A JOKING vicar has been using his comedic talents to help to entertain his congregation.

The Rev Dermot Thornberry’s repertoire has impressed churchgoers at the Patcham, Woodingdean and Stanford Avenue Methodist churches after he joined the circuit team this month.

His one-liners have even seen him star on the Some Vicars With Jokes TV programme, which was first broadcast on BBC Four last year.

Mr Thornberry was brought up in Brighton and became a Methodist vicar during the 27 years when he lived in South Africa.

Since returning to the UK he has held posts including in Paignton, Devon and Derbyshire before returning to Brighton this month.

Mr Thornberry said he engages with his congregation with stories that are balanced with humour and a message.

His said his passion is people, their stories and “narrative theology”.

He said: “I think everybody has a story to tell. That’s what makes humanity interact with other people.

“Humour is important. I think it is really good to make people laugh. It breaks down barriers between people”.

Mr Thornberry said filming for the TV show, alongside 18 other vicars as part of the Some Vicars With Jokes series, was “scary” as he had never been in a TV studio before, let alone in front of a camera.

He said they had a mad dash around London in search of a new outfit for one of the ministers whose green robe disappeared into the green screen in the studio which they filmed in front of.

Mr Thornberry and his wife Charlene are looking forward to their new life living on the coast with their golden retriever.

 

Rev Thornberry’s favourite jokes:

  •  Two people kayak out into the sea. The weather is getting quite cold so one of the canoeists takes a heater with him to warm up his boat. As the pair paddle out, the kayak with the heater in it starts to melt and eventually sinks. The other kayaker says “you can’t have your kayak and heat it”.
  •  I tried digging for gold but it didn’t pan out.
  • It’s so cold the politician kept his hands in his own pockets.
  • A weather reporter moved down south for a new job but it didn’t work out. The weather didn’t agree with him.