Ah, the nostalgia of attending the Harvest festival at church as a child—those lively school days in autumn, proudly carrying a basket of food you’d convinced your mom to buy last-minute. Walking with classmates to the local church to sing hymns in the chilly weather, while parents cheerfully pretended the choir sounded angelic.
For most of us, though, such memories don’t involve anything inappropriate appearing on a church screen.
Yet, in an unexpected incident, some children saw explicit content projected onto a screen meant for hymn lyrics. During a service, teachers from Hornsea Community Primary School in East Yorkshire acted quickly when a church volunteer’s laptop accidentally displayed the inappropriate image instead of lyrics.
An anonymous parent shared the uncomfortable moment with The Sun: “One moment, the children were singing ‘We Plough the Fields and Scatter,’ and the next, they were staring at something completely inappropriate. The six- and seven-year-olds were stunned and didn’t know where to look.”
The incident occurred while Year 2 students attended a service at the United Reformed Church in town, celebrating its 150th anniversary. The school later sent a letter to parents, explaining the mishap:
“As part of the singing, a church computer was used to project lyrics. Church volunteers used their laptop, which briefly displayed inappropriate content. Our staff acted quickly to remove it. We don’t know if the children noticed and have not discussed it with them. Mrs. Semper, our safeguarding lead, is in contact with the church to ensure safeguards are in place.”
The letter added that the church has launched its own investigation, with the incident also referred to the local safeguarding authorities. Victoria Aitken, a council member for children, families, and education, told LADbible: “We were informed of the incident, and the school contacted parents on the same day. The school will avoid using the church until there are assurances this won’t happen again. The church is handling its own investigation.”
A church elder told The Sun: “There’s nothing to defend here. We’ll allow the process to proceed—it’s now in the hands of the professionals.” LADbible has reached out to Hornsea United Reformed Church for further comment.