VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and healthy. I write this as the snow falls. Be careful out there. This week I would like You to consider the angry. All of us know angry people. There are a few around here. One fellow in his fifties spends all his days on his computer then stomps around the village … Continue reading A Prayer for the Angry
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your loved ones are safe and well. There are still several weeks left of what We hope will be the final lockdown. There are some doing better than others. Let Us think of our neighbours, friends and family. Let us reach out as best We can to those who are struggling the most. … Continue reading A Prayer for the Departed
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are coping with the current lockdown and that Your hearts are full of hope for the future. It is freezing cold outside and it’s too easy to feel despondent. For those of You not working from home, take care out there. It is tragic seeing so many lives lost to Covid. This week I … Continue reading A Prayer for Healing
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and that You enjoyed Christmas festivities this year. I trust that You managed time to put Your feet up. I hope the coming year is a good and healthy one for You and Your family. The twenties started badly. Coronavirus has killed too many. Still, We should not be despondent. Just remember that … Continue reading A Prayer for the New Year
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well. I hope that You are not too frustrated by confusing tier messages and have a pleasant Christmas prepared. I trust that You are not flooded either – there has been a lot of rain this last week or so, so it would seem. I notice at this time of year the look on … Continue reading A Prayer for the Overwhelmed
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your family are well and ready for Christmas. Today is Gaudete Sunday—a day of rejoicing and gladness in the heart of the Advent journey. Today we light the third, rose-coloured candle on the Advent wreath. Today I’d like to draw your thoughts away from the Sunday newspapers and Brexit, away from the Christmas To … Continue reading Gaudete Sunday
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your loved ones are well and healthy. I hope that You are looking forward to some kind of Christmas celebration, even if this year will be different from those You have known before. I was on a tinsel hunt yesterday and was pleased to see the shops in our local town busy with … Continue reading A Prayer for the Shopkeepers
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and healthy this Advent Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent as we build up to Christmas. What is Advent? The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word for “coming”, and the season marks the countdown to Christmas. Churches observe this period by remembering the anticipation for the birth of Jesus, and preparing to … Continue reading A Prayer for Advent Sunday
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your families are well and that You are finding ways to keep occupied as We wait for this strange period in our lives to pass. I have started to recall a year ago, when We were free and got on with life in ways which are now considered illegal. We must treasure what … Continue reading A Prayer for Our Children
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your family are well. Hopefully this second lockdown is not too dispiriting. It must be very difficult for those stuck in tiny flats or houses, like some kind of house arrest. This month is when We tend to get tired and our noses begin to run. Hopefully this year You have stocked up on vitamins … Continue reading A Prayer for the Weary
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and healthy. I hope that lockdown 2.0 is not too awful for You. This week I would like to point out once more the benefits of the short prayer. Are short prayers not simply lazy versions of their longer counterparts? No. The reality is that it is easier to mean a short prayer … Continue reading A Short Prayer
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your family are well. I hope You are not too full of Halloween candy. This week I would like us to pray for the United States, which you may have noticed is on the point of conducting another set of elections. The US is of course a close ally of our country and … Continue reading A Prayer for America
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine I trust that You are well this Sunday. If You are depressed and frustrated about Covid or just fed up with the grey autumnal skies then You can always watch Lord Botham versus the Aussies from 1981. This week I would like You to think of the lonely people near You. These could be family members or former work colleagues. … Continue reading A Prayer for the Lonely
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your families are doing well. For those of You in lockdown I hope that You are not getting stir crazy. These months have been the kind of history We could have all done without experiencing. This week I would like to focus on the carers. I spent some time this week at a … Continue reading A Prayer for Carers
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I am hoping that You are well and healthy. As We march through autumn I pray that You have found the time to pray and ponder. I hope that You do not worry too much or get downcast as We see less of the sun. This week I would like to focus on family. Likely You have seen … Continue reading A Prayer for Family
