VIRTUAL church services are off to fiery start after one vicar accidentally set his arm alight with a church candle while recording.
Simon Beach, 61, vicar of St Budeaux Parish Church in Plymouth, was not harmed during the mishap and was able to see the funny side – posting the out-take online.
In the video, Beach is seen leaning in to deliver the final part of his sermon before exclaiming calmly: “Oh dear, I’ve just caught fire.”
He said he had been teased by fellow vicars, who joked about “being on fire for Jesus” and telling him that he “should have waited for Pentecost”.
“People have laughed and laughed, really,” he told the PA news agency.
“I just felt my arm getting a bit hot. The nice thing is, it did damage my pullover and my shirt but my arm is fine – there’s no burn on my arm.
“The funny thing is, I told my wife and daughter what I’d just done … and while I got the video my daughter said ‘All Dad will say is Oh dear I’m on fire’, which is what I said.”
Beach admitted that he had never made a YouTube video before and that it had felt “surreal”.
Worshippers across the UK are preparing to attend their first Sunday services from their homes and participate over the internet – in line with government guidelines on social distancing.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby broadcast a service on BBC local radio, to then be uploaded to Facebook.
Beach said: “The whole thing is a bit surreal – there’s never been a time where we’ve deliberately not gone to Sunday worship, so that’s very strange.
“I’ve never phoned so many people really, because normally you go and visit people.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel