The Color of Hope

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Sunday, August 8





Charley hopped in the shower Sunday morning, resolved to stay home from church. News of the discontinuation of the joint services had hit her hard. She’d been praying for just the opposite, had even talked to her grandfather early in the week. He’d never attended one of them himself, so she told him how beautiful it was to see the unity and fellowship between the churches.

But his mind was fixed. And by the end of the week, he was practically giddy when he reported that the elders meeting with Pastor Todd had yielded the result he wanted. Calvary would no longer participate in a joint service with New Jerusalem. He’d even indicated that today’s service would be a celebration of sorts, at least among those who’d been opposed to it.

Charley couldn’t bear it. How could she look forward to worshiping with people who had boycotted an actual church service just last week? She’d decided to have her own personal boycott today and informed her mom last night.

But her thinking changed in the shower. As she prayed through her frustration, it occurred to her—Calvary wasn’t the only church in town. It was almost silly that it hit her the way it did, as if she didn’t know. But she’d never regarded New Jerusalem as an option until now. In all her thoughts that God was calling her to do something different, she was seeing more and more that the “different” was right before her, right in Hope Springs.

She stepped out of the shower, grabbing her towel, excited to call Stephanie and tell her. It didn’t escape her that Marcus would be there too. But she’d seen him all week at school, as they prepared for the arrival of students tomorrow, and she’d kept their interactions brief and light. She’d do the same today.

She slipped on her robe and walked out of the bathroom—and stopped short. Her mother was standing outside her brother’s bedroom, knocking.

“Ben, is Kelsey in there?” she said. “Unlock the door. Now.”

Charley’s eyes widened. Did he sneak Kelsey into his room? The two had been downstairs watching a movie last night, and Kelsey had fallen asleep. Charley’s mom called Kelsey’s mom to say she could sleep over, on the sofa.

Ben opened the door and stepped out, looking disheveled in a shirt, shorts, and bedhead. He closed the door behind him.

Dottie looked at him, the look that said she was beside herself. “Exactly what is going on, Ben?”

Ben sighed. “Mom, calm down. Nothing’s going on. Kelsey woke up in the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. So we finished watching the movie, then fell asleep in here. That’s it.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“It’s the truth, Mom.” Ben ran his fingers through his hair. “I know how it looks, but can’t you just trust me? You always assume the worst.”

Charley eyed her brother. With good reason.

“I want to trust you, Ben,” Dottie said. “After all you’ve been taught, I want to believe you wouldn’t dare do something improper—right under my nose, no less.”

“That’s what I’m saying, Mom. I’m not that dumb. I’d be asking to get caught.” He glanced back at the door. “I’ll tell Kelsey she needs to get home . . . and we can all get ready for church.”

“Oh. Right.” Charley shook her head. “Now you want to go to church.”

Ben cut his eyes over at her. “Butt out, Charley. This has nothing to do with—”

“Actually, it does, Ben.” The words spilled out of her. “Kelsey is one of my players, and I care about the well-being of my girls. I care about you too. What you’re doing is not—”

“We didn’t do anything.”

“Listen,” Dottie said. Her gaze drifted beyond Ben to the door, then back at him. “Just . . . yes, tell Kelsey she needs to get home right now.” She paused, then sighed. “I don’t even know what to . . . We’ll talk about this later, Ben.”

Ben quickly disappeared into his room. Charley, shaking her head, moved toward hers.

“Charley, I’m hoping you changed your mind about going to church this morning,” her mom said.

Charley turned. “Actually, I did. I’m going to New Jerusalem.”

“What? But, Charley, that’s not our church. Don’t you think you might feel . . . out of place?”

Charley shrugged. “It’ll be cool. I’ll be with Stephanie and Janelle.”

“You know your grandfather won’t be pleased. He’s looking forward to Calvary members coming together for worship this morning.”

“Mom, I’m twenty-four. I can’t worry about what Grandpa thinks. I feel like, more and more, I just want to know what God thinks.”





Charley pulled away from the house at the same time as her mom and Ben, both cars headed for Maple Street. She’d gotten voice mail when she tried to call Stephanie and Janelle, which, she decided, was a good thing. They were sure to be surprised—since Charley was surprised herself by the idea. She’d much rather get their reaction in person than over the phone.

She needed to make only two turns between her house and Maple. Felt weird to pass the church she’d been attending her entire life, save for college. She saw familiar faces as people strolled down the sidewalk, heading inside. From her rearview mirror, she saw her mom slow behind her and parallel park.

With the churches only two blocks apart, Charley began to see a different wave of people strolling down the sidewalk, heading into New Jerusalem. She glanced down at what she was wearing. Though many at Calvary wore suits and dresses, she tended to dress down, a carryover from the church she attended near campus. Would her casual skirt and flat sandals fit the dressy garb she was seeing here?

