A devoted priest overcame two exploding bike tyres to deliver his evening prayer podcast live.
Fr Sean Connolly has been broadcasting an evening prayer podcast live from St George’s Church, Sprowston Road, Norwich.
On Friday, April 24 while taking his daily exercise, he went out for what was intended to be an hour’s cycle ride. At some point, however, his back tyre exploded, leaving him stranded miles from St George’s.
“Rather than being safely at home or in church,” he announced as the podcast began, “I’m actually walking with a bike with a punctured tyre, realising that I’m not going to make it in time.
“So I thought I would begin prayer on the journey. I hope this works.”
The evening prayer podcast has been released at 6pm every day since the lockdown began.
The 15-minute transmission talks about happenings in the parish, congratulates people on anniversaries and shout out messages to individual parishioners by name. He frequently mentions Dylan, his dog, who is always asleep.
He then moves on to evening prayer from the breviary, which he plays along on the piano.
Fr Connolly had changed the inner tube once, only to find after another four miles cycling that the damaged tyre burst again. As he did not have another spare tube, there was nothing left for it but to walk.
Without his piano he sang into his mobile phone as he wheeled his bike along the Cromer Road into Norwich.
“I’m now more or less at the airport,” he said. “People as they walk past think I’m completely mad.
“Next week I might trying broadcasting while water surfing,” joked Fr Sean the following day.
Fr Sean’s podcasts is available at 6pm every day on the St George’s parish website, www.stgeorgenorwich.com or listen to them later at: saintgeorgenorwich.podbean.com.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here