Apologies to those of you who have seen this through twitter and facebook, but I felt I had to share with the world a beautifully surreal moment during our midweek Eucharist service this morning in Buckden.
It’s a BCP service. There’s three of us there. We’ve had the creed, and reached the offertory. This is generally the moment when bread and wine are brought to the altar.
Today, however, at that moment the church door opens and a man walks in carrying a large parcel. He strides confidently all the way down the nave, and all the way down the chancel (it’s a sizeable church). I stand at the altar, and he comes straight up to me, and says, ‘Ive got a parcel for you.’ I think, ‘Yes, I can see that.’ I invite him to put it down on the sedilla (the little alcove seats built into the sanctuary wall) and he shows me where to sign for it. I sign. He nods politely, turns and walks all the way back to the door, closing it quietly behind him.
We pause for a moment, and then continue with the service as if nothing has happened.
Now, the question is, how did he manage to time it for the offertory?
By the way, the parcel contained a man hole cover for the church extension.
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