Parishioners at Luleå Cathedral Christmas Day service was slightly different this year from other years. The pastor overslept and only made it in time for the coffee.
The pews were packed on Saturday morning but began to get restless as it became apparent that something was amiss.
Duty pastor, Stefan Widman, had slept in.
The quick thinking by churchwardens Georg Johansson and Hans Brusevitz saved the day though.
The local newspaper reorted the pair read the Christmas gospel and the Lord’s Prayer and the organist Lena Stenlund ensured that the faithful were given a musical accompaniment to their song.
When the pastor did eventually make it to the church, he was no doubt highly embarrassed but deeply apologetic.
In the church hall, when I asked for forgiveness for the whole thing, I was told that it is human to oversleep. And I have rarely had such nice discussions with people
Widman, meanwhile, expressed concern that his tardiness would lead to congregation gossip.
You become something of the ‘talk of the town,’ but that you have to take when you have been sloppy with your clock radio
In the local paper, one blogger suspects he was drunk, a common claim in sweden, but most bloggers were sympathetic to his situation. More importantly, it was met with laughter by his congregation when he did eventually turn up and all was forgiven.
[Thelocal.se]
