Have a go at our next caption competition (above) for a chance to win a prize of Fairtrade chocolate!
Send entries by email only to captioncompetition@churchtimes.co.uk by 9 a.m., Monday 10 January
Here is the winning entry for the previous competition:
Maureen CawdronMaureen Cawdron
We think he misunderstood when the new wave of Christians was mentioned
(Lee Cogger)
MORE than one reader detected cinematic inspiration behind the Bishop’s antics with an umbrella: “The Bishop’s spontaneous audition for a remake of the classic Gene Kelly movie?” (Richard Spray); “Gene Kelly made it look so easy” (Rena Plumridge); “Actually, my name’s Gordon Kelly . . . but my wife’s name is Jean” (Rob Falconer); “The lamentable hero of the evangelistic film Preachin’ in the Rain could well be described as ‘wet’” (Don Manley); “Gone with the wind” (Richard Strudwick); “The climate-change rally was going down a storm with the lead protester hailing ‘Singing in the Rain’” (Kim Willing).
Well, the north-west is known for its wet weather: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his rain to fall upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his umbrella above you and keep you dry” (Mervyn Cox); “So the ‘brollies’ just appeared, and, yes, we did pray for rain last night!” (Mark Parry); “Our God rains” (Geoff Licence); “There is a 70-per-cent chance of rain overnight, but your days will be bright — and merry!” (Julian Ashton).
Christmas, of course, is a chance for the Church to reach parts of the population that do not usually darken its doors: “Instead of carols on the doorstep, this year, for me, it’s carols at the bus stop” (Lynda Sebbage); “His carol singing was making people return home by another way” (Brian Stevenson); “The two evangelists went head to head. So far, an anorak and placard was more attractive than an umbrella and dance moves” (Vicky Deasley); “It being the Christmas season, the outdoor preacher had been asked to bring some holly — not a brolly!” (Michael Foster); “’Shine, Jesus, shine!’” (Alistair Bolt).
Some other entries that we enjoyed: “Go on, can you please just take one picture for my Instagram; I’ve nearly got 4k followers” (Fiona Drinkell); “Ooh, look, a pearl of great price, and in a gift box!” (Sue Chick); “Eastern approaches to teaching maths: parallel and convergent lines” (Martin Kettle); “I never thought a Bishops Finger could bring such joy” (Robert Shooter); “To try to help the diocesan funds, the Bishop took on a second job as a tour guide” (Chris Coupe); “I’m sheltering under my micro-climate umbrella” (Janet Stockton); “Home-made satellite dish leads to a conversation with extra-terrestrials on Planet Zog” (Nick Baker); “Oh! It’s a Christmas gift from my parishioners — they thought my sermons were a bit wet” (Peter Sebbage); “Clearly a Chelsea supporter” (Jane Hough); “Chelsea supporter hearing that they have drawn Chesterfield in the FA Cup” (Colin Fielding); “Maurice was struggling to report on Storm Barra alongside the climate-change protesters when a sudden gust of wind threatened to lift him skywards in a Mary Poppins manner” (Daphne Foster); “We need just one more for the cha-cha-cha” (Paulette Yallop); “The vicar decided that wind- and umbrella-propelled transport was the environmentally friendly way to visit his 11 parishes” (Jennie Hayward); “They thought he was mean not to share his umbrella on such a wet day” (Stephen Disley); “Take a good look, ladies and gentlemen: it’ll disappear before your very eyes” (Barry Tighe); “Mary Poppins, have you lost something?” (Louise Comb); “They always think I’m under the weather, but I’m actually walking on sunshine daily through my prayers” (Lisa Day); “It takes divine intervention to pull a brolly out of the hat” (Brian Davies); “He’s gone all Mary Poppins on us again” (Glyn Davies).
As ever, the winner receives a prize of Fairtrade chocolate, courtesy of Divine Chocolate. divinechocolate.com