Preaching...

This morning was the first time I preached in the parish of Magheralin as their student reader, and what an experience! Hehe... The text of the sermon is below (in the previous post), but some of the surrounding things were rather amusing, or just plain embarrassing.

First off, the service in Dollingstown went really well. Hannah was leading the service for the first time, and she did very well. Gareth, the Rector, wasn't about Dollingstown this morning as he was at the more contemporary service in Magheralin. But we got on ok without him!

So then in Magheralin, we were robed up, with a huge and great choir... so we came up the aisle during the first hymn, got to the reading desk, turned round to look down the church, and behold, one of dad's cousins is sitting down the church, along with her husband, and their family connections to Magheralin. Oh dear! Just a bit embarrassing, and something I wasn't expecting. Especially, seeing as they had travelled from Dunmurry to be there...

So that was ok... the sermon came up, and I ventured into the pulpit. Robed, as I said earlier. And I'm still not entirely used to the robes, and negotiating steps... and stood on the bottom of the front of the cassock, and felt it dragging me down... Thankfully I was able to lift my foot and drag the cassock out from under before I landed on my head inside the pulpit - now that would have made an interesting start to the sermon!

So then later, during the prayer of Consecration (it was Holy Communion), I was at the kneeler at the south end of the Lord's Table, and underneath was polished marble... and I felt my feet slipping, and slipping... it was a bit of a struggle to stay upright on the kneeler! I just about managed it though, and was glad to be standing on my feet again!

I'm very grateful to Gareth and the people of Dollingstown and Magheralin for allowing me to come among them, and to assist in ministering to them. Let's hope it keeps going for the next while, without any truly embarassing incidents!!!