Thanks to Bette Nutt for sending in the following:
A man in Topeka, Kansas, decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to New York and started working West from there. Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign which read, Calls: $10,000 A Minute.’
Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone and the sign. The Pastor answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to God.
The man thanked the Pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Pittsburgh, Ohio, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign and the same answer from each pastor.
Finally, he arrived in Montana. Upon entering St. Raphael’s church in Glasgow, behold – he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read, ‘Calls: 35 cents.’
Fascinated, he asked to talk to the Pastor. ‘Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to heaven, and that I could talk to God, but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only 35 cents a call. Why?’
The pastor, smiling benignly, replied,
‘Son, you’re in Montana now …… You’re in God’s country. It’s a local call.’