Holy Spirit Church
There is at least one monster in the woods behind Holy Spirit Church. It has abandoned two derelict cars on the property. Like a dragon, the creature probably breathes flame. It set a car on fire that mistakenly trespassed upon the parish roadway. While the pastor slept, firemen worked deligently to control it and most of the wreckage was removed. Ashes and grease marred the melted blacktop at the entrance of the parking lot. We never did find out the ownership. The police never told us anything more about it, we only hope that there was no one inside. The thing with no name also leaves tons of debris on the grounds, everything from old tires and lumber to metal piping and an engine. It must be a party animal because we sometimes find small empty bottles of liquor and other nasty things besides.
It may be a siren too, since young people seemed drawn to the woods, riding their dirt bikes. Later there is the sound of music, or noise that pretends to be such, and the echo of laughter. Some people take short-cuts through the forest. I do not recommend this. It makes for a truly dangerous journey.
The beast is a thief. The previous pastor lamented the breakin and robbery of marble holy water fonts shaped like angels. No doubt they now adorn the yard of some foul and haggard monstrosity that fears neither God nor man. It is also a murderer. How many times you ask? We cannot begin to guess. Cars go crashing in front of the Parish House. People walking never come home. One Sunday morning a police detective told me that they had found a dead body on church land. They suggested that he was walking Ritchie Road at night, a dangerous road for sure, that has taken at least five lives since my arrival. In this case, the man had been thrown from the road and into the bordering trees of the parish woods. We never learned his name but we prayed for his soul.
“Disappeared, we suspect he was the latest victim of the monster.”
Two vultures, also known as turkey-buzzards by the locals, keep vigil on the church tower. Six feet across from wing tip to wing tip, these birds which we have nicknamed Hickey and Lori, frighten the ladies, but are courageous sentinels of the real demon or demons in the woods. They see and hear everything. They can smell death.
The monster apparently seduces souls too. Families and children who once came to church suddenly disappear. Values are distorted. Sporting events or just sleeping is deemed a higher value than Godly worship. Young people who seemed committed to Christ one day, are resistant to the message of the Gospel the next. I suspect the creature is a dragon, like the serpent of old that tempted our first parents. It may be invisible to the eye, but preying upon the weak of faith with detrimental results that are all too visible. It does not like our work here in Forestville. The roof has been ripped, requiring numerous repairs. Water has entered the foundation of the Parish house and mud our chapel– but our true foundation in Christ remains unassailed. Trees that have stood for years have been scorched by lightning bolts and then felled by wind. Our parish sign was struck a terribly blow and twisted badly– but it remains standing– a sign to all that we are still here.
Yes, there is a monster here, but God is on our side and we do not fear.
