Chapter 225 – A Different Kind of Sunday
Sunday morning, the alarm went off at six am. Jack was the first one up. As he was getting dressed for chores, Frank and Nathan got up. They were heading up the stairs when Doug and Lee crawled from bed. The guys had decided to eat before dealing with the horses. So while Jack got coffee for them, Frank pulled out the waffles while Nathan pulled out the fruit.
The guys at their breakfast in silence, even opting to each say a silent prayer over their food. It wasn't so much they were tired, but lacked energy that morning. As they finished and grabbed another mug of coffee before heading out the backdoor, they were starting to come alive. Jack was the first to the stable and he nodded to a couple of hands as he went to Bandit. He took a moment to give the horse some attention before he pulled him out to brush him down.
By the time that the guys got to the house, they were looking a little more alive. They had brushed and turned out all ten of the horses. Jack also made sure that they had water in their paddocks. He also had arranged to have a dozen trail horses for later in the afternoon. He wasn't sure how many they would need, but at least that would get them going.
Elizabeth and the girls were having breakfast when the guys got back.
"We got all the horses turned out." Jack said. "We are going to shower and get ready for church."
"Sorry Uncle Jack." Maddie said.
"It is okay." Jack said. "But you will be responsible for checking on them later and helping with all the trail horses later."
"Yes, Sir." Missy said.
"Yes, Sir." Maddie echoed.
Jack followed the rest of the guys downstairs to get ready. It didn't take long for the guys to shower and get ready. When they got back upstairs, Peter and Andrew were there.
"How are we going to get everyone there?" Trish asked.
"I will drive the truck." Nathan said. "I will have Jack, Elizabeth, Lee and Doug with me."
"I will drive the towncar." Andrew said. "Peter and I will take John, James and Margaret."
"I can drive." Frank said. "Trish and the girls can ride with me. I will just need the address."
"Everyone good with those arrangements?" John asked.
Everyone was nodding.
"Good." John said. "Additional security will pick us up outside the gate and there will others at the Church."
"From what we have learned." Andrew said. "There are a few members of the press at the church, but the local police have kept them to the sidewalk and street. They were told that they weren't allowed on church property or to disrupt services. They were also warned about blocking access. So the most that we might have to deal with is a few pictures taken. Hopefully we can get close to the doors and not have to worry."
"I want every driver to pull up under the portico to the doors and drop the passengers off before parking." John said. "We will deal with after Church later."
"Yes, Sir." Nathan said.
"Got it." Frank said.
The group headed out and left for church. It ended up being a seven car caravan to the church with a security vehicle leading the way. When they got to the church, Andrew pulled up first and let John, James and Margaret out. Nathan followed and finally Frank. Security was keeping a close eye on everyone. Once they were inside, they greeted people and went to find their seats. Frank and Nathan joined the group a few minutes later while Andrew stayed in the back with Peter.
Jack knelt and prayed, then sat back. His arm was wrapped behind Elizabeth. As much as he tried to focus and center himself, he couldn't help but hear the whispers. He squeezed Elizabeth's shoulder and she patted his leg in response. Jack felt better because he had Doug and Nathan to one side of him with Frank and Lee on the other side of Elizabeth. They ended up taking a whole pew. His grandparents, Trish and the girls sat in front of them.
Soon the greeter stood up, welcomed everyone and reminded them to silence all electronic devices. She then announced the first song. Everyone stood for the procession. As Jack sang, he got lost in the service like he normally did and wasn't as worried about other people. Once they had sung the welcoming song and Father Mark and another priest were standing at the altar, the one thing that Jack noticed was that Father Mark looked nervous. Jack could never remember Father Mark looking nervous before, especially during Mass. Doug and Jack looked at each other briefly and both knew they were thinking the same thing.
Mass continued and Jack noticed several times that Father Mark was twisting the ring on his finger or biting the inside of his bottom lip. Jack knew these to be nervous habits of Father Mark, but hadn't seen them in years. Jack couldn't figure out why Father Mark was nervous. Jack thought maybe it was the other priest or that they were kicking off the capital campaign and that meant asking for people to donate more money. Jack had read the readings and knew that they weren't that difficult to preach on, he had heard Father Mark preach on those scriptures before.
