I am currently sitting in the quiet of my son’s home in Devon. It is a lovely barn conversion in a coastal hamlet, only metres from the hotel he manages. It is secluded and it is silent, other than bird song, and I am enjoying the spectacular views and a much needed retreat from parish […]
Category Archives: A Vicar’s Musings
It has been a challenging week for me, which is why my post is later than usual. I have struggled and I feel that I need to reiterate that have not written and shared my story (Secrets behind the collar) for any shock value, neither have I shared it to evoke any particular reaction. […]
I find that I am forever finding and placing new pieces in the metaphorical jigsaw of my life, and in particular in the traumas I experienced. This week, as I reflected upon conducting the funeral of one of my parents’ oldest friends last Friday, more pieces fell into place. As I listened to her son […]
This week has seen me conduct two funerals on two consecutive mornings. At each of these services, the chosen Biblical reading was from the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes. The third chapter is familiar to so many people as it speak of there being a time for everything. Older readers will also remember the […]
The idea of beginning difficult conversations is being promoted daily by the BBC. The phase can be seen regularly between programmes and follows documentaries where celebrities such as Freddie Flintoff and Nadiya Hussain, who both feature in the advert, have opened up frankly and honestly about their own mental health struggles. For years, mental health […]
From Ruby Wedding celebrations to Pub Car park worship: To say it’s been quite a week is a bit of an understatement! I didn’t post last Sunday, due to the fact that Mick and I were busy celebrating our Ruby Wedding Anniversary – 40 years! We had the most wonderful day, renewing our wedding vows […]
I’ve always believed that walking alongside people and meeting them where they are to be at to be the very core of my ministry. I don’t think this approach detracts from traditional church centred Parish ministry; not at all, I believe it complements it. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve had some amazing conversations […]
This morning began gloriously. There were more people in church than we’ve had so far since conducting ‘live’ worship with so many new ‘regulars’, plus the return of some well-loved faces; those who have not ventured out in months but chose today, after having their vaccinations to return to church. I must say that to […]
I didn’t intend to write a ‘Part 2’, but then so much has happened over the past few days that I wanted to share. Last week, I felt it was important that we ask not only ‘How are you?’ but follow it up with that second question: ‘How are you really?’, following the powerful documentary […]
This week I watched the very moving documentary featuring Roman Kemp, ‘Our Silent Emergency’, where he spoke candidly, not only of the devastating effects the suicide of his friend had upon him, but also of his own long standing mental health issues. It was both brave and honest, and I’m so glad that both my […]