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book Reviews
Reviews from Reform
The Debt Doctor, Robert Leach,
published by Canterbury Press ISBN 9781853117695
The availability of mortgages out of
proportion to income, the vagaries of interest rates and the ease of
obtaining credit cards, added to perennial causes such as illness and
unemployment...
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Community and Ministry: An Introduction to
Community Development in a Christian Context by Paul Ballard and
Lesley Husselbee, published by SPCK, ISBN 9780281058006
This book’s subtitle describes exactly what it
delivers. Much of the material was familiar to me from the first year
modules of the church-related community worker training course...
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The Last Week: What the Gospels Really
Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem, by Marcus J Borg and
John Dominic Crossan, published by SPCK, ISBN 9780281059836
Some Christians today are tempted to leap
straight from Palm Sunday to Easter Day without reflection on what comes
in between, but this book challenges us to re-examine Holy Week,
particularly through Mark’s Gospel...
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The Social
Entrepreneur, by Andrew Mawson, published
by Atlantic ISBN 9781843546610
Lord Mawson’s
book is a mixture of testimony, autobiography, manifesto and good
practice for those whose restless ideas, and love of people, inspire
them to want more for the communities around...
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Black Voices
the Shaping of Our Christian Experience
by
David Killingray,
Joel Edwards, published by Inter-Varsity Press, ISBN:
1-84474-181-8
As a black British person, not very clued up about Black History, I was
intrigued by what this book might yield. Black Voices opens with an
overview of the presence of black people in Britain dating back centuries, long
before their arrival aboard Windrush....
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Post Colonial Black British Theology: New Textures and Themes
by Michael N. Jagessar, Anthony G. Reddie,
published by Epworth Press, ISBN 978-0716206255
Over half of
London’s regular church attenders in 2008 will be black. At the same
time more and more communities across the UK, far out beyond the major
urban centres...
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more
The Cross and
the Colliery by Tom Wright, published by
SPCK, ISBN 978-0-281-05971-3
Having taught in
a mining area of Yorkshire at the time of the miners’ strikes at the
beginning of the 1980s, which would eventually lead to the closure of
the pits in the area...
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The Bible:
The Biography by Karen Armstrong,
published by Atlantic Books, ISBN 978-1-84354-396-1
This book is one
in the series Books That Shook the World. It doesn’t tell you a great
deal about what’s in the Bible (it’s not a Bible introduction), but it
tells the story of how it...
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Abide with Me: Prayers for Life’s Eventide,
by Carlee Hallman, published by Abingdon Press, ISBN 0687492203
The Language
of Love: Exploring Prayer, by John Moses,
published by Canterbury Press, ISBN 9781853117831
Praying With
the Bible, by Philip Law, published by
SPCK, ISBN 9780281059171
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Thinking
About Preaching, by Michael J Townsend,
published by Epworth Press, ISBN 9780716206163
In contemporary
society preaching has got a bad name. However, for most Christians,
preaching continues to build up and strengthen their faith on a weekly
basis. So the task of a preacher can be a daunting one....
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Nonconformist
Theology in the Twentieth Century, by
Alan PF Sell, published by Paternoster Press
ISBN: 9781842274712
In 1873 the
Christian author ER Conder asked where were the theologians who would be
influencing the teachers of 30 years later. Alan Sell points out that
the first 20 years of the twentieth century...
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Free Church Women’s Ministry, Edited by Janet
Wootton, published by Epworth Press pp 200 ISBN 978-0-7162-0606-4
£16.99
Rarely told and
rarely heard, this is the story of Free Church Women’s Ministry. Through
six informed articles and eleven personal stories...
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The Lord’s
Prayer - the York course for 2008. Course Material is available from
the York Courses Website:
www.yorkcourses.co.uk £2.75 for course
booklet £8.95 for audio cd
York Courses
began some ten years ago and have proved very popular. This experience
and success is evident in the well presented course material...
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No Easy
Answers: living with suffering by Barbara Baisley: new edition by
Christine Worsley, published by Inspire pp224 ISBN 978-1905958085 £9.99
I missed this
book first time round, but I am so glad I did not miss it this time.
Barbara Baisley was among the first group...
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here to read more
The Promise of Peace: A Unified Theory of Atonement
by Alan Spence, Published by T & T Clark, 2006, pp126, ISBN
O567031179 (hb); 0567031187 (pb) £22.99
Any serious work
of theology coming from a URC minister is a note-worthy occurrence.
Colleagues who set theological reflection at...
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Christianity,
Climate Change and Sustainable Living by Nick Spencer and Robert
White. Published by SPCK, pp224, ISBN: 9780281058334 £9.99
When you see more
than one major issue in the title of a book you know the author has set
him or her self a challenging task, and at present there is no more ...click
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Through the
Eye of a Needle: Theological conversations over political economy by
John Atherton & Hannah Skinner, eds, Published Epworth Press, 2007,
pp274, ISBN: 9780716206262, £19.99
If Christians have never held common views on
the market or the creation of wealth, they have sometimes been guilty of
...