Finally, after the other priest had delivered a short homily on the Gospel of Mark where Jesus healed the woman who touched his garment, Father Mark stood in front of the altar and not at the lectern looking out at everyone. He was again twisting the ring on his finger with his other hand. Even Gran had looked back at Jack as she noticed Father Mark. They couldn't figure out why he was so nervous.
"I promise." Father Mark said. "I will keep this short as I can. As many of you saw when you entered the Church today, we are kicking off a capital campaign to raise funds for the new expanded St Clement's school. Today also is the first day of the new partnership between the two parishes. We will both be responsible for the school, but our children will now also have equal access.
A few additional changes from this partnership will be that our weekly bulletin will look a bit different with school updates and news from St Clement's parish. The other most notable change to this partnership will be the change in religious education and the youth group in the coming year. We are still working out how it will all look, but we hope that by sharing knowledge and materials that both programs will be enriched. Look for updates from the Director of Religious Ed Ann Green in the coming months.
All the money raised in this capital campaign will go towards building the middle and high school building as well as three additional classrooms for the elementary and other technological upgrades there. Any funds leftover will be held in a trust for future upgrades. Later in the year there will also be a book drive for the school library, so please keep that in mind. They will be accepting new and gently used books for toddler through high schoolers. Even though we haven't officially added those grades, they do have a youth group with them. I am looking forward to the larger youth group and the different activities that they come up with. Personally, I hope that they keep the bonfire and hayride as that is one of my personal favorites since those that know me know I love playing guitar. (There were several chuckles among the congregation.)
Thanks to several generous early donations, we will be breaking ground on the new classrooms later this month in hopes that they might be ready for the school year. We will officially break ground on the second building later this summer. This is a needed addition to our community to ensure our children receive a quality education. I know that sending your children to Catholic school is a huge sacrifice for many families, but we also feel it is worth it. So, I ask you to be as generous as you can in this endeavor.
Now, on a personal note. Due to several personal concerns and family needs, I will be taking the remainder of July off with the exception of the Smith-Redding wedding later this month.. I will be around town some of the time, but if there is an emergency, please call the parish office or house. Father Tom Super will be here all month serving this community as I step back and deal with the things that have come up in my life lately. I hope that you are all welcoming of Father Tom while he is here. He will be staying at the house if you need him. Please stop by and introduce yourself this morning. I hopefully will be back the first weekend in August. As I will keep the parish in my prayers, I ask that you keep me and my extended family in your prayers. Thank you."
Father Mark went and sat down. Jack could tell he was still nervous but definitely not as bad. After a few moments of silence, the Mass continued with prayers and petitions. They then moved into the second part of the Mass – the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Father Mark and Father Tom worked together. Jack focused back on the Mass, but he noticed that after his speech, Father Mark had seemed to calm down and didn't play with his ring the rest of the service. As they went up for communion, Jack gave Father Mark a nod. They understood each other and would talk about it later.
As Mass ended, Nathan and Doug indicated for Jack and Elizabeth to stay for a bit. Once the final song ended, Jack and Doug both knelt again in prayer. They didn't always say a post-Mass prayer, but both felt compelled for different reasons. Jack was praying for his cousin as he felt that there was something else going on that Father Mark hadn't said yet. Doug knelt as he felt that he needed to immediately pray for their safety. As Jack sat back, he saw Doug's head still bowed, so he took a moment to speak to Elizabeth and Nathan to form a plan. When he was finished, Doug sat back and looked at his best friend.
"Maybe Nathan should go out first and make sure it is clear." Doug said.
Jack gave Doug a confused look and Doug just raised his eyebrow in response.
"What is going on?" Nathan asked.
"I was thinking of how to avoid the press." Jack said. "I want to say hi to Father Super, but I don't want to stand around the lobby for long."
"I say we just go." Nathan said. "We stick together. There is plenty of security here this morning. Frank, Lee, Trish and the girls left with your grandparents a few minutes ago."
"Okay." Jack said.
Doug still had a bad feeling, but he was just going to have to be alert. The four stood and again Jack instinctively held Elizabeth close. They walked to the back where they saw Chris and Katie. Chris nodded as they went out the doors. Doug was immediately looking around and trying to put a name to every face in the lobby.
