Have a go at our next caption competition (above). Send entries by email only to captioncompetition@churchtimes.co.uk by 9 a.m., Monday 22 September.
We invite readers’ ideas for photos: please provide a credit and confirm that those pictured are happy for the photo to be used.
Here is the winning entry for the previous competition:
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It’s a lovely gift, but I’ve been disqualified — I only want to serve (Julian Ashton)
A SELECTION of this week’s entries:
“He’s going for the record! And counting. Come on Leo, you can do it!” (Ed Banks); “Serving up salvation — no deuce with the devil” (Irene Murdoch); “Lowly Leo, the ping-pong Pope” (Alison Rollin); “One small ball, one great responsibility . . . and perhaps even a miracle in the backhand!” (Julie Kenny); “Not all of our problems are as black and white as this one” (Richard Hough); “He came, he saw, he served. And, lo, the crowd was smitten” (Andrew Hindley); “It’s a pingtiff-pongtiff set” (John Appleby).
“Ping-pong diplomacy takes root at the Vatican” (Patrick Irwin); “Papal ping-pong paddles present pleased Pope” (Colin McDowall); “Pontiff ponders playful Papal Ping Pong” (Steve Robertson); “Something to help ‘serve for life’” (Karen Bowman); “Papal Ping Pong Prize Presentation?” (Keith Joseph); “I think I prefer playing musical chairs with the Cardinals” (Bill de Quick); “How to turn water into wine? Easy. But watch closely as I make this ping-pong ball . . . disappear!” (Kristyn Harris).
“Be careful where you aim that, Your Holiness” (Valerie Budd); “The bats in the Vatican belfry were of a very rare kind” (Mary Hawkins); “But I ordered a margarita without doughballs!” (Peter Igo); “Pope Leo hid his disappointment because table tennis was no substitute for a keen American football fan” (Jo Mash); “Pope Leo in training for a future encounter with President Zi” (Richard Strudwick); “Pope Leo had insisted that the colour of the bats must be cardinal red” (Brian Stevenson); “Watch where you bat that ball, your Holiness, or there could be serious repercussions!” (Jenny Hayward).
“The Pope was aware that ping-pong was played as part of the UK parliamentary tradition, but was puzzled as to how to use it in Vatican politics” (Mervyn Cox); “While preparing to celebrate mass, there was an element of confusion over the meaning of the term ‘serve’” (Michael Foster); “This isn’t the type of service I usually perform” (Chaz Griffiths); “Remember, your Holiness, you’re not here to be served, but to serve” (John Saxbee); “I said Papal bulls, not balls!” (Geoffrey Robinson); “They changed the guard every 30 minutes while he was playing keepy-uppy” (Martin Kettle); “Pope: ‘Where is the first table-tennis match mentioned in the Bible?’ Security man: ‘When Joseph served in Pharaoh’s court’” (Rosemary Morse); “It’s much easier serving at the altar” (Janet Stockton); “His Holiness accidentally reveals the solution to the spot-the-ball competition” (Paul Vincent).
As ever, the winner receives a prize of Fairtrade chocolate, courtesy of Divine Chocolate.
divinechocolate.com