Trinity 628 July 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer On 12th October 1984 a bomb exploded You may recall it as it was at the Grand Hotel in Brighton The explosion brought down a five-ton chimney stack, leaving a gaping hole in the hotel’s facade. Five people died and thirty four were seriously injured Among the five who were […]
Trinity 521 July 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer I sometimes say, in jest, that, of the ten best things that have happened to me in life, nine involve fishing Even at the advanced age of 56, I still get an enormous thrill from catching a fish It is not surprising therefore I find stories of Christ and fishermen […]
Trinity 414 July 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer I have just returned from a week in Dorset where I have had a chance to refresh myself in body and soul But as well as attending my daughter’s speech day, I also attended the wedding of two of our closest friends It was very joyful occasion (and I am […]
Trinity 230 June 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer In the middle of last week, we held a vigil at Bolton Priory. It was a moving and powerful event Joined by St Paul’s Manningham, we marked the United Nations Day to remember victims of torture We spent an hour together in silence and prayer, listening to accounts from […]
Trinity Sunday16 June 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer I am always slightly apprehensive when I get a religious question on a quiz show. The vicar, of all people, can’t get these things wrong However,I thought I might turn the tables this morning and ask you a question which I heard recently. Which of the following words are not […]
Feast of Pentecost9 June 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer A few weeks ago, I was watching a television programme about the Victorians. The programme was looking at scientific advances through the Victorian era and it related the story of a German physicist called Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen Roentgen was testing cathode rays and seeing whether they could pass through […]
Seventh Sunday of Easter2 June 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer A few years ago, I was invited to join the Society for Christians and Jews for an all-expenses paid tour of the Holy Land Whilst I was on this wonderful trip, I came across the Chapel of Ascension in Jerusalem The Chapel or/more accurately/ a shrine is found […]
Rogation Sunday26 May 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer There is a story of a vicar who had just arrived in his parish and was wanted to get to know his flock There was a house high up on a moor and the earnest vicar was determined to go and say hello to the new owner One day he […]
Fourth Sunday of Easter12 May 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer About twenty years ago, in advance of a NATO posting, I had to be positively vetted As well as a very thorough exploration of my private life, the interviewer asked me if I was a monarchist I was rather taken aback at the question as I thought the […]
Third Sunday of Easter5 May 201910.30 EucharistRevd Nicholas Mercer I have now been in Bolton Abbey for just over a month Coming to live at Bolton Abbey, I have been immediately struck by three things on my doorstep The first is the peace I love the peace and tranquillity of Bolton Abbey As I look out of […]