Chapter One
“What the Jacks Daniels was Mother Doreen thinking when she vouched for this woman to be the new leader of the New Day Single's Ministry?” Unique spoke in a loud whisper to the woman next to her who responded with a shrug, wondering the same thing herself. “Better yet, what was Pastor thinking to approve such a thing?” Rolling her eyes she added, “Heck! For that matter, they could have named me leader, seeming just any ol' everybody can lead a ministry around here these days. Do you even have to be a member of this church to be a leader anymore?” Once again, the woman she was venting to shrugged.
The room was full of hushed whispers, teeth sucking, neck snapping and eye rolling as Sister Lorain took the podium in front of the twenty-five members of the New Day Temple of Faith Singles Ministry. She appeared oblivious to all that was going on around her. Instead, she was delighting in the fact that she was doing God's kingdom work. She was a leader in a church; a place not too long ago she thought she'd never step foot in, let alone be operating a ministry. But here she stood, holding the torch, or as church folk would say, the mantel, passed down to her from Mother Doreen as the former leader of the New Day Single's Ministry.
It was a new day all right. With this being only her third meeting since taking over as the new leader, several men had joined the ministry, which was something the past leader had been unable to achieve. Up until recently, the ministry had consisted of nothing but single women. Today, although the men remained out numbered, there were at least seven of them no less.
Lorain credited this now co-ed ministry to God for moving her to personally invite the single men of the congregation to join the ministry. But some of the other women . . . most of the other women . . . okay, all of the other women, credited her short skirts, three inch pumps, and low cut blouses for the sudden increase in male attendance. And that Mary Kay cosmetics she sold on the side and tried to push on the women at every church function was partly to blame as well.
Although all the women thought these things about Lorain, only Unique was bold enough to say it out loud, with the intent of Sister Lorain over hearing her. But Sister Lorain seemed completely unaware of all the negative energy and comments being made around her . . . about her. So Unique figured the next time she'd have to say it even louder.
The young twenty-two year old, Unique, was raised in a project in Columbus, Ohio that was now called Rosewind Terrace, but would always be known as the former Windsor Terrace. A mother of three children with three different fathers, Unique was one of the less diplomatic members of the ministry. And it had nothing to do with the fact that she was raised in the projects, but had everything to do with the way she was raised by her single mother of five children with five different fathers.
It was only two years ago when Unique moved to Malvonia, Ohio with her sister, who was also a single mother of two children with two different fathers, who began to change her ways for the better. Prior to moving in with her sister, Unique had been evicted from her apartment for nonpayment of rent, which had only been $25 a month thanks to her Section 8 Housing voucher that paid the bulk of the rent. But between her drinking, smoking weed, and paying babysitters while she went out partying, Unique never even had $25 left over from her welfare check to pay the rent.
Unique's sister took her and her kids in with opened arms the day the Sheriff came with an order that allowed for all of her and her children's belongings to be placed on the sidewalk. Now two years later, the seven of them were still making the best of the three bedroom finished basement house her sister was leasing.
Unique was still on welfare. She was no longer partying like she used to, although she'd hit the club every now and then if one of her girlfriends in Columbus called her up and talked her into doing so. These occasional nights out with the girls sometimes led to a little bit of smoking and a drink or two. But since getting saved, joining New Day and getting baptized a year and a half ago, she'd made great strides toward giving up old things. With her occasional backsliding, she was nowhere near where she needed to be in Christ, but she was far from where she used to be. But no one judged her then and no one judged her now. Nope, nobody at New Day judged anybody . . . with the exception of Sister Lorain that is. So it was probably safe to say that things were about to change up in New Day Temple of Faith.
As Sister Lorain opened up the meeting in prayer, invisible stones shattering glass house after glass house, hurled through the room.
Yes, indeed . . . judgment day was near.