VICAR This week, Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I was fortunate enough to spend some time at a homeless shelter. There I played chess with a brilliant young man who has been dealt some rough cards in life and is on the way to rehab as I type. I met another man who lost everything in a divorce and is on the way back … Continue reading A Prayer for Our Homeless
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I bid You a good day and an excellent week to come. How is Your faith? Do You pray? Or only when You are faced with a disaster? If Your faith is in dark places and expression otherwise seems unreal, remember that Your gratitude is not restricted to life experiences; your gratitude extends to mercies yet unrealised. The … Continue reading A Prayer for Faith
Good Morning, Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine. Vicar is away today. Instead, here is a prayer for those taking part in the London Marathon. Good luck to all of You. To the rest of you, a wonderful, sunny Sunday. Vicar will resume next week. Best regards. You are running, and the race is long. I pray that your eyes, your ears, your heart will … Continue reading A Prayer for the Marathon
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your families are well and healthy. I wish You all a peaceful Sunday and a great week ahead. I am told by the Editors that there are increasing numbers of farmers writing in who are fed up with the weather and its effects. Some desperate farmers are worried after losing sheep in Storm … Continue reading A Prayer For Farmers
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You have had a good week and that the week to come will be a peaceful and successful one too. This week I would like to bring up the Devil, who has raised his head in Florida this week at yet another school shooting. A pointless waste of life caused by the evil of a … Continue reading Lenten Prayer for All
Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I wish You a peaceful and pleasant Sunday and a successful week ahead for You and your family. In my parish this week it has non-stop rained. Normally I get out on my bicycle but I must admit to driving to appointments all week. I am getting soft in my old age. Although perhaps I should not blame old … Continue reading A Prayer to Lift Your Spirits
VICAR My parish, like so many other parishes across the country, is full of elderly people. I suppose I should honest with myself and be classed as elderly also. As Britain greys, the number of elderly people increases and so does the number of lonely and vulnerable. I see them myself as I ride my bike across my own parish. They are the forgotten folk … Continue reading A Prayer For the Elderly
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, We are not too far from Christmas. While this may seem like good news to most, to many Christmas is a time when their already-stretched budgets are expanded to the point where they crack. Their children may be asking for presents they cannot afford. Their partner may be discussing how a relative is having turkey and ham when … Continue reading Prayer For Those In Debt
VICAR Dear Country Squire Readers, I hope You and Your families are well and healthy. It is at this time of year, when the days shorten and the temperature drops, that we should remember those who have no home. The numbers of rural and urban homeless are rising. The pressures on them at this time of year are very serious. Especially with Christmas around the … Continue reading Prayer for the Homeless
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust You are well and healthy this Sunday. Remember the clocks have gone back. Each year there are always a few who turn up early at the church. I am sure there are many across the land who seek to waste an hour and that coffee houses and supermarkets do especially well. This week I want to … Continue reading A Prayer for the Dead
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I hope You are well and are having a relaxing weekend. I was planning to leave this Prayer for Brexit until a cliff edge scenario emerged. However, I am publishing it here now as it seems appropriate at a time when the nation seems a tad divided and rudderless. Perhaps it’s just the change in season. Perhaps it’s … Continue reading A Prayer for Brexit
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I wish You all a pleasant and peaceful Sunday and a great week ahead. This week I would like to draw to your attention those who are permanently nervous. This must be an awful condition to have. Below is a prayer for these poor folks. That they may be becalmed and enjoy life more. Blessings to You and … Continue reading A Prayer for Peace of Mind
VICAR Hurricane Irma has caused devastation across the Caribbean and America’s East Coast. It was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005, and the first major hurricane to make landfall in the state of Florida since Wilma in 2005. It has left parts of the Caribbean, like St Thomas, flattened. Boris Johnson was talking this week of “First World War style devastation”. So, Country Squire Readers, whilst wishing You a … Continue reading A Prayer For Our Caribbean Cousins
Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well. This week the magazine has been subject to a concerted attack from two trolls who spend their lives trying to make the lives of the editorial team as friendless and miserable as theirs. Instead of rising to their bait, the Squires have remained calm and, instead, have submitted – in an act of … Continue reading A Prayer for Trolls
VICAR Good Day to You, Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine. This week our very own magazine poetess Valentyna Holloway lost her father after a brave struggle with cancer. He and Valentyna’s family are in my prayers. I thought that this Sunday Prayer we should honour our loved ones who have passed. I send my personal condolences to Valentyna and any others of You who are … Continue reading In Memoriam
VICAR At “Spirit of the Countryside” five years ago, the then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams gave a sermon to the Countryside. Nearly 1500 people gathered at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire on Pentecost Sunday for a service at which Archbishop Rowan preached, followed by a picnic lunch and live music. Throughout the service, symbols of the countryside were brought to the altar to thank God for … Continue reading Spirit of the Countryside
