As I edit the weekly podcasts I’ve started noticing that there is always a cough at the end of the sermon.
As Andrew, Ian or anyone else says ‘amen’, or a similar word, it’s always followed by a cough.
I don’t have anything profound to say about this, it’s just an observation .
This week, it could well have been me. It’s a good sign. It means the sermon is so captivating that no-one wants to disrupt the flow or mask a key word with disruptive sounds and so it is all held back until the end when the coughs are released. This effect can be also seen occurring during other parts of other service such as a prayer. It also goes some way to explaining sudden rushes for the toilet at certain points in the service, although diet can also be a factor here!