."

He looked at Paul Daley, the handsome, bushy haired rector of St. Mark's Episcopal, who took the floor. "Yes, I was telling Al that I've gotten some inquiries as well, mostly from Episcopalian friends on the west side who got wind of this somehow. Not being Catholic, I don't know what to tell them so I refer them to Al." Then he added with no change in tone or facial expression, "But they do seem fascinated that this time it's Jesus crying and not Mary."

Al realized Paul was teasing and laughed. "In any event, we're still investigating, and so far we've found nothing happening here contrary to faith and morals."

Sid gave the floor to Morgan Elliott, who began a recap of the whole incident with Sally Fordyce. As we listened, I couldn't shake the image I still had of her being a flower child of the '60s, maybe even a singer in an acid-rock band. Her silver-streaked hair was wildly curly and hung past her shoulders, she wore roundish, wire-rimmed gla.s.ses on loan from John Lennon, and her voice had a Janis Joplin rasp as if she'd been born perpetually hoa.r.s.e. "Sally hasn't tried to embellish her story at all. I'm not even sure it would have gotten around town except for the other things happening. Bob . . ." She looked across the table at Bob Fisher, pastor of Antioch Baptist. "You were telling me about someone in your church?"

Bob Fisher, short and solidly built, eyed the gathering grimly as he related, "It's a member of my congregation who prefers to remain nameless."

Morgan piped up, "But you did say it was a man?"

She got a smile out of him. "It was a man."

"Just wanted to underline that little detail."

We all chuckled again, and the laughter took some of the edge off the discussion.

Bob continued, "He was fis.h.i.+ng down by the Spokane River when he saw a man standing on the riverbank, just the same as Sally Fordyce saw. The man, or angel, or whatever it was, said *Jesus is coming to Antioch,' and then he disappeared. It was that quick, that simple."

"Do you believe him?" Paul Daley asked.

Bob considered his answer for just a moment and then replied, "I believe he's sincere about whatever happened to him. I'm just not sure what happened to him. His account sounds very similar to a popular rumor that circulates every once in a while."

I stole a glance at Brett Henchle. He just sat there with a stern look on his face, silent as a stone. I could guess he wasn't about to stick his neck out, and I couldn't blame him. I wasn't about to speak up, either.

"Travis," Paul said. "I heard the people at your church are seeing Jesus in the clouds."

I smiled at Paul without saying a word, then leaned over and spoke to Kyle. "That's your cue."

"I'm not so sure," Kyle answered. "We had some folks who were seeing Jesus, but they were also seeing animals and a door and a flame of fire. Little Pammie Forester saw a rooster and then Bugs Bunny." That got a laugh from the group. "A few of the women came back on Monday, but the weather was too cloudy. You can only make out shapes when the clouds are scattered to broken. Overcast won't cut it."

Sid offered, "So for visions in the clouds you should get a weather briefing."

"Absolutely."

More laughter. Laughter was usually a good idea at these meetings.

"By the way, everyone, this is Kyle Sherman, the new pastor at Antioch Pentecostal Mission."

Good old Sid, always the bridge builder. Introductions went around the table and Kyle was off to a good start. I breathed a little easier.

Paul Daley offered, "A man in my church once received a prophecy from a cutthroat trout, but this could be a little different."

"What was your evaluation on that one?" Bob Fisher asked.

"Oh, the fish was delicious."

More laughter. Paul was good for loosening things up.

I couldn't be sure if Burton Eddy was really sneering or if it was just his usual crooked way of talking. "But we're starting to see a schematic here, aren't we? One supposedly supernatural occurrence breeds another, and then another, and before you know it, we have a real hysteria."

"So you don't think any of this is real?" Sid asked.

"Oh, it's real to those experiencing it, I suppose, the same as any dream or hallucination seems real. But this stuff catches on, and we'd be making a big mistake to cater to any of it. We'd only be feeding the frenzy."

Kyle added, "And there's always the possibility that these are demons we're dealing with."

No laughter. Burton just stared at Kyle.

"That's my concern too," said Bob.

"Whoa, now let's approach this carefully," Sid cautioned.

"Here we go again!" said Armond Harrison, glaring at me as if I was the one who said it.

Bob fired back, "Armond, it's only wise to be wary of deception. You can't believe everything that comes down the pike as though it's from G.o.d."

"Well if G.o.d does send anything our way," said Howard, "it's about time!"

Al was keeping cool outwardly, although his face looked a little red as he asked Kyle, "Are you suggesting that a demon healed Arnold's arthritis?"

"Well, just check the long-term results," Kyle answered.

"You mean, the much greater church attendance, or Arnold jubilant, walking about and rejoicing in what G.o.d has done?"

"No, I mean people turning their attention and devotion to an idol instead of to the Lord."

Armond's big jowled face was so red you could feel the heat clear across the table. "I see nothing has changed at Antioch Pentecostal Mission."

Morgan started laughing, wagging her head. "And the beat goes on," she said, then confronted Kyle and me. "There might be a good side to this. Don't condemn something just because it falls outside your religious paradigm."

Kyle tried to counter, "We're not condemning anyone-"

"Let people follow their personal sentiments. It can't hurt, really."

"Hear, hear!" said Burton Eddy, clapping his hands.

"After all, what is religion but-"

Sid raised his hands for attention. "All right, fine. Kyle's had his say, you've given your response, I think that should be enough-"

"No!" Morgan insisted. "We came here to share observations, and I'm going to share mine. Religion is a cry of the human heart for meaning. Every tradition has its myths and visitations, and this case is no different."