Ringing Without A Permit
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"Ringing Without a Permit" by John Sumwalt
Ringing Without a Permit
by John Sumwalt
Acts 5:27-32
But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than human authority.’ -- Acts 5:29
The vision came while Rhonda was in the sacristy on a Wednesday evening just before Bell Choir rehearsal. She had come in early as she did every week to polish a few of the bells before setting up the tables in the sanctuary. It was as she put down the polishing cloth and lifted a bell into the light for inspection that Rhonda saw herself reflected in the shimmering brass. She was standing before a judge in a courtroom, and heard him say as clear as a bell, “The charge is ringing without a permit.” And then she heard herself respond, “We must obey God rather than human authority.”
That was it, a momentary flash that was as real as real could be, not like a day dream or a fantasy, more like stepping into an alternate universe. It lasted only a few seconds but the experience left her with a profound sense of God’s presence and a deep inner peace like nothing she had ever known in all of her seventy years.
What did it mean? Somehow Rhonda knew that what she had seen was going to happen but how could that be? The thought was soon gone from her mind as she realized she would have to hurry to get the bell tables set up before the rest of the choir arrived. It wasn’t till after rehearsal and the choir’s usual soup and sandwich fellowship time that her thoughts returned to what she had seen in the sacristy. She was pondering the moment as she walked out the door of the church. And then as her eyes looked out over the little park that adjoined the courthouse lawn across the street she knew immediately why the vision had come to her and exactly what she was supposed to do about it.
The park was filled with homeless people getting ready to bed down for the night. Every bench was taken and several people were already stretched out in their sleeping bags on the floor of the band shell and around every tree and bush. The number of homeless had been increasing dramatically in recent months. What to do about it was the cause of a heated controversy that had torn the community and the church apart. The council and the mayor had received so many complaints about litter and damage to city property that they had passed an ordinance declaring that the homeless had thirty days to vacate the park and making it illegal for anyone to give them food.
This troubled Rhonda as it did many in her church. Some wanted to invite the homeless to spend nights in the Fellowship Hall but they were voted down by a large majority of members, who said there were not enough bathrooms and the homeless would cause too much damage just as they did in the park.
Rhonda had never been involved in the churches meals for the homeless outreach ministry. Music was her calling. Directing the senior bell choir with its eight faithful members, all in their seventies and eighties, took all of her energy and extra time. What Rhonda was about to do was completely out of character for someone whose nature was to avoid attention. What she saw and heard in the sacristy had given her a new found confidence and determination.
The choir members heard this certainty in her voice when she phoned each one the next morning and amazingly they all agreed to meet her at the band shell in the park at noon the following day. Rhonda arrived early and with the help of the church custodian arranged the bells on the portable tables. After the choir members arrived they proceeded with rehearsal just as they did on Wednesday nights in the church sanctuary. Rhonda had insisted that what they were doing was not to be a performance. Never the less a large crowd of the homeless gathered around to listen and watch. They applauded and cheered after each selection.
When the rehearsal was finished they packed up the bells and spread table cloths on the bell tables in preparation for their regular fellowship time. Out came baskets of sandwiches and thermoses filled with coffee and lots of hot soup. Bowls and plates were offered to everyone in the park and soon the air was filled with the happy sounds of people eating and conversing. The choir members mingled with the homeless and introduced themselves. One young homeless woman said that she had musical training and wondered if she could join the choir next time they came to rehearse.
A cake appeared and several dozen cookies were laid out on the bell tables. And then just as Rhonda was about to cut the cake a loud, gruff voice was heard demanding, “Put the cake down and move away from the table!” Rhonda was so startled that she dropped the cake. When she looked up she saw several policemen advancing toward the band shell.
The next day as Rhonda stood before the bench in the courtroom, she was not surprised when she heard the judge say, “The charge is ringing without a permit.” And then she smiled because she knew just what she was supposed to say.
John E. Sumwalt is the lead pastor of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in suburban Milwaukee and the author of nine books, to be released by CSS in 2007. John and his wife, Jo Perry-Sumwalt, served for three years as co-editors of StoryShare. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), Sumwalt received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for parish ministry from UDTS in 1997.
