Robert Gallear

VICAR’S WINDOW Dear friends, In this magazine there is an article which you may consider to be in the wrong month. It is entitled “Holy Thursday” – not a reference to the universal title for the Thursday before Easter (called Maundy Thursday only in this country) but to the Feast of the Ascension of the … Read more

Dear friends, The whole of March was given over to Lent. The month of May is both entirely Easter-filled – and is also Mary’s month. It ends with the celebration of Mary’s visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, who was about to give birth to John the Baptist. Eastertide ends with the Feast of Pentecost on … Read more

Dear friends, Holy Week and Easter are fast approaching. (The notion that time can expand or contract is not I can remember the football results on Saturday TV taking an age while Doctor Who flashed by in seconds!) Once again we gather in the park to commemorate Our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. … Read more

Dear friends, S. David’s Day is overtaken by Ash Wednesday this year. This, of course, is the beginning of Lent and a time to take spiritual stock. We live in an amazingly complex world – very different to when I was ordained. Occasionally, I boor young people with stories about walking to a friend’s house … Read more

Dear friends, The second day of February brings the wonderful feast of Candlemass. This marks the fortieth day after Christmass and originates in the Jewish custom of presenting the first-born male child as an offering to God. In principle, the child would be handed over to the Temple authorities to be nurtured and trained for … Read more

Dear friends, As a concession to modernity, I switched the church flashing lights on for the schools’ carol service (which was lovely, as usual) and left them on throughout the last bit of Advent. Some of the neighbours have had theirs performing since November! Now we are among the few outdoor decorations still proclaiming that … Read more