Life in the Parsonage

In the mid-to-late 1960s, my parents lived in Munfordville, Kentucky, where my father served as minister of the Munfordville Church of Christ. They resided in the church’s “parsonage”—a home provided for the minister and his family. This was my father’s second full-time ministry position, and though their four-year stay in Kentucky was brief, it was filled with memorable events.

For those unfamiliar with parsonage life, imagine living in the ultimate glass house. Every aspect of your daily routine becomes visible to the congregation. My parents were young and inexperienced, navigating not only the demands of ministry but also the unique pressures that come with church-provided housing.

The Incident: October 1967

In October 1967, the parsonage was undergoing repairs. One of the church members, a carpenter, was leading the renovation work with help from several other members. During this time, my parents continued living in the house despite the ongoing construction.

The carpenter had developed a habit of frequently calling out to my mother for coffee refills and other needs throughout the workday. On this particular morning, however, he had left to purchase supplies. The house was quiet—only my father, my mother, and my baby sister (barely a year old) were present.

Then they heard it: a voice clearly calling my mother’s name. “Brenda.”

The voice was distinctly feminine, yet my sister was far too young to speak, let alone articulate my mother’s name clearly. My parents looked at each other in bewilderment. Who could have called out?

Even now, decades later, this story sends shivers down my spine. It reminds me that some mysteries may remain unsolved this side of eternity.

Searching for Scientific Explanations

Auditory Hallucinations

Could my parents have experienced hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations—those auditory or visual tricks our senses play when we’re falling asleep or waking up? This seems unlikely, as both parents were well-rested and alert, with no illness affecting their sleep patterns.

Pareidolia

Perhaps their brains were trying to make sense of random ambient sounds, similar to how we see faces in clouds or wood grain. I’m particularly susceptible to pareidolia myself. However, the house was quiet that morning—no radio, television, or background noise that could have been misinterpreted as a voice calling my mother’s name.

Electromagnetic Interference

Some theorists suggest that electromagnetic fields from power lines or electronic devices can interfere with neural circuits, creating perceived auditory phenomena. While intriguing, this remains an unproven theory with little scientific support.

Auditory Hypervigilance

The most plausible scientific explanation might be stress-induced auditory hypervigilance. When people experience anxiety or trauma, their sensitivity to stimuli can increase dramatically. I think of the feral cats on our property—constantly scanning, startled by the slightest sound. Humans can exhibit similar behavior.

Were my parents under such stress? Consider their situation: young, inexperienced, living under the constant scrutiny that comes with parsonage life, enduring home renovations while still residing in the house, and dealing with a persistent church member’s frequent demands. These factors could certainly create the conditions for heightened auditory sensitivity.

The Supernatural Perspective

As a Christian, I must also consider the possibility of supernatural activity. However, my beliefs about the afterlife are shaped by Scripture, which provides mixed guidance on whether the dead can visit the living.

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells of the rich man and Lazarus. When the rich man asks that Lazarus return from the dead to warn his living brothers, Abraham explains that God has fixed a great gulf between paradise and torment, making such travel impossible. This suggests a permanent separation between the living and the dead.

Yet the Old Testament presents the witch of Endor summoning Samuel to speak with King Saul (1 Samuel 28:3-25). Notably, this event seemed to surprise even the witch, suggesting it was an extraordinary occurrence permitted by God for a specific purpose. Samuel was raised to deliver a message about Saul’s impending death—divine intervention rather than routine communication between realms.

If supernatural phenomena exist, they likely arise from causes we have yet to understand, operating within rational frameworks beyond our current comprehension.

The Enduring Mystery

So what did my parents truly hear that October morning in 1967? Was it stress-induced hypervigilance? An unexplained acoustic phenomenon? Something supernatural?

I often return to Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.” As humans, we crave explanations for everything we encounter. We want to categorize, analyze, and understand every experience. Yet some mysteries may remain beyond our reach, reminding us of the limits of human knowledge and the vastness of what we do not yet comprehend.

That may not be such a troubling thought after all.