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Continue reading →: Two or three, or nothing
In 1984 an academic researcher sent out twenty students individually to differing rural parish churches. They were to attend Sunday worship in its different forms and report back on their findings. Their investigations form a fascinating chapter in a now forgotten work Rural Anglicanism. ‘Hilary’ chose to attend Evensong at…
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Continue reading →: The fascinating dovecotes of Lower Teesdale
I thoroughly enjoy researching local history, especially when it takes me off on tangents and to unusual places. Recently I had a lovely day visiting the fascinating late medieval beehive dovecotes of Lower Teesdale. They are in lovely, somewhat remote, parts of the lower dale, at Caldwell, Barforth, Gainford, Headlam…
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Continue reading →: Where do we go with this?
“I would take a thread and a needle and I’d interweave love into our society” “I think, in my humble opinion, we have lost our way in our society…” “We all have the capacity to do great and wonderful things” Those are words of Professor Jason Arday, whose recent tragic…
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Continue reading →: Call upon Our Lady
When I was about eight years old my mother (brought up a Catholic) gathered our family and asked us to pray for a friend who was very seriously ill. She then said the Salve Regina – Hail, Holy Queen – with us. This made an enormous impression at that time,…
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Continue reading →: A Retiring Room
On the banks of Lake Geneva, at Bollingen, the great Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung built a house where he lived during the summer months each year. As time progressed he extended the house and in 1931 he built a room in the tower of the house where, he said, “I…
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Continue reading →: Lay celebration of the Eucharist?
Not long after I had moved to the North East of England following my retirement I decided to go on a Sunday morning to the Eucharist in an old village church, remote and at a distance from my home. I’d never been in before, and I knew it had several…
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Continue reading →: Pope Francis on Adoration
One of the most memorable images for me of Covid days was that of Pope Francis praying in adoration, alone, before the Blessed Sacrament in an empty St Peter’s Square on March 27th 2020. Then, and though his papacy, Pope Francis encouraged people to spend lengths of time in adoration…
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Continue reading →: Just ‘be’ in God’s Presence
Following on from my previous post about Adorate! I’m very pleased to post this, written by my dear friend Fr Chris Hartley: “When I was about 8 years old I went on a parish weekend with the Society of the Sacred Mission at Kelham in Nottinghamshire. The leader of the…
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Continue reading →: Adorate!
When I served as a Parish Priest at St Chrysostom’s, Manchester each year during Corpus Christitide we had a special time of silent prayer and worship. The celebration of Mass united a very diverse group of people and so we felt it was good that we have a special time…
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Continue reading →: Hoping for change
On July 2nd 1644 Fr John Duckett, a young Roman Catholic priest, was travelling with two companions towards Wolsingham in Weardale to conduct a baptism. As they approached the dale they were apprehended by parliamentary soldiers, searched and arrested. They were taken to Sunderland where Fr Duckett was charged with…
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A Retired Rector's Reflections 