Lehigh Acres Fire

Man, the world can be a small place at times. When I was the pastor at Faith United Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, one of the things we had to deal with was the proverbial "land in Florida." Turns out, though, that we did own real land in Florida. Seven lots, as a matter of fact. In Lehigh Acres. That's why when browsing the internet this evening, I came across this headline: Boys Arrested in Florida Fires. The first two grafs:

LEHIGH ACRES, Florida (AP) -- Two boys were charged Sunday with setting weekend brush fires that have destroyed or damaged more than two dozen homes and burned more than 1,500 acres in southwest Florida, authorities said.

The boys, ages 10 and 12, were arrested and charged as juveniles with intentional and reckless burning of land, a third-degree felony, Lee County sheriff's Lt. Robert Forrest said. Authorities were seeking a third youth.

So the place really DOES exist. Alas, we sold the lots in Florida. We probably paid more in property taxes over the years than we got from the proceeds of the sale. Oh well. Wonder if the donor was looking to benefit the church or just get a good tax write-off.

I wonder only because it became a pet peeve of mine at FUPC. In the adjacent Westminster House, where we had youth ministry, there were 27 couches in various states of disrepair. We dragged them all out one afternoon for the city of LA trash trucks to pick them up. Along with the 4 non-working microwave ovens, some the size of an old UNIVAC.

Why would someone donate a couch with missing cushions, or a broken leg, to a church? Why would anyone donate a non-working microwave to the church?

I can just see it.

A couple goes out and buys a new couch. The old one is falling apart, but they cannot stand the thought of just tossing it. "I know", says one. "Let's donate it to the church." What they really mean is, "Let's get a tax deduction, and let's leave this ratty old couch for the church to deal with." As if "the church" is some large, impersonal structure.

Well, at FUPC, I was one of the human faces of the church, and wound up throwing away dumpsters full of people's "generosity" to the church. Even the Goodwill and Salvation Army would not take some of this stuff we had bestowed upon us.

That's a long way from Lehigh Acres, I know. But it is late.