What God Told the Weatherman (Daily Break‪)‬

Maybe Jon Cash knew it would rain that first Sunday in September. [paragraph] Maybe he knew, as the cars pulled into the Poquoson Community Center, that windshield wipers would pace and people would run to dodge the drops. That they would hopscotch through the gravelly parking lot, past the black trailer with "Keep the Promise ministries" painted on the side, shielding their plaid shorts and T-shirts and slacks and ties to keep them dry. [paragraph] But if Cash knew it would rain and the skies would be overcast, no one in Hampton Roads seemed to remember. Sunday was the second-to-last day covered by his final seven-day forecast, issued before he had been, in his own words, "brutally" fired as WAVY's morning weatherman. [paragraph] As he stood to the side of the community center, he still looked the part in a white shirt, pleated navy blue pants, crisp haircut and not a trace of a whisker. Nearly everyone in the congregation stole glances at him over their shoulders. [paragraph] The purpose of the service that morning was to worship God, but an unspoken curiosity drifted through the room. Cash was not just a weatherman. He had worked at WAVY, the local NBC affiliate, for 21 years. He was the one they depended on for the science of storms. Viewers considered him "their" weatherman. [paragraph] That's why the church's sunny pastor, Buddy Chapman, had called Cash after news of his firing broke. Chapman heads a new, casual and contemporary ministry of about 50 people who meet twice a month. He wanted Cash, 45, to preach because they both shared an energy for spreading the word, and so Cash had arrived early that soggy Sunday morning. [paragraph] Chapman kicked off the service like a Southern-rock concert. When he strummed his guitar and said "herewego," it sounded as though he might be breaking into "Fortunate Son." [paragraph] Cash waited out four songs. "If anyone has a feeling like 'I'm feeling sorry for Jon,' that's over right now," he started.