After a week’s absence I’m back now and getting ready for Christmas, and with that in mind we headed off to take communion in the first hour of today’s show at St Peter & Paul Church in Yalding, Kent where the vicar Rev Paul Filmer, had taken the unusual step of substituting grape juice in place of red wine for communicants at his services, as he wanted the 4 or 5 alcoholics in his congregation to feel inclusive.
He also decided against using separate wine and non-wine chalices as he wanted everyone in his congregation to feel together!
Apparently one or two congregants were taken aback by the substitution from strong wine to grape juice bearing in mind that Cannon Law states that the drink used for communion should be “….wine the fermented juice of the grape, good and wholesome.”
Those who raised issues asked why they couldn’t drink from a separate cup, but when they were asked what they thought about drinking from a separate cup themselves, they said it would make them feel isolated, which the vicar thought rather proved his point.
In the second hour, and perhaps in readiness for Hogmanay, we headed North of the border where we learnt that animal rescue officer Karen Hogg, had arrived at a rented home in Kingswells, near Aberdeen, to find the occupier in a “very distressed” state after she’d called in to report finding a five foot snake in her loft.
The poor lady was very shaken according to Karen, who over the years has been involved in rescuing hundreds of snakes and other creatures from numerous properties, so on this occasion was well prepared and armed with gloves and a pillow case to contain and handle the snake safely.
However this time the equipment was found to be unnecessary as the snake turned out to be nothing more lethal than a large green and black snake-shaped draught excluder with a red felt tongue,
The draught excluder has since been Christened “SID” and resides and the Scottish SPCA’s Aberdeen Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre.
Well that’s all from me for today but I very much look forward to receiving your company once again tomorrow,
Scott
