Part of any assistant rectors job description is “…and other duties as assigned.” This can mean any number of things. I’ve decided it will be fun to blog some of the most interesting “assignments.” So here I give you the first in the series:

Last week the sexton and I wrestled a HUGE sleeper sofa to the basement from the second floor to put in the new middle school youth room. It didn’t fit. A second large, old sofa remained on the second floor because it also wasn’t going to fit. Today our amazing junior warden borrowed a terrifying trailer (open platform trailer with broken wood slat floor -I really can’t describe how awesomely jimmy-rigged this trailer was) and came to help me haul them away.

So, Ellen and I went to the basement to haul the sleeper sofa up and out. Well, we got the couch onto the first flight of stairs -barely- and then we were stuck. We couldn’t get it to the landing but we didn’t want to lose any ground. Just then we heard a male voice and enlisted a lovely parishioner who found himself in the wrong place at the right *for us* time to help get it the rest of the way out. Ellen looked like Atlas as we loaded the sucker onto a dolly and Das and I grabbed the edges and Ellen crouched below the monstrosity and dragged the dolly forward. We hauled the second sofa (much lighter, but equally grungy and awkward) from the second floor and put it upside down on top of the first. Like a large, rickety game of Tetris. We tied them down and headed to the dump.

At the dump I directed as Ellen backed the car and trailer up to the concrete “pit” to heave the couches in the far beyond (aka trash compactor.) Well, getting the couches off meant that one of us needed to teeter on the edge of the pit as we muscled them out. I am pleased to report that I did not push Ellen into the pit in the process.

I wish I could show you pictures. Alas, my hands were a little busy.

PS All of this was accomplished while wearing a white skirt, mary janes, and a collar.