With all the ups and downs of last week, I think my mind wasn`t concentrating on all it should be. Sitting in our church service yesterday morning, it came to the first Bible reading. Everyone had sat down at the end of the hymn, the Minister sat down too, and was looking round expectantly.
It was probably only a second or two in real time, but it seemed liked minutes then it struck me, I should have found people to do the readings! I hurriedly grabbed the Bible from the pew in front of me and sped out to read the 1st. lesson, hoping it wasn`t difficult and wouldn`t have a lot of hard names in it. Thankfully when I got to the lecturn the Bible was open at the right page, saving me finding it in the one in my hand, and it was a passage I`d read before. But, then I realised there was another reading after the next hymn which also needed a reader! I couldn`t go back to read the other passages, that would look too obvious that something had gone wrong.
Racking my brains what to do, as the hymn started I touched the person in front of my on the shoulder, quickly explained what had happened and asked her if she could read the other passages. To my immense relief she instantly said yes. Normally she would have been out with the children`s group, I was so very lucky that she wasn`t this week.
Lesson to myself - Write things down in a list.
2 comments:
I do sympathise - finding readers is my job too. I do a three-month rota for the readers, the sidesmen, the organist/musicians and the person on coffee duty. But I still have to check that the readings are in place and that the readers have turned up. A couple of weeks ago, no one went to do the first reading and two people stood up for the second!
The advantage of doing it in advance is that, if the same person reads twice, it's assumed that someone didn't turn up, not that I got it wrong...
Oh, and last week the sidesman thought she was doing coffee. I put her right, but it didn't dawn on her that I'd had to do her job (as well as play the organ!).
Oh you were very lucky to have the lady willing and able!
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