A Mississippi church got into the April Fool’s spirit a little early by playing a trick on its congregation with “a special guest” on Sunday night.

When the members of Bethlehem Community Church in Laurel showed up to worship on Sunday, they saw a man who looked strikingly like 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush on stage surrounded by men who appeared to be in the Secret Service.


A local newspaper posted a photo of “Bush” in a Facebook post after apparently being fooled by Florida man John Morgan.

He didn’t just fool the newspaper.

"It looked just like him, talked just like him,” said Lisa Parker.

Morgan has been impersonating the former president for the last 12 years. “The fun thing is that nobody ever said George W. Bush,” Morgan told the Clarion-Ledger. “They just said, ‘Welcome our special guest.’”

When the hoax was discovered, some community members were not pleased. “Lying church! Remind me to never go there!” Deborah Crawford posted on the newspaper’s Facebook page.

Not everyone was upset, however.

"I mean, I enjoyed it," Theresa Breland told WDAM. "Even though it's not him, we had a good time, and we'll be back."

[The Clarion-Ledger] [WDAM]