The Hartselle Enquirer

First Baptist Church members worshipped outside under the shade of trees Sunday morning after the sanctuary’s air conditioning system failed. | Clif Knight

By Clif Knight

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A/C breakdown forces FBC services outside

Published 11:15am Monday, June 25, 2012

The failure of the central air conditioning system at First Baptist Church-Hartselle Sunday morning created a minor inconvenience but didn’t stop the congregation from continuing with scheduled worship services.

The huge oak trees on the west side of the church provided a canopy of shade for the 10:30 a.m. worship service. Still, it was hot with temperatures reaching the low 90s by the time the service concluded at 11:15 a.m., about 15 minutes earlier than normal.

Between the gentle breezes that stirred tree leaves from time to time, worshippers turned to hand-held fans and bottled water to beat the heat.

Meanwhile, the order of worship continued as planned, thanks to extension cords and a temporary sound system. A keyboard provided music while worshippers lifted praises to the Lord from memory.

The Rev. Jeff Redmond, pastor of FBC, preached from Exodus 17:1-7, emphasizing the lessons God taught the Israelites during the 40 years they spent wandering in the desert.

“We need to be transformed and be more like Jesus,” he said. “God provides for our daily needs so we can have more time to focus on spiritual matters.

“Don’t expect God to do things your way and don’t expect Him to do nothing,” he emphasized. “Depend on the prayers we take to God and depend on provisions from God.”

Redmond said he and other staff knew as early as 6:30 a.m. that the air conditioning system serving the sanctuary was out of order.

“We had to start making arrangements to hold worship service outside under the trees. “We installed the sound system and set up following chairs.”

During the Sunday school hour, he visited classrooms and informed class members that worship would be conducted under the trees. He announced that bottled water would be provided and asked for prayers for a breeze during the service.

Church members of long tenure couldn’t remember a worship service being moved outside because of the heat inside; however, most who attended took the change in stride.

“It wasn’t bad at all,” one member was overheard saying as she left the open-air service.