Vicar accidentally sets himself on fire during video sermon

A West Country vicar has provided a moment of light relief during an inadvertently inflammatory sermon, accidentally setting himself on fire mid-speech. 

The clip, which was shared by the vicar’s Cornish niece, was recorded as part of the congregation's new series of online worship events, held in place of the traditional Sunday service. However, despite a strong start, the vicar soon found himself unexpectedly cast in the role of firefighter, as his left arm was set ablaze by a candelabra. Clearly, the good Lord wasn’t the biggest fan. 

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/StIvesMermaid/status/1241070015673061376]]

In the video, the Reverend Stephen Beach, of St Budeaux Parish Church can be heard recapping previous installments of the “online worship experience”, adding:

"The last section we call ‘waiting’, and it's a great thing to pause in the presence of God and ask the question, 'God what are you saying to us,' and then, of course, to wait for the answer."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/lloydinand/status/1241313079079600128]]

In this case, God seems to have been suggesting that the Reverend Beach liven things up a bit, as within a few seconds he found himself frantically batting at tongues of flame. As his niece put it, things got a little “hot under the (dog) collar”. 

Watch as Italian neighbors sing to each other amid the coronavirus lockdown:

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/NvqXiIwu-izxriqNH.mp4||NvqXiIwu]]

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/PaulChahidi/status/1241093602136059904]]

Despite what could have been a calamity, the Reverend was unharmed by the incident and was quickly able to extinguish the blaze. His niece, who also works as a professional mermaid, confirmed that he had suffered “A hole in his favourite sermon jumper but unharmed otherwise.”

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/europabridge1/status/1241102573685350413]]

After it emerged that the vicar had avoided a toasting, Twitter took over. Several users revealed that the clip had helped provide a ray of sunshine in a troubled time. One commented “This is the sort of digital worship content we’re all waiting for,” while another added, “This has made my day. Possibly my year. Please send my best wishes to your Uncle.” His sermon might not have gone to plan, but it might have had more of an impact than he could ever have hoped for.