We call religion our friend Who: Daniel and OPEN... to (multiple) churchgoers Where: Amazing Grace When: After night sermon
"And in closing I'd just like to remind you all that there are still people out there in desperate need of your prayers and good thoughts. Thank you all for coming and have a blessed week."
As he smiled gracefully at the small gathering in the church - Wednesday was always less popular, yet he still managed to net enough people to make it worth his while - Daniel wondered if the time was ever going to come when he would just burst into flames for preaching the so-called holy word. Now see, this was one of the reasons why he did not think that God was some all-powerful being like this Bible made him out to be. If he really was then by now would he not have at least sent a capable angel to take care of problems like Daniel? He had been walking the earth for quite awhile now, twisting and turning people who would have happily been dedicated to a true pastor and true words of scripture... surely that was worth noting. Yet it had not been. The only angels he had come across had been the regular sort who died just like everyone else. Oh, yes, the one had very nearly killed him in the process, but Daniel preferred to gloss over that as though it had never happened. It made him feel that much better about himself and Daniel did love having an inflated opinion of himself.
Closing the Bible that he had not really been reading from at any point during the sermon, he knew it forwards, backwards and probably sideways, Daniel walked out from behind the pulpit and down the aisle. Like he had mentioned a few days prior when he had been at the store with one of the Niemi children - had it been Kajsa? Dagmar? ...Kajsa, she had not been demonic - he liked to keep a little supply of hard candy and such out on a table in the entryway for people to enjoy. He thought that it helped get the taste out of his mouth and went straight for the lemon drops. Sometimes he had to stop and wonder how the hell he did this for a living. Then he turned and caught the sight of an elderly woman with a beautiful smile who asked his opinion on practically everything and he remembered: because people like that needed to be kept away from the real churches where they could be given good advice and led to so-called greener pastures. "Have a wonderful week, Mrs. Astor, I'll see you on Sunday!" There was that beautiful smile and then she was patting him on the arm while talking off the ear of a younger woman who must have been her granddaughter. She had the same smile.
Ah, Daniel loved seeing the young people inside of his walls. It was good for them and good for him. Sticking a lemon drop in his mouth he turned towards the doors that led into the chapel where people were still filtering out. "And good evening to you as well, I hope you enjoyed the service."