When Sunday Comes Again by Terry E. Hill

forgive myself.”
    â€œIt was an accident. You know it. I know it, and so does God. You didn’t intend to kill him.”
    â€œCynthia knows when something is bothering me.”
    Kenneth stood and walked behind Percy’s desk. He spun the chair toward him, kneeled down in front of Percy, and placed his hand on his knee. “Have you said anything to her about this?”
    Percy looked startled. “No,” he replied emphatically. “I could never tell her I did something like this.”
    â€œGood. Let’s keep it that way. As time passes, you’ll learn to manage your feelings better, but for now don’t say a word to anyone. Trust me, it will get easier. If you need to talk about it, call me. Understand?”
    Percy nodded his head in affirmation, then turned away.
    Kenneth continued, “The only thing we need to worry about now is Samantha and New Testament. We have to figure out a way to prevent her from being appointed as permanent pastor. Everyone knows you should be pastor, Percy.”
    â€œYou sound like Cynthia. That’s all she’s been talking about since Hezekiah’s death.”
    Kenneth stood up, sat on the desk and said, “You should listen to her. She’s right.”
    â€œShe might be, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that can be done about it now. It’s unlikely the trustees are going to reverse their decision. Once she starts bringing in money, they won’t have any choice but to make it permanent. They’re no match for her. No one is.”
    â€œYou underestimate yourself, Percy. Cynthia believes in you. I believe in you, and so do thousands of other members of this congregation. You just have to have faith.”
    â€œI think I’ll need more than faith to go up against Samantha. Right now I’m more concerned about Catherine. She’s talking about leaving.”
    â€œLike I said earlier, Samantha is not stupid. She’ll learn quickly that she can’t run this place without Catherine. I’ll try to talk some sense into her later this week.”
    â€œI don’t think she’ll listen, but it’s worth a try.”
    â€œI think you, Catherine, Naomi, and I should meet. Let’s put our heads together and see if there’s anything we can do about this,” Kenneth said.
    Percy looked sharply at him and said, “You seem to have forgotten what happened the last time the four of us put our heads together to solve a problem.” He stood up and walked away from the desk. “It was bribing Lance not to run the story. What were we thinking? It only made matters worse. Now the man’s dead, for Christ sake.”
    â€œIt was a good plan, Percy. He just got greedy and wanted more. It would have worked if you hadn’t gotten so angry. We could have offered him more money.”
    â€œWe should have never offered him any money at all,” Percy said bitterly.
    â€œYou know we had no other choice,” Kenneth rebuked. “A scandal like that would have brought this entire ministry down. At least that crisis was averted.”
    â€œYes, it was averted, but at what cost? Two men are dead, Kenneth. Was it worth it?”
    â€œHow could you ask that? Of course it was worth it. You forget how many millions of people this ministry touches. You forget about all the people whom we’ve led to Christ. Was it worth it?” Kenneth repeated as his voice escalated. “Hell, yes, it was worth it, and deep down I believe you agree.”
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    â€œToday my guest is the new pastor of the mega church New Testament Cathedral in Los Angeles and one of my dearest friends, the fabulous Reverend Dr. Samantha Cleaveland.”
    The audience of the nationally syndicated Renee Adasen Show was filled with well-dressed, smiling middle-class women who had collectively waited years for tickets to the talk show. The cantilevered seats held a sea of peach, blue, yellow, and