Naturally, Itumeleng wasn't about to let me get off scot-free as he called me up firstly to pray over the offering, then (together with himself and the stewards) to lay hands upon the confirmands.
As a result, I promised the congregation faithfully that they would never again see me in church dressed in such deplorable attire, as I am to be "collared" this coming Sunday. There is quite a bit of excitement around this service, as it symbolises our Circuit "sending me out to preach the Good News" as a Phase One probationer.
I have indicated previously that I deliberately bought oversize clerical shirts to ensure that I have ample room in the neck (for some reason known only to our Lord, I have a particularly large head and neck for my particular body frame). Of course, whether I will be able to get the collar over the lump that will surely be in my throat on Sunday, remains to be seen.
The St Andrews people have been absolutely fantastic to me since I joined them this year, and have welcomed me into their midst with open and loving arms. They also have a fine sense of humour, which has resulted in quite a bit of leg-pulling (excuse the pun) about my "Kortbroek" image on Sunday, and like one or two of my reprobate friends, consider the use of "Reverend" and "Steven Jones" in the same sentence as an oxymoron of note.
So I thought that in this particular post I'd be serious for once. Now with my posts I usually like to include pictures, but seeing as I only have one image of a clerical collar (which I have already used twice), I thought I'd try to find a better picture of what I would possibly look like decked out in clerical garb...
Note the serious gleam in my eyes?
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