"Thank you for the wonderful sermon today Father." Jack said, holding his hand.
"Thank you." Father Super said.
"JP." John said coming up.
"Yes, Sir." Jack said.
"Just letting you know that Frank, Trish and the girls headed back." John said. "Trish needed to make a stop before they got to the farm."
"John, is this one of yours?" Father Super asked.
"Yes, sorry." John said.
"Father Tom." John said. "Please meet my grandson, JP Thornton and his girlfriend Elizabeth Thatcher."
"Nice to meet you." Father Tom said. "I guess you are the reason for the circus outside."
"Sorry about that." Jack said, ducking his head.
"It is okay." Father Tom said. "I informed them and police that they were not to come on to Church property last night. The Bishop also issued a statement regarding the same."
"Thank you." John said.
"We will have to have you out to the farm for supper at some point." Jack said. "It is a little crazy this week with the holiday, but I am sure that Gran will find a night."
"She already invited me." Father Tom said. "She said she would call this week and we could find a time that works. I hear that you are going to be quite busy for a couple weeks. Your grandfather was telling us that you guys are jumping at Sugar Creek and then hosting a show the next week at Coal Creek."
"Yes." Jack said. "Sorry. Let me introduce you to two of my friends and fellow jumpers, Doug Burke and Nathan Grant."
Both shook hands with Father Tom.
"I look forward to getting to know you all a little better." Father Tom said.
The group moved off to the side. Jack put his back against the wall and draped his arm around Elizabeth's waist. Doug stood on one side and Nathan on the other. They were talking and greeting people as they came up. Jack was talking with someone when Doug leaned over.
"Ten o'clock." Doug said.
Jack looked where Doug was speaking and saw Lacy and William Pennybaker.
"Don't engage." Doug hissed.
Jack put a tight smile on his face and went back to the couple that had come up to speak to them. The couple offered their congratulations and moved on to leave. As soon as the couple moved on, Nathan leaned over to speak to Jack.
"Doug was right." Nathan said. "Don't engage. They are allowed to attend Church despite the restraining order. They are, however, supposed to leave you alone."
"Where is Lee?" Jack asked. "I want to leave."
"He sent me a message." Doug said. "He left with Frank and Trish."
"Okay." Jack said. "Let's get out of here."
Just then Father Mark walked up.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey." Jack said. "We are leaving. I need some space."
"I understand." Father Mark said.
He didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that the Pennybakers were shooting daggers at the group.
"I will see you in a few hours." Father Mark said. "I will have my riding clothes and clothes to stay. I already talked to Gran and I plan to stay through the Fourth."
"Sounds good." Jack said. "We will see you in a few hours."
Jack gave Father Mark a bro hug, where they shook hands and then clapped each other on the back. Father Mark did the same with Doug and Nathan. He shook Elizabeth's hand.
"We will talk when I get to the farm." Father Mark said.
"Yes." Jack said. "Oh, piece of advice. Your speech was fine. But quit playing with your ring, it shows that you are nervous."
"I was nervous." Father Mark said. "With you sitting front and center right there."
"We always have your back." Doug said. "See you in a few hours. Don't forget your guitar."
"Already in the car." Father Mark said.
Jack smiled. Father Mark walked away. Nathan messaged Chris that they were leaving. He quickly messaged back that they had moved the truck closer, but there was still a lot of press.
"The truck is right outside the door." Nathan said. "But the press is on the sidewalk."
"Then let's just move quickly." Jack said.
The group turned to leave, but before they could get out of the door, they had to pass a group of girls that Jack knew were close with Lacy. Jack let out a harsh breath and held Elizabeth a little closer.
"I got you." Jack whispered.
Elizabeth nodded. They continued walking, despite the girls making derogatory remarks about Jack and Elizabeth. As hard as it was neither reacted. As Doug went to open the door, one of the girls stepped forward. Chris and Rob were immediately there, even though they had been several steps behind.
"Step away." Rob growled.
Nathan and Chris quickly got Nathan and Elizabeth into the truck and on the way. Other security picked them up and escorted them.