I met a man this evening who had so much hatred and bitterness towards the church that I found it difficult to understand. He directed all his abuse at me. He was angry that the slate roof of the hall had been replaced by tin, angry that our trees hadn't been cleared up (the mulching machine had got bogged down at Castle Hill), angry that I didn't have permission to work on the trees (I did), and finally angry that he had to put up with wedding music on Saturday afternoons. I hadn't met anyone so bitter and twisted for no good reason. Who ever heard of someone angry about weddings?
I explained that the church was the small group of people that gathered on Sundays and that the hall was lucky to have a roof on it at all (we don't get money from the Federal, State or Local Governments, and we don't get money from pokies or raffles!) In the end I apologized that he was so upset and walked away from him as he yelled abuse at me.
I met him because he had just parked in front of a huge load of cut up trees the arborist had made. I asked if he could park around the corner so the mulching machine could come in the morning and remove the timber. He refused and the abuse started. The car is parked there at the moment. I don't think it will move, despite the fact it is parked in a bus zone.
When I got home I did two things, I prayed for him that the reason for his anger would be lifted and I made up the following apology and put it in the letterboxes of about 100 flats nearby to the church.
