The Remains of the Day
by Charlotte Johnstone

Carl Joyner and Chester Burroughs, longtime ushers at Forbearance, always lingered in the sanctuary after Sunday services to “walk the pews,” collecting the odds and ends that Forbearance’s people tended to leave behind – umbrellas, gloves, scarves, even the occasional purse, and, of course, the usual flotsam of Sunday bulletins scattered here and there. The lost and found box outside the offices usually burgeoned with their retrievals and was the first place visited by members discovering that they had forgotten something.

However, the Sunday bulletins, destined ultimately for the paper recycling bin, had become a source of fascination for Carl and Chester ever since they realized, some years ago, that Presbyterians, steeped in a tradition of decorous silence during services, used their bulletins to nevertheless communicate their random thoughts to their companions.

What do Carol and Chester find out about other members of their congregation by reading the bulletin scribbles and doodles? Find out in the November/ December 2008 issue of Horizons.

Charlotte Johnstone is a member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Along with the cast of Forbearance Presbyterian Church, she welcomes comments. Write to her at Horizons, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville KY 40202-1396, or email wjohns4949@att.net. Some of Charlotte’s most beloved tales from Forbearance are available in the book, Annie the Kitchen Queen and Other Dispatches from Forbearance Presbyterian Church. Order Item HZN-06-304 through Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS), 800/524-2612. $10.00 plus shipping and handling.

Illustration by Annette Cable.

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