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here to read more
The Whole World Will Rejoice - New Worship
Resources for Justice and Hope complied by Geoffrey Duncan.
Published by Inspire, pp231. ISBN: 9781905958030 £12.99
Having just
enjoyed a cheerful sermon which used the gospel narrative of the loaves
and fishes to show that things are better than could be expected...
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here to read more
A Chair Pulled
To A Place Of Prayer. Prayer Handbook 2008 edited by Geoffrey
Duncan, Granary - a URC Publication, pp144.
ISBN
9780853462637 £4.50
For many years
the URC has published a prayer handbook with lectionary readings and
prayers for each Sunday and Holy Day...
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here to read more
Comeback
Churches by Ed Stetzer & Mike Dodson. Published by B&H Publishing
Group, pp 224 ISBN: 9780805445367 £8.78
This is not a
book for the fainthearted, nor for those who are content with churches
that are declining. Stetzer and Dodson look at over 300 churches that
have come back from near death experiences...
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here to read more
Word of Mouth:
Using the remembered Bible for building community by Janet Lees.
Published by Wild Goose Publications, pp151 ISBN: 9781905010332 £10.99
This book is zesty! It’s about our
relationship with the Bible, how we relate to it, remember and retell
its treasures together in...click
here to read more
Hostage in Iraq by Norman Kember
Published by Darton Longman and Todd, pp224 ISBN 9780232526998 £14.95
On 26 November 2005, Norman Kember and three
other members of a delegation from the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)
were kidnapped in Baghdad...click
here to read more
Saved by God by Dave Bull. Published by
Crossbridge books, pp124 ISBN 9780954970840 £5.00
When I was given this book to review I was
immediately drawn to the mention of Jim Furley-Smith, an elder from...click
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The Theologian as Preacher by Colin E Gunton. Published by T & T Clark
Publishers, pp166. ISBN 978-0567031211 £14.99
Colin Gunton was very clear that he needed to preach regularly if his work as a
theologian (he was Professor of Christian...click
here to read more
Preaching like a woman by Susan Durber
Pubished by SPCK ISBN 978-0-281-05918-8 £12.99
Reading collections of sermons is an acquired taste. Sermons are created to be
performed – listened to or preached...click
here to read more
More
Christian Crackers by Published by Phil Mason and is available for
£1 from ‘Norheimsund’, 1 Whitney Road, Burton Latimer, Kettering,
Northants NN15 5SL. ISBN 0 948852 62 3
I firmly believe that humour is a gift from heaven. If I can share an
inoffensive little story that makes someone laugh, I have served God that day...click
here to read more
Louder than Words - Action for the 21st Century Church by Andrew Bradstock.
Published by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, pp144. ISBN 978-0232526103 £9.95
Andrew Bradstock’s recent book Louder than Words: action for the 21st Century
Church consciously draws on his five years’ experience as Church and Society
Secretary...click
here to read more
Who They Were, edited by John Taylor and Clyde
Binfield, is published by the United Reformed Church History Society and
Shaun Tyas Publishing, ISBN 978 1900289 825
The URC History
Society has published Who They Were, snapshots of leading figures of the
last century who are part of the heritage...
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read more
Together met,
together bound by John Reardon. Published by The United Reformed
Church ISBN: 978-0-85346-262-0 £12.99
A feature of post
World War Two church life in Britain has been the growing number of
contacts between...
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Angels and
Demons by Peter G Riddell and Beverly Smith Riddell, pub
Inter-Varsity Press pp 288 ISBN 9781844741823 £14.99
Angels and Demons
is an exploration of the spiritual realm that separates God and
humans...click
here to read more
Mission-shaped
Children by Margaret Withers, Pub Church House Publishing
Just how did
Jesus get those first disciples to cast their nets down on the other
side of the boat...click
here to read more
Sticking
around by Bernard Spong, Pub Cluster Publications, pp372 ISBN 1
875053 59 X
Bernard
Spong is a man known to many in the UK. Brought up in Manchester, in a
Roman Catholic family, Bernard found himself a Congregationalist by
choice...
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The Living
Church by John Stott, Pub Inter-Varsity Press, pp192 ISBN 978 1
84474 183 0
John Stott
celebrated his 86th birthday in April, and his latest book has the
sub-title...click
here to read more
Reclaiming Praise: Hymns from a Spiritual Journey
by Andrew Pratt Pub Stainer and Bell.
ISBN 978 0 85249 891 0
Andrew Pratt, in
this anthology of hymns, gives us a deep insight into his spiritual
pilgrimage. They take us on a personal journey of faith as the...