She blew out a slow breath. It’s not about dress. It’s not about anything but Jesus. That’s where she wanted her focus to be.

Charley had to turn up a side street to find a parking spot. She cruised two blocks and found one that her Corolla could maneuver into. She grabbed her Bible and got out.

“Parking must be real tight when Calvary folk have to come way down here.”

Recognizing the voice immediately, she turned. Marcus had stopped in the middle of the road, his window rolled down.

“I’m worshiping at New Jerusalem today.”

He paused, as if waiting for a punch line. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Hey, are Stephanie and Janelle already here?”

“No. I was at the house before I headed here, and they were still getting ready.”

Charley pointed. “You’ve got cars behind you.”

“Let me park real quick,” he said. “Be right back.”

And what? I’m supposed to wait?

She’d noticed this from Marcus all week, signs of their newfound familiarity. Like texting an update on her request for new uniforms instead of sending an e-mail. Or snagging a carrot cake cupcake for her, made by the civics teacher and quickly raided by faculty, because she’d enjoyed carrot cake at the reunion. The cupcake was delicious, and she would’ve missed it otherwise, but still . . . She wished he’d pretend the weekend never happened.

Just as she wished she’d walked up the sidewalk and into the church building instead of waiting.

Marcus came toward her now, in beige slacks, a striped button-down shirt, and a tie, which she tried not to notice.

“So what brought this New Jerusalem thing on?” he asked as they walked.

She stared ahead. “Trying to live outside the box, I guess.”

They walked in silence, then he glanced at her. “So . . . will you ever go back to being Charley?”

“I’m Charley right this moment.”

“Not the easygoing, smiley, kinda crazy Charley.”

“We all have different sides to our personalities.” She focused on her sandals.

“Except I already know how easily I connect with your other side, so this remote one seems strange.”

Their late-night conversations from last weekend, the laughter, the sharing—all of it came to mind as they rounded the bend and drew closer to the church. Charley knew her attitude must indeed seem strange. How was he supposed to know she’d been crushing on him? She turned to him finally, feeling a need to say something, but her eyes landed on a group of women in the distance who were staring at her. Her head fell a little, and she tucked her hair behind her ear.

The closer they got, the harder the women stared, until they were mere feet from one another.

“Really, Marcus?” one of them said.

Marcus looked at the speaker, obviously surprised, then turned to Charley. “Excuse me a second.”

He went over to the women, who kept glancing over at her. Charley rummaged in her purse, for what she didn’t know. She felt a mint near the bottom. That would do.

“What did they say?” she asked when he returned.

“Nothing. It’s cool.”

She looked at him. “Marcus, I want to know.”

He hesitated, then, “She said she didn’t know I was the type who paraded blond chicks on my arm.”

Charley’s eyes were wide as they approached the steps to the church. “I wasn’t on your arm. We were, like, two feet apart, just walking.” She looked at him. “What did you say?”

“I said, ‘And I didn’t know you were the type who paraded rudeness, so I guess we both learned something.’”

“You didn’t.”’

“I did.” Marcus was clearly bothered by it. “I can’t believe she came at me like that.”

Charley was about to comment, but just then she spied Stephanie and Lindell coming toward them.

“I thought I was seeing things,” Stephanie said when she got closer. “Did you run down here to say hey and run back? Or are you here for real, for real?”

Charley smiled. “I’m here for real, for real.”

“Cool!” Stephanie hugged her.

The same three women walked by, eyeing them.

Stephanie’s hand went to her hip. “What was that about?”

“Cuz, you don’t even want to know,” Marcus said.

Lindell ushered her forward. “More like she doesn’t need to know. My wife will go there.”

“I’m trying to get better, though, babe,” Stephanie said.

“I know, babe.”

They entered the vestibule and waited for an usher to show them to their seats. Charley continued to receive stares, even if only brief, but she also got waves when women from Soul Sisters spotted her. She’d gone again last Thursday and enjoyed it even more.

The usher escorted them to the pew, and as they filed in, Charley had Marcus on one side, Stephanie on the other. Travis was standing at the end of a pew talking to people gathered there. But when praise and worship started, he moved to the front row. Charley stood with the rest, recognizing the song as one they’d sung at the joint service.

It started slow, with a solo, but when the other members of the praise team joined in and the tempo kicked up, the church started rocking with praise. Charley clapped her hands, loving the energy, especially from the band. She glanced now and then at the bass player, who was strumming, head bobbing, eyes shut. She was sure if no one else were present, he’d still be in his own praise world.

