The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity6 September 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer Just before I went on leave I was listened to the last in a series of podcasts from the Charles Parker Awards I must confess that I had never heard of Charles Parker before He was a BBC Radio presenter who started his life working for Radio…
The Ninth Sunday after Trinity9 August 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer This is my twentieth sermon since we went into lockdown and my last sermon before I go on leave I sometimes measure out my life in sermons and have now preached, unbroken, for five months It is certainly time for a break When it comes to stamina,…
The Eighth Sunday after Trinity2 August 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer Every week we say the Nicene Creed in our service of Holy Communion It was adopted at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD and is a touchstone of the Christian faith But, like so many creedal statements, we so often say the words without giving them…
The Seventh Sunday after Trinity26 July 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer The sensation of touch is one of the five senses which help us navigate the world around us It is not surprising therefore that there has been much focus on touch in the recent lockdown The news was full of stories about why we crave touch and…
The Sixth Sunday after Trinity19 July 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer I recently listened to an excellent BBC podcast It was entitled “The Big Disease with a Little Name” and charted the history of the HIV-Aids For those who can remember, this was another pandemic caused by a virus about 40 years ago At the time, there was…
The Fifth Sunday after Trinity12 July 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer I was very taken by an article in the Daily Mail last week which had the heading, “There is nothing normal about the new normal” The article made reference to Independence Day and contrasted the scenes of revelry in Soho with a wedding in St Anne’s Church,…
The Fourth Sunday after Trinity5 July 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer On Easter Day, I was among the 13,000 people who watched the Archbishop of Canterbury celebrate Holy Communion at home This was the Anglican Communion’s first ever digital only Easter Day service and was “premiered” on YouTube and Facebook. The Archbishop celebrated Holy Communion at his kitchen…
The Third Sunday after Trinity28 June 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer On Monday morning I started the day by listening to Pope Francis It is rather dramatic way to begin any week but he had recently given an interview for what was called a “Rethink Podcast” The purpose of the interview was to ask a number of eminent…
The Second Sunday after Trinity21 June 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer One of my guilty pleasures is reading restaurant reviews Whereas, I am not inclined to spend money going out for dinner, I love to read about them I am a particular fan of Jay Rayner and Grace Dent As one might imagine, the last three months…
The First Sunday after Trinity14 June 202010.30 Morning ServiceRevd Nicholas Mercer In 1848 the Sunday school hymn “All things bright and beautiful” was first published It was written by Cecil Frances Alexander who was the wife of the Archbishop of Armagh and gave us the phrase “the rich man in his castle and the poor man at his…