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After her little chat with Annette, Maggie began to watch the church guests like a hawk.
At Bible study that night, Galen asked her, “What’s got you in a tizzy?”
She told him about Annette. He didn’t seem as shook up as she was, and she let him know that this was unacceptable.
“What do you want me to say?” Galen asked.
“Never mind. You’ve obviously never been homeless,” Maggie snapped.
“Seriously?” Galen headed up front.
As she watched him walk away, she witnessed a bizarre interaction. Melanie was sitting in the aisle seat of the front pew. She was the only one sitting in the front pew. Yet Chief walked up to her, hit her in the shoulder with his Bible and barked, “This is my seat.” She jumped up like a scared rabbit and moved a full two rows back. Galen, having missed the exchange, called everyone to prayer. As he prayed, Maggie continued to survey the congregation, wondering if Chief was in fact the mystery bully. She didn’t see anyone else beating any brows. Most people had their eyes closed and their heads bowed. But as her gaze swept toward the back, she made eye contact with Dwight, whose eyes were wide open and ablaze with something that looked a lot like hatred. Instinctively, her head snapped front and down, and she squeezed her eyes shut—the little hairs on the back of her neck now very much at attention.
To his credit, Galen focused his message on bullying, looking at Matthew 7:12, Mark 12:31, and Romans 12:18.
After the closing prayer, Maggie turned to Harmony. “Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Is there anyone living here who you would classify as a bully?”
“You mean Chief?”
“That didn’t take you long to think of him.”
“Well, the guy’s a dry drunk. And a jerk.”
“Harmony! Keep your voice down!”
“You brought it up!”
“So what’s he do exactly? And why don’t I know about it?”
“I dunno. He’s just a real grouch. He’s been here so long he thinks he owns the place. And he’s gotten much worse since Dan died. I think he’s grieving or something. Anyway, I stay away from him. And I keep Daniel away from him, but the guys who live with him? Those guys need prayer.”
“Huh. So what do you think we should do about it?”
“No idea. I mean, Pastor Dan knew about it, and he was trying to counsel Chief through it, but now ... he’s like a really mean sheep with no shepherd.”
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After Galen and Maggie got the kids into bed, Maggie tried again. “Harmony says Chief is the issue.”
“I’m not surprised. He’s not the most pleasant individual. I’ve seen him throw his weight around. But that Dwight guy is no picnic either.”
“Well, at least he’s a new Christian. Chief has been going to daily Bible studies for three years, at least.”
“I think it’s closer to five,” Galen said. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Why?”
“Because I live and breathe that shelter. Now I just want to go to bed in my own home. I just want to think about something else. Want to watch a movie?”
“Sure. Can I ask you just one more thing?”
“Ahuh.”
“Can you talk to him?”
“Who, Chief?”
“Yeah, Harmony says that Dan was counseling him. Maybe you could help.”
“Honey, I don’t know. Let me think about it, OK?”
“OK.”
“And you just stay away from him.”
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The next morning, Maggie accosted Pastor Chris before he could even get into his office. “What happened to you yesterday?”
Chris didn’t look at her. He just unlocked his door and went inside, saying, “I had a lot to do. What do you need?”
“Well, we had a young woman and her baby leave yesterday because she was being bullied, and you couldn’t be bothered to help her with it.”
Chris still didn’t look at her. He made himself busy shuffling some paperwork around on his desk. “Bullied? Well, I’m not surprised. We’re not exactly a country club.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Maggie put her hands on her hips, her face much redder than usual.
Finally, he looked at her. “You know exactly what I mean. We have homeless people here. They are not exactly the most sociable, the most refined folks. Of course we’re going to have behavioral issues. Some of these people just got out of prison.”
“Jail.”
“What?”
“We don’t have anyone who just got out of prison. They just got out of jail. There’s a difference.”
“Pardon my error.” He looked down at his papers.
“And bullying is not normal around here. I’ve never heard of an issue before now. Sure, people are grumpy, but this girl used the word bullies. This was no small thing. She was actually scared to stay here.”
“OK then. Thank you for telling me,” Chris said dismissively.
“So, how do I reach you if there’s an emergency? What if someone else wants to talk to you? What if it’s about something more pressing than bullying? How am I supposed to get you?”
“You can text me,” he said condescendingly. “I’ll answer you when I’m able.”
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Later that week, two newcomers walked into the sanctuary about halfway through Galen’s Bible study. One of the men wore sunglasses and carried a white cane. Galen did not pause, but did nod and smile at them in greeting. They sat near the back.
When Galen was about to close in prayer, he asked if there were any specific requests. One of the men stood up. “My friend here is blind. We’ve come in hopes the child Daniel would pray for him.”
Maggie heard Harmony gasp. Galen looked at Harmony, but she didn’t give him any indication of how to answer.
Daniel took the lead. He stood up, walked to the back of the sanctuary, and knelt in front of the blind man. He whispered to the man, so quietly only those closest to him could hear, “I don’t know God’s will for you, but I will pray.” Then he bowed his head and muttered something unintelligible. It seemed the entire congregation was holding their breath. Daniel said, “In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.” The blind man bent and kissed Daniel on the head, and then Daniel stood, but still, the sanctuary was silent, as if everyone was waiting for the man to leap to his feet and say, “I can see!”
That did not happen.
Galen closed in prayer and then dismissed everyone. Maggie was going to stop and make sure the men did not need a place to stay, but by the time she weaved her way to the back of the sanctuary, they were already gone.
