Raccoons in Church

I never thought I would see raccoons in church, but last Sunday that is exactly what I found. Our pastor was reading from the bible, sharing some incredible thoughts, when all of a sudden we heard scratching and clawing from above us! It was a ghastly sound, and it didn’t seem like something that we could get rid of, I looked at Mary Lou who was seated right beside me and we were both thinking the same thing. Some boisterous teenager must be upstairs trying to disturb the congregation!
Politely trying to continue the service, Pastor Allen spoke up and continued right on reading, but it was no use. If disturbing church was what the person had come to do than he had succeeded! All eyes were off of the front and pointed toward the ceiling and the grim sound echoing from it, nervous chatter could be heard from all corners of the church. A man sitting just a few rows in front of me stood and quietly made his way out the back and up toward the attic. I didn’t know him personally, but I had seen him in a patrol car once or twice and his uniform was unmistakably that of a policeman. Everyone seemed pleased that the officer had risen to the occasion and went to deal with the intruder.
Not long after he had left, however, we heard the creak of a door, a yelp of surprise, and itty bitty footsteps sprinting down the stairs. We all turned quickly to the back to see what this disruption could be, but instead of a person like many of us expected, we sat looking into the eyes of two, black masked raccoons! Several woman cried out in disgust and horror, but I just laughed. In all my 82 years of life, I have never, nor will I ever again see raccoons in church; and truthfully, I’m alright with the once-in-a-lifetime feel of it all.

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