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Caption Competition
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Entries must be received by Friday 22 November.

diocese of worcesterdiocese of worcester

Here is this week’s winner:

Worcester beats Liverpool by a mitre
(Richard Strudwick)

WE don’t know what prompted the Bishops of Worcester and Liverpool to scale a climbing wall — but our readers had a range of ideas:

• The meeting of the College of Bishops drove several of them up the wall (David Thomson)
• Two more bishops driven up the wall by Renewal and Reform (John Saxbee)
• After the attendance statistics were published, the bishops glued themselves to a wall to highlight the Church’s risk of extinction (Mark Hart).
  
  

Perhaps episcopal ambition had been a factor?

• The CNC for York had devised a new shortlisting process (Simon Kershaw)
• The Bishop was hoping to be elevated to York (Andrew Greenhough)
• Who said ‘The bishops are just social climbers’? (Janet Stockton)
• Although they had reached the ‘top of the ladder’, they still thought they could get nearer this way (John Hutchinson).
  
  

Or another initiative aimed at increasing numbers:

• Worcester’s theme song for its new evangelism initiative will be: ‘Climb every mountain, scale every wall, seek out every sinner, till you find them all (Peter M Potter)
• The Bishop sent me on this training course in the event of a cliff-edge Hallowe’en Brexit (Ian Barge)
• This is what happens when you attend the ‘Make your PCCs fun’ course (Chris Coupe)
• Perhaps this is the next summer-holiday attraction for Rochester or Norwich (Richard Hough).
  
  

It could be a question of churchmanship:

• Some High Anglicans just take things too far (John Appleby)
• The two bishops could both be considered to be ‘high churchmen’ (Mark Parry)
• He may have a larger cathedral, but I am a higher bishop (Patrick Irwin).
  
  

It had not occurred to us that the climbing wall might be edible:

• There’s no such thing as too much tutti-frutti ice cream (Chris Hammett)
• Here, try one of these blackcurrant-flavoured ones — they’re really yummy (Richard Crockett)
• They were well aware that the best sweets are always at the top of the cake (Stephen Disley).
  
  

Some other entries that we enjoyed:

• St Mary’s was renowned for having the tallest triple-decker pulpit in the diocese (George Frost)
• In times past, the first clergyman to reach the top would have been crowned King of Hartlebury Castle had the Church of England not sold the freehold for £2.45 million (John Radford)
• Two bishops attempting a divine ascent (Chris Parry)
• No one said the climb up to heaven would be easy (Alison Parry)
• Bishops are still such pillars of society (Richard Barnes)
• I can already see what’s going on in Hereford diocese from up here (Sue Chick)
• If you think you’re standing firm, Paul, take care, or you may fall! (Robert Paterson)
• It’s a Knockout wasn’t funny the first time round (Vicky Lundberg)
• It was difficult to tell which bishop was on the way up and which was on the way down (Mervyn Cox)
• As John and Paul were ‘ascending on high’, a voice said, ‘Do not give the devil a foothold’ (Paulette Yallop)
• I agree: calling it ‘Jacob’s Climbing Wall’ just doesn’t sound right (Michael Foster)
• Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see. The distant scene; one step enough for me (Hilary Russell)
• Is that the River Severn I can see down there, or is it the Mersey? (Lesley Cope)
• As he gazed down from a great height, Bishop John wondered whether it had really been the Lord telling him to ‘Come up higher’ (Mark Wreford).
  
  

As ever, the winner receives Fairtrade chocolate, courtesy of Divine Chocolate: www.divinechocolate.com.