Second Sunday after the Epiphany17 January 2021Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer This morning, on the second Sunday of Epiphany, we remember the first of our Lord’s miracles Perhaps the best known of all Christ’s miracles as Jesus changes water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee It is the miracle of countless jokes, Not least…
First Sunday after the Epiphany10 January 2021Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer Whilst I was a chaplain at Sherborne, I was responsible for the School Confirmation Service It was a very large undertaking with approximately fifty boys being confirmed each year and took an immense amount of organisation It was naturally a very joyful event, but at the end…
Today we meet, in difficult circumstances, to remember our brother in Christ Bernard [Windle] I started writing this sermon when we had just been moved into Tier 3 restrictions Within a week, we have moved to another lock down, limited, even more, in time and place We are, mercifully, however able to meet at the…
First Sunday of Christmas27 December 2020Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer Life is full of surprises I have been ordained for nearly ten years and have preached throughout the year for many a year However, this is the first time that I have found myself preaching on the Feast of St John the Evangelist When I came to examine…
Christmas Day25 December 202010.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer Earlier this month, I was reading an article written by the Anglican Theologian Martyn Percy In the article, he referred to a sermon preached by Lancelot Andrews on Christmas Day 1620 Fascinated by a reference to a sermon that was delivered exactly 400 years ago, today, I set out to…
Fourth Sunday of Advent20 December 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer In the midst of this pandemic, you could be forgiven for having missed the start of HS2 which began in September of this year It is the successor to HS1 which, as most of you know, runs from London to the Channel tunnel HS2 is the second high…
Third Sunday of Advent13 December 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer As we journey through Advent, we turn our attention this Sunday to John the Baptist He is mentioned, for the first time, in our Advent Prayer together with our Gospel Reading, where we learn he is in prison John the Baptist however is a mysterious figure and not…
Second Sunday of Advent06 December 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer In the midst of writing this sermon the Government was deciding on how many of us could get together over Christmas The regulations seemed to change day by day and tier by tier I am not exactly sure now what the rules are now However, we were rightly…
Advent Sunday29 November 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer A few years ago, whilst I was still serving in the Army, I prosecuted a soldier for causing death by dangerous driving Given the gravity of the offence it was a General Court Martial with all its pomp and ceremony In those days, swords, medals and gloves were worn There…
Christ the King22 November 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer Before I came to Bolton Abbey, I was Rector of Christ Church Cathedral in Port Stanley It is the most Southerly Anglican Cathedral in the world and was, literally, shipped over to the Falkland Islands at the end of the nineteenth century It came in kit form and included…