ANYWHERE, U.S.A. A local Sabbath School class made history this week by reaching the actual lesson with four full minutes to spare, members confirmed.
The morning began as usual with a welcome, birthday announcements and a prayer request about a cousin’s knee, which developed into a 12-minute discussion of orthopedic surgeons and which hospital cafeteria serves the best veggie burger.
A mission story followed, then a brief recap of last week’s lesson, which nobody had finished either.
“We were on Monday’s section,” said the teacher, who had prepared all seven days and would like that noted. “Then someone asked about the 2,300 days, and we decided to circle back.”
The class circled back for 22 minutes.
The group then entered what one regular called “the tangent zone,” covering daylight saving time, a lentil roast recipe and whether Noah brought cats on purpose. By the time someone opened the quarterly, a deacon was hovering at the door making the universal hand signal for “the sermon has started.”
“Four minutes is a record,” said one longtime member. “Last quarter we reached the memory verse once, and it was during the closing prayer.”
Despite the rushed ending, members agreed the class had been a blessing, mostly because they genuinely like each other and keep coming back for more. A visitor was welcomed warmly, prayed for by name and handed a quarterly with Wednesday already underlined.
The teacher plans to start with Thursday’s section next week. Regulars have set the odds at 50 to 1, and nobody seems especially worried, because the coffee substitute is hot and everyone saves a chair for whoever arrives late.
Photo: “Antique Wooden SEC Wall Clock” by Amitbalani, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped, darkened behind the title, text added. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antique_Wooden_SEC_Wall_Clock.jpg
Head over to Adventist Today for current events, analysis, and opinion on all things Adventist.