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 3, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Ringing Without a Permit" by John Sumwalt
Ringing Without a Permit
by John Sumwalt
Acts 5:27-32
But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than human authority.’ -- Acts 5:29
The vision came while Rhonda was in the sacristy on a Wednesday evening just before Bell Choir rehearsal. She had come in early as she did every week to polish a few of the bells before setting up the tables in the sanctuary. It was as she put down the polishing cloth and lifted a bell into the light for inspection that Rhonda saw herself reflected in the shimmering brass. She was standing before a judge in a courtroom, and heard him say as clear as a bell, “The charge is ringing without a permit.” And then she heard herself respond, “We must obey God rather than human authority.”
That was it, a momentary flash that was as real as real could be, not like a day dream or a fantasy, more like stepping into an alternate universe. It lasted only a few seconds but the experience left her with a profound sense of God’s presence and a deep inner peace like nothing she had ever known in all of her seventy years.
What did it mean? Somehow Rhonda knew that what she had seen was going to happen but how could that be? The thought was soon gone from her mind as she realized she would have to hurry to get the bell tables set up before the rest of the choir arrived. It wasn’t till after rehearsal and the choir’s usual soup and sandwich fellowship time that her thoughts returned to what she had seen in the sacristy. She was pondering the moment as she walked out the door of the church. And then as her eyes looked out over the little park that adjoined the courthouse lawn across the street she knew immediately why the vision had come to her and exactly what she was supposed to do about it.
The park was filled with homeless people getting ready to bed down for the night. Every bench was taken and several people were already stretched out in their sleeping bags on the floor of the band shell and around every tree and bush. The number of homeless had been increasing dramatically in recent months. What to do about it was the cause of a heated controversy that had torn the community and the church apart. The council and the mayor had received so many complaints about litter and damage to city property that they had passed an ordinance declaring that the homeless had thirty days to vacate the park and making it illegal for anyone to give them food.
This troubled Rhonda as it did many in her church. Some wanted to invite the homeless to spend nights in the Fellowship Hall but they were voted down by a large majority of members, who said there were not enough bathrooms and the homeless would cause too much damage just as they did in the park.
Rhonda had never been involved in the churches meals for the homeless outreach ministry. Music was her calling. Directing the senior bell choir with its eight faithful members, all in their seventies and eighties, took all of her energy and extra time. What Rhonda was about to do was completely out of character for someone whose nature was to avoid attention. What she saw and heard in the sacristy had given her a new found confidence and determination.
The choir members heard this certainty in her voice when she phoned each one the next morning and amazingly they all agreed to meet her at the band shell in the park at noon the following day. Rhonda arrived early and with the help of the church custodian arranged the bells on the portable tables. After the choir members arrived they proceeded with rehearsal just as they did on Wednesday nights in the church sanctuary. Rhonda had insisted that what they were doing was not to be a performance. Never the less a large crowd of the homeless gathered around to listen and watch. They applauded and cheered after each selection.
When the rehearsal was finished they packed up the bells and spread table cloths on the bell tables in preparation for their regular fellowship time. Out came baskets of sandwiches and thermoses filled with coffee and lots of hot soup. Bowls and plates were offered to everyone in the park and soon the air was filled with the happy sounds of people eating and conversing. The choir members mingled with the homeless and introduced themselves. One young homeless woman said that she had musical training and wondered if she could join the choir next time they came to rehearse.
A cake appeared and several dozen cookies were laid out on the bell tables. And then just as Rhonda was about to cut the cake a loud, gruff voice was heard demanding, “Put the cake down and move away from the table!” Rhonda was so startled that she dropped the cake. When she looked up she saw several policemen advancing toward the band shell.
The next day as Rhonda stood before the bench in the courtroom, she was not surprised when she heard the judge say, “The charge is ringing without a permit.” And then she smiled because she knew just what she was supposed to say.
John E. Sumwalt is the lead pastor of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in suburban Milwaukee and the author of nine books, to be released by CSS in 2007. John and his wife, Jo Perry-Sumwalt, served for three years as co-editors of StoryShare. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), Sumwalt received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for parish ministry from UDTS in 1997.
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 3, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
