Tonight I had a presentation scheduled in Tama/Toledo. These two little towns are so close I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. And based on my introductory sentence, you might guess that I wasn’t exactly sure which one I was supposed to be in!
You see, many little towns in Iowa still have more than one United Methodist Church because one of them was Methodist and the other was Evangelical United Brethren. Both became UMC and they never joined. Many of these churches are now part of multi-point charges served by the same pastor, who often work together..
Long story short… I found myself parked outside of the Toledo worship center half an hour before the presentation. All the doors were locked and the lights were off.
I gave them 10 more minutes and then started trying to find the pastor’s number in old emails. About that time, he called me and I instantly realized I was at the wrong building of this four-point charge.
I should have known something was wrong, because the little old ladies in churches like this always show up at least half an hour early to start the coffee pot.
Back in the car, down the road a few miles to Tama, and all was well.