Wounded Pilgrim 7

PASTOR’S CALL

Brother Bartholomew’s phone was ringing on an early Saturday morning and the caller was none other than the Pastor. He felt like letting it become a missed call for once and he actually did it. Whatever the Pastor wanted to tell him at that early in the morning could it not wait? Apart from leaving the Wedding WhatsApp group of Eliezer what other crime had he committed.

The Saturday afternoon sun was relatively hot as Bartholomew entered the church compound. It was all quite except from the backyard where there noises of some cleaning and scrubbing activity as well as talking and laughing. It was just a few minutes past two when he approached the pastor’s office to knock and be allowed inside. By four o’clock the choir would be in church to practice songs that they would be singing the following Sunday. Due to his personal commitments he had become an inactive member of the choir group choosing to be singing alone whenever he felt like. He had even left the choir’s WhatsApp group to show that he was no longer with them anymore.

“Why did you quit the choir and even on WhatsApp?” one brother had asked him one Sunday morning when they met just outside the church.
“Just have lots of personal commitments that make it hard for me to continue participating in the choir regularly and I decided I won’t be the hindrance to the choir.” He replied to the brother.
“I thought you have some secret sins something that is most youths we do have in our choirs these days” the brother said.
“Hey brother it’s not about me having fornicating while singing in the choir it is about commitments.” Bartholomew felt the brother was going beyond with his speculations.
“And neither is that someone talked to you badly and left you with wounds?” the brother asked but this time Bartholomew was answering him. He pretended not to hear and joined other brothers in final touches of the cleaning the church compound.

As Bartholomew knocked at the Pastor’s office he could not help having the feeling of a bull taking itself to the slaughterhouse. He felt like all the CCTV cameras around were on him and every step he had been taking was being watched closely from a distance. Being called to the pastor’s office meant a lot of things to him that were not good for the public to hear.

“Yes precious Brother Bartholomew” said Deacon Musa coming from the pastor’s office. “God bless you young man.”
“Amen Deacon Musa.” Bartholomew replied to his greeting as they embraced each other softly.
“Here to see the pastor?” the deacon asked him.
“Yeah, is anyone in with him?” he asked.
“No one is in Bartholomew. What did you want to see the pastor for?” Deacon Musa asked. He was one of those deacons who had put upon himself to be like the personal aid of the pastor. To see the pastor one found himself passing through him because he was always near the office, in the office or around the office.
“Ahh! I don’t have an idea because he just gave me a call this morning”, Bartholomew answered innocently.
“You sure you didn’t involve yourself in something awful recently?” the deacon persisted to ask him.
“Why would I?”
“We know you young men very well you a lot of things you do in the shadows behind our backs which you think we never get to hear”
“I think we should go in together so that you can hear for yourself what I am being called for”
“No no no! Just go in and see the pastor.” The deacon said as he moved away from the door for him to get in. He was feeling offended by the way he was being handled like he was always on the wrong.
“Welcome young man, I had called you in the morning for something very serious” the pastor said happily which kind of was very assuring to him. However him mentioning the word ‘serious’ in his conversation, made him quiver a bit.

“I will be glad to hear what you called me for pastor”, Bartholomew said as he shook his hand.
“Please have seat Bartholomew” the pastor said as he signaled him to sit on a seat directly facing him. The seat was very comfortable that for once he felt the seat was too comfortable than his bed back in his house. It was the second time he was in that office though as he sat there waiting for pastor to say what he had called him for, he felt like he was in a strange place.
“Now I have called you concerning Brother Eliezer’s wedding” the pastor went on. “I understand that you two are very great friends for a very long time”
“Sorry we used to”, Bartholomew corrected him because he thought he knew what he had been called for.
“Yeah I know that when one find a wife his bachelor friends become his enemies automatically and that is just very normal.” The pastor neutralized his statement. “The wedding of this brother is very near and we got a problem with the finances. I know you will not disappoint your old friend”