Father Rowan Ashby is the vicar of St. Merriweather’s Church, and he may not be quite what you expect when you picture a village vicar.
For one thing, there’s his hair.
Father Rowan has distinctive wavy purple hair with a bright green streak running through it. Add his colourful hippy-style waistcoat, jacket and patterned scarf, and it’s fair to say he’s brought his own sense of style to Maplewick.
But that’s just Rowan.
He’s warm, welcoming and has a rather unconventional way of looking at things. He doesn’t believe that being a vicar means having to be old-fashioned, and he’s never been particularly worried about doing things simply because that’s how they’ve always been done.
His church door is always open, whether someone has come for a service, needs a quiet place to sit, or simply wants someone to talk to.
Father Rowan is a thoughtful listener and is often the person villagers turn to when they need a little advice. He’s good at seeing things from a different perspective and has a way of making people stop and think.
His sermons can be just as unexpected.
He has been known to stand at the pulpit, look around the congregation and begin with:
“Now, this may sound unusual…”
And with Father Rowan, it usually does.
Despite his unconventional appearance and outlook, he’s become a much-loved part of Maplewick.
Because underneath the colourful hair, the waistcoat and the slightly unexpected sermons is someone who genuinely cares about his village and the people who live there.
And perhaps that’s exactly what makes Father Rowan such a good fit for Maplewick.
