I’ve been doing this Bidding Prayers blog for - it seems - about 12 years now, and over the years seem to have built up something of a following. The blog is currently getting more than 7,500 hits each month, and as I am not exactly regular at posting bidding prayers, it seems most of you are using prayers from earlier years. You are using them, adapting them (I hope!) and correcting the many typos and grammatical errors which creep in from time to time. I am humbled that you consider them useful.
For several years the prayers were a joint effort, written (many years ago now) by Margaret Saunders, a parishioner in Hanley, and more recently by Deacon Tony Davies, recently retired, Deacon at Our Lady’s, Fenton. For the past three years it has been just me who has edited, redrafted and composed anew, as the circumstances required.
Many of you have found this simple work helpful. On occasion, I have had fellow priests say to me - “Are you the Peter Weatherby who does the bidding prayers?”. Once someone came up to me in a supermarket and thanked me for them, and just the other day I was immensely touched to receive a Christmas Card from users in Salisbury! Recently a friend suggested I look into publishing the prayers, and so raising a few funds for the parish from what just began as a way of sharing something I thought might be helpful to others. Well - if I ever get myself organised it might just happen!
A very happy and blessed Christmas to you all!!
Fr Peter
3 comments:
Thank you so much Fr Peter for sharing you prayers with us all. God bless you always and a very Happy Christmas to you.
Clare Henderson
Fr Peter your work has been a wonderful help over many years, many thanks for all your efforts and Merry Christmas.
Doug
St Joseph's Parish, Rozelle, Sydney, Australia
Fr Peter,
As you said in your letter, I am one of the people who journey back into your previous years Bidding Prayers and have found them most useful.
Please continue with the good work and God Bless you for doing so.
I hope you had a lovely Christmas and enjoy a wonderful New Year.
(Co-incidentally although I am from St. Fergus Church in Forfar, Scotland I did attend mass with my wife in the church of St. Augustine's in Balmain which is close to Rozelle, Sydney as per the previous post.)
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