Pastor caught in media frenzy over ice cream plant
LAVAL, PQ–Pastor Normand Joseph of Laval agreed to execute the will of one of his dying church members in July. By the middle of August his name was in newspapers from Montreal to Toronto to Miami.
In the weeks before his death from terminal cancer, Geoffrey Lambert, 58, decided to sell or close Lambert Frozen Desserts and Ice Cream, so it would not be a burden to his family.
The company employs 60 people and records an annual profit of approximately $4.5 million.
Lambert asked Joseph, pastor of Eglise Baptiste de Laval-Est (Laval-east Baptist Church), to be responsible for the sale or closure. Joseph accepted, taking a leave of absence from his church to join the company full time as interim manager.
A letter announcing the closure was given to the employees July 30, in which Lambert thanked God for the success of the company and thanked the employees for their family spirit. The date of closing was set for September 21.
However, the letter was taken to be Lambert's will. According to newspaper reports after Lambert died August 11, one angry employee apparently contacted a journalist to reveal that Lambert, a long time Baptist, was acting upon divine revelation.
Two weeks after Lambert's death, the Journal de Montreal carried the headline, "The Lord himself decided to close the Lambert ice cream plant."
Joseph says that nowhere in the will had Lambert said God told him to sell the plant. And, he says, it was the preference of Camille Brodeur, Lambert's widow, to sell. If this option was not feasible, an 8-week notice of closure was legally required.
Within 24 hours of the newspaper story, police cordoned off the street in front of the plant as television crews and radio and newspaper journalists crowded around the door. Some were heard shouting, "These people are fanatics. What happened to Christian charity?"
Joseph was sitting in his office watching the scene on television. "I saw the crowd on my screen, and I realized they were waiting for me.
I prayed that God would give me wisdom to represent the company, the Christian community and the reputation of God himself."
Although many of the rumours perpetuated by the media were untrue, and left him feeling unnecessarily maligned, Joseph says he actually thanks God for the media attention.
At least 100 potential buyers were alerted to the company. Thirty groups and individuals visited the plant. According to Joseph, there are at least 10 who have indicated their intention to lay a serious offer on the table.
Joseph says that he feels like the biblical Joseph who said to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good."
Joseph now also meets with bankers, business people and company CEOs on a regular basis. "I would never have met these people in my pastor's study in Blainville," he says. "But now I can share the gospel with them over dinner and they listen to me." He has even received several offers of employment, but says he looks forward to leaving the business world and going back to his church.
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