A great duck story....

This article appeared in the Missouri Methodist Magazine. If you are not from Woods Chapel, I would tell you that it was my pleasure to serve as Pastor of that church from 1994-2016.

Here is the article...

For the past five years, Woods Chapel has been a sanctuary for visitors who reside at the church, protecting their young from danger. They weren’t invited, but they weren’t turned away either. Before this story continues any further, it is important to note that they are ducks.
An inner courtyard at Woods Chapel is walled in. Five years ago, a duck made a nest in the courtyard, where it is safe from foxes sometimes seen around the church. It hatched its brood there. The brood typically consists of 10-12 ducklings.

Staff at the church provided some duck food and a kiddie pool for water. The water is replenished and refilled daily. Bricks were stacked up so the baby ducklings could get to the water. Human contact with the ducks and ducklings is limited, so they don’t become tame.

When the ducklings are around five weeks old, the mother duck leads them to the glass door that exits the courtyard. Someone on staff opens the door, and she leads them down a long hallway to an exit door. They then walk to a nearby pond.

This year, the church was surprised when a second mother duck appeared with 11 more baby ducks. They then had a total of 17 ducklings, three adult females and three mallards in the courtyard. They bought a second pool for them all and a lot more food. The third clutch of 10 eggs hatched the second week of July.

“We are suddenly the hottest AirBnb in town,” said Ann Williams, missions and care director for Woods Chapel UMC.

Those first ducklings made their appearance in March and remained until mid-June. At press time, the church was still awaiting the hatch of the third nest.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.