Marvelous

Marvelous
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A rich man went to his pastor and said, "I want you and your
wife to take a three-month trip to the Holy Land at my expense.
When you come back, I'll have a surprise for you."

The pastor accepted the offer, and he and his wife went off to
the Middle East.

Three months later they returned home and were met by the
wealthy member, who told them that while they were gone, he had
had a new church built. "It's the finest building money can buy,
pastor," said the man. "No expense was spared."

And he was right. It was a magnificent edifice both inside and
out. But there was one striking difference. There was only one
pew, and it was at the very back.

"A church with only one pew?" asked the pastor.

"You just wait until Sunday," the rich man said.

When the time came for the Sunday service, the early arrivals
entered the church, filed onto the one pew and sat down.

When the pew was full, a switch clicked silently, a circuit
closed, the gears meshed, a belt moved and, automatically, the
rear pew began to move forward. When it reached the front of
the church, it came to a stop. At the same time, another empty
pew came up from below at the back and more people sat down.

And so it continued, pews filling and moving forwards until
finally the church was full, from front to back.

"Wonderful!" said the pastor, "Marvelous!"

The service began, and the pastor started to preach his sermon.
He launched into his text, and when 12 o'clock came, he was
still going strong, with no end in sight.

Suddenly a bell rang, and a trap door in the floor behind the
pulpit dropped open.

"Wonderful!" said the congregation, "Marvelous!"