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read more
Round Here -
Life in the Urban Village. Full Review
‘Community’,
sometimes seems a worn out word in common usage. I once heard, in an
argument over road safety, cyclists being called ‘the cycling
community’...
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read more
Helping
Community Happen by John Campbell and Alison Dalton
Helping
Community Happen’ is a series of four Bible based group studies that
aims to help participants think about the nature ...
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Liturgies for high days by Dorothy
McRae-McMahon, Pub SPCK Publishing. ISBN 978 0281058747
Liturgies for
the young in years by Dorothy McRae-McMahon, Pub SPCK Publishing.
ISBN 978 0281057894
Dorothy
McRae-McMahon specialises in writing liturgy using contemporary,
colloquial and inclusive language...
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read more
Is there life
after retirement by Eric Eyre
This short book
addresses the concerns and perceived fears of taking the next step in
life - retirement from remunerated directed...
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Gods
Politician by Gareth Lean. Pub Darton, Longman and Todd, pp180. ISBN
0 232 526907
God’s Politician
by Garth Lean, is probably the best light introduction to the life of
William Wilberforce. In 174 pages, Lean tells the moving...
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read more
Utopian Dreams
: A Search for a Better Life by Tobias Jones
Pub Faber and Faber, pp220. ISBN 9780571223800
Best-selling
author, Tobias Jones, spent a year living in communes and among unusual
dreamers to produce Utopian Dreams, daring to ask...
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Wild Goose
Chase by Annie Heppenstall.
Pub Wild Goose
Pulications, pp208, ISBN 1901557944
The better you
know your Bible, the more you will like this book. Or not. Annie
Heppenstall picks up and runs with...click
here to read more
Flush Fundraising Pack
Great Fun ...
with serious overtones. This is an excellent Christian Aid
fund-raising
action pack.
Flush Out is
based on the need to provide clean water for the millions of people in
our global society who need to...click
here to read more
The Testament
of Gideon Mack by James Robertson. Pub Penguin, pp 387 ISBN
978-0-141-0235-9, £7.99.
Gideon Mack is a
“son of the manse”. Partly as a result of his repressive upbringing, he
turns against the religious beliefs...
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here to read more
Amazing Grace
(Music inspired from the motion picture) Sparrow Records
It is highly appropriate to complement the film
release that inspires to stop modern slavery through portraying its....click
here to read more
The Lonely Tree by Nicholas Halliday. Pub Halliday Books,
pp32,ISBN 0953945987, £7.99
Simple Language and simple truth mark out this beautiful work by Nicholas
Halliday, detailing the story...click
here to read more
A Human Jesus
by Stephen Orchard. Pub SPCK, pp128, ISBN 0281058814, £10.99
Keen followers of the
Prayer Handbook need little introduction to A Human Jesus, Stephen Orchard's
anthology of year round meditations and prayers...click
here to read more
Exodus 20: ten films,
ten commandments. Pub Active Media Publishing Ltd 2006, £40.
As one who uses film clips on a regular basis,
I was looking forward to this new resource for use with 11-14 year
olds...click
here to read more
The Day the sky opened
by Andrew R Guyatt. Pub by Scripture Union, ISBN 184427 220 6, pp240,
£8.99
Behind every major project there is detailed
logistical planning to ensure a satisfactory outcome...
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here to read more
Sensing God by Stella Bristow. Pub Inspire, pp126, ISBN 978-1- 85852 319 4,
£12.99
Sensing God is a
nicely produced book, with glossy coloured photographs to accompany the text,
which offers a...click
here to read more
Let us bless the Lord by Stephen B
Dawes. Pub Inspire, pp 120, ISBN 978 1 85852 287 6, £5.99
How well do you know
Psalm 103? According to Stephen Dawes, it is an ideal template for studying the
Old Testament...click
here to read more
Round Here – Life in the urban village by
the Round Chapel Community Projects. pp36, £2 (all proceeds to
children’s charities). Available from the URC Bookshop on 020 7916 8629
This little Lent resource book gives us something of the secret of the Round
Chapel...click
here to read more
The Road
to Emmaus
by Helen Julian.
I Desire
Justice
by Ridley Hall.
Jesus
the wounded Saviour
by Selwyn Hughes and Ian Sewter.
Turning
Points
by CAFOD/Christian Aid.
Beginning over again
by Clare Amos.
Growing
in Love
by Ann Lewin.
