Playing Dead

Minor Role

When I was rector of a parish in S. California we occasionally had a film crew borrow space in our church for a shoot.

One afternoon, just before getting ready to leave, my associate came into my office.

“Come into the church,” she said. “You need to see what’s in the sanctuary.”

In front of the high altar was an open casket, ready for the following day’s shoot. My associate looked at me with an impish grin, and said, “I will if you will.”

So it is we took turns climbing into the casket – close fit – and taking a photo of each of us. Having conducted many funerals in that place, in the days when people brought the casket into the church, and we processed it down the aisle, it was a rush to put ourselves in a role on the other side of our usual roles.

I have always loved the whimsy Auden piece. Never thought I’d find such a perfect place for it.

My associate said I looked better in the casket than I did standing up. I took the compliment but said I still preferred standing. She understood.

I wonder if, in these seemingly more solemn times, whether clergy can have as much fun as we sometimes did, making sport of the heavy tasks we were asked to take on?

I have no idea whether the casket ever made it into a released film. Maybe I could have hired out as an extra.