It
will be a hot and humid here today. It’s summer, after all. I’m going to dress
for it.
Being
old means I pastored BC. Before Conditioning.
I
preached in 16 different church buildings before I retired. I didn’t have 16
different appointments. That would be excessive even for the Methodism of my
day. I had three three-point [three different churches] appointments early in
my career. That help raise the number of churches in which I preached. All as
hot as an oven in summer.
Not
a single one of them was air conditioned. Every one of them has been
air-conditioned since. Not a single one of them has invited me back to preach
in the air-conditioned comfort they denied me when I labored there. In my day,
it really felt like laboring in the vineyard. Now it feels more like lunching
in the Olive Garden.
In
those non-air conditioned buildings, men wore dark suits and white shirts and
ties. Women wore dresses and stockings and girdles. Now in those
air-conditioned buildings, men wear t-shirts and shorts. Women wear t-shirts
and shorts, too, but they cost as more than a dress.
I
have t-shirts and shorts. I wear them all day every day in summer. But not on
Sunday. Then I wear a dark suit and white shirt and tie. I’m going to get every
degree of comfort out of that air conditioning that I possibly can!
John
Robert McFarland
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