The next song she didn’t know, but she knew the person who led it—Trina. It was slow as well, and remained so, simply and powerfully affirming love for the Lord. Each song in the set spoke to her, maybe because of the subtle changes happening in her life and heart. Worship was exactly what she needed, a singular focus.

After the last song, they sat for announcements, and Marcus leaned over.

“They’re about to ask visitors to stand,” he said.

She whispered back, “I’m not standing.”

“You should.”

“No. And technically, since I was at the joint service where Pastor Travis was preaching, I’m not a visitor.”

A woman read several announcements—meetings, rehearsals, food and school supply drives—then said, “We want to welcome all first-time visitors to New Jerusalem. We know some of you came to the joint service last weekend and decided to visit again today, and we’re so thankful.” She adjusted her glasses. “But if this is your first time specifically at New Jerusalem Church . . .”

Marcus elbowed her. Charley elbowed back.

“. . . we’d like you to stand and give your name and where you’re from.”

Charley was surprised to see several people rise. When she felt an elbow jab from the other side—Stephanie’s—she came to her feet.

“My name is Darryl Long, and this is my wife, Cathy. We’re from Jacksonville, Alabama, in town visiting family. We bring you greetings from King of Kings Missionary Baptist Church.”

“Welcome, welcome,” the announcer said. She nodded to the next.

“Praise the Lord and good morning.” The woman’s smile was bright. “I’m Bonita Rogers from Newport News, Virginia, here visiting my Auntie May.” She smiled down at the older woman beside her. “Happy to bring greetings from Greater Mount Carmel where the Reverend Timothy T. Raymond is pastor.”

Next was a young man. “I’m not good at this stuff,” he said, “but I heard about y’all in the paper last week.” He shrugged. “Thought I’d come check it out.”

The announcer smiled. “And what’s your name?”

“Oh. Cornell Freeman.”

“We’re glad to have you, Cornell,” she said. “Make sure you stay after and meet Pastor Brooks.”

Two more spoke, then she nodded at Charley, one of three still standing.

She took a breath. “I’m Charley Willoughby. And you can probably see I’m . . . a little different from the others who stood.” She paused. “I’m the only one whose hands are shaking.”

Cornell raised a hand and made it shake. “Mine were too, Sister Charley.”

Charley smiled, and laughter rippled through the congregation.

“Well, Sister Charley . . .” The announcer was smiling. “Tell us where you’re from.”

“From Hope Springs,” Charley said. “Born and raised, but have never been to New Jerusalem. Decided to change that this morning.”

She sat back down, surprised to hear some applause.

“We’re glad to have you too, Sister Charley,” the announcer said. “I encourage you to stay after and meet Pastor Brooks if you don’t know him.”

When the next two had introduced themselves, she said, “We have one more announcement, and that’ll be given from our pastor.”

Travis came up to the podium. In a suit he had a different aura, more serious. Or maybe it wasn’t the suit at all, but the nature of what he was about to say. Everyone seemed to come to attention.

“This might be the first time I’ve stood to give an announcement during this portion of the program,” he said, “but I wanted to be the one to tell you, if you haven’t already heard, that the joint worship services with Calvary Church have ended.”

Enough whispering ensued that it started to get loud.

Travis held up his hands to regain their attention. “That’s the extent of that announcement,” he said, “but I want to take this time to address something else. You all saw the article in the paper last week. It dealt primarily with members of Calvary and their problems with the service. One might conclude that for the most part, New Jerusalem members only quibbled with things like worship music or preaching styles.” He paused. “But I know better.”

Travis took his time, moving his gaze around the congregation. “I received enough e-mails, office visits, and casual comments about the joint service to give me an indication of an underlying spiritual temperature that exists in this church. And the temperature reading is this: I don’t see a fervor for what Jesus tells us are the two greatest commandments, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.”

Charley leaned closer to Marcus. “Does he always hit things hard like this?”

“Pretty much,” Marcus said. “On one hand, he’s known as this hip, cool pastor who can identify with people, and on the other hand, he’s known for speaking straight truth.”

Travis continued, “As the shepherd of this congregation, I would be remiss if I discerned this and did nothing about it. Amen?”

A few “Amens” sounded. Most people were quiet, listening for his next words.

“So I have another announcement,” he said. “Beginning today, we’re starting a sermon series called ‘Love Reigns,’ which we’ll also touch on during Wednesday Bible studies. It’s my prayer that we’ll all grow in giving love for God and love for others its proper place—a preeminent place—in our hearts.”

Travis sat down, and the choir prepared to sing. Charley pondered his words. Loving God and loving others seemed simple in the abstract, but she had a feeling the action element ran deep. And wasn’t easy. Still, something about it registered with her. She’d be coming to New Jerusalem several more weeks at least.