Evil Dr. Porkchop, pasta, and church

I am happy to say that my church has come a long way.

This morning, the topic was managing finances.  The pastor mentioned a website called feed the pig. He explained that the pig was not a person, but rather a piggy bank. He pointed at the piggy banks in the nearby table display, which happened to be located at the front of the room where everyone could see.

Philip and I were in the front row,  his favorite spot.  When he heard about the piggy banks, Philip raised his hand.  I got that tense feeling, wondering what he would say, and tried to get him to put his hand down.

The pastor did not “call on” Philip, so Philip stood up, hand still raised,  and walked up to the stage.

“There’s another piggy bank… he’s “Evil Dr. Porkchop!” he said loudly, referencing his beloved Toy Story 3 movie.

“Yes!” the pastor said, and kept right on going.  There were little chuckles in the congregation.  Philip sat down, started drawing in his worship folder, and the rest of the service went very smoothly.

I am already thinking of social stories to write, explaining when speaking to the pastor is appropriate.  At the same time, I can remember a time when I probably would have been told to “do something” about him.  Now, he’s just accepted as part of the family. More and more often, this church family advises me to lighten up.

During our closing song, Philip looked over at the previously mentioned display table and noticed some vases with varying amounts of pasta in them (don’t ask me, I have no idea…), and decided to accompany the musicians by “playing” them with a plastic ink pen.  I chose to “lighten up.”  He kept the beat, being the fantastic musician that he is, following the tempo as it slowed near the end.  He loved hearing the different pitches and being part of the worship team.

Maybe we’ll start thinking about having him be the church percussionist…