Lent is the
time for Christians to focus on spiritual disciplines in preparation for
the events of Holy Week and Easter...click
here to read more
Insight into
Stress by
Beverley Shepherd. Pub CWR, pp112, ISBN 1853453846, £7.50
Whilst we all need a certain ‘pressure’ to
motivate us, this can all too quickly escalate into stress, breakdown or
burn out; and somewhere along the way...click
here to read more
The Tabloid
Bible (new
edition) by Nick Page. Pub Collins, pp155, ISBN 0-00-724777-x, £9.99
I laughed over my Sunday lunch reading this
hilariously funny Revised Edition of Nick Page’s contemporary
presentation of the Bible...click
here to read more
Images of God
– 10 studies for individuals or groups by Dale and Sandy Larson. Pub Scripture
Union, pp64, ISBN 184427229X, £3.99
This guide takes ten images of God, focuses on
a key passage for each and leads you through it with a dozen or so
questions...click
here to read more
The Curse of Salamander Street
by GP Taylor. Pub Faber, pp335, ISBN 0571228739, £9.99
Fiction for teenagers sells well – whether bought by the teenagers or by
relatives who want to encourage reading, or by adults for themselves...click
here to read more
Religious Foundations of Western Civilization
ed Jacob Neusner. Pub Abingdon Press/Alban Books, pp600, ISBN 0-687-33202-8,
£19.99
In discussions on the relationship between religion and culture it is often
assumed Christianity and Western civilization are coterminous...click
here to read more
Desmond Tutu rabble-rouser for peace by John Allen.
Pub Random House, pp480, ISBN 1844135713, £18.99
Desmond Tutu, 75 this year despite three
cancer operations, has lived through, and crucially contributed to...
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read more
Doing December
Differently by Nicola Slee and Rosie Miles. Pub
Wild Goose, pp380, ISBN 1905010230, £14.99
If you are bored, frustrated or irritated by the Advent and Christmas
season, Doing December Differently may...
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read more
Reverend Eric
Chambers Miscellany from Morley Green ed by Cliff Higginson.
Pub Serendipity, pp176 , ISBN 1843941457, £7.95
I'm sure there are not many collections of letters for a Church Magazine
written over a period of 30 years by the same minister...
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read more
Have you seen
Christmas? by Vicki Howie. Pub Bible Reading
Fellowship, pp30, ISBN 978 1 84101 512 5, £6.99
A child once said Do I have to go to church at Christmas? I know the
story. My response was Yes, you are different... this review covers six
books,
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read more
New Journeys
Now Begin by Tom Gordon. Pub Wild Goose
Publications, ISBN 1 9050 1008 7, £10.99
Grief and loss are a major part of living yet most of the population are
unprepared for the eventuality. In a society where the Christian... this
review covers five books,
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In God’s Hands
ed Hugh McCullam & Terry McArthur
At long last
after a gap of 17 years we have a new and up to date edition of the
Ecumenical Prayer Cycle...click
here to read more
How
Christianity Came to Britain and Ireland by
Michelle P. Brown
This is a very
informative and enjoyable book, is well presented with excellent
photographs...click
here to read more
Risking
romance again – dating after divorce by the
Revd David Robertson
A question in mind before the cover was opened
– would it address the need to deal with past relationships before
contemplating another? ...click
here to read more
Hearts of the
Innocent (Special Edition) by Kutless
With the kind of cleanliness and neatness that
does not fit with the mohicans and grunge inspired clothing, Kutless
look not unlike an explosion...click
here to read more
Core Skills
for Children’s Work. Pub BRF
Working with children in our churches is both
enjoyable and rewarding. As with all that we do, we need to spend time
developing the skills and awareness necessary...click
here to read more
Immanuel – God
with us by Anne Le Tissier
Immanuel: God
with us, is a 31 day Advent guide for use by individuals or groups. The
book is divided into 5 sections...click
here to read more
When the time
was right, Bible Readings for the Advent Season
by Stephen Rand
A few years ago, as a church in Cricklade, we used the idea of a Jesse
Tree to explore the Advent season. By Christmas day we had our very own
Jesse Tree covered with handmade decorations...click
here to read more
Just One Year
– Prayer and Worship through the Christian Year
Edited by Timothy Radcliffe
Just One Year a book to savour the anticipation of reading each word
through the year ahead from Advent to Harvest. That’s why it’s a good
time to buy it now!...click
here to read more
A New Heaven
on a New Earth – Prayer Handbook 2006-07 ed
Geoffrey Duncan
The Catch the Vision process in which the
United Reformed Church is engaged has at its heart an emphasis on a new
spirituality for the 21st century...click
here to read more
Eternal Springs - Anthology of hope by Geoffrey Duncan
‘The God of hope is revealed in human life
every minute of everyday’, is the claim that lies at the centre of this,
the latest anthology from Canterbury Press to be edited by Geoffrey
Duncan...click
here to read more
Noughts & Crosses by
Marlorie Blackman
One of my favourite book is Noughts & Crosses,
(this new edition published in September contains An eye for an eye)
trapped in a world of boundaries and barriers Callum and Sephy....click
here to read more
From Cambridge to Sinai – the worlds of Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop
Gibson ed David
Cornick and Clyde Binfield.
For generations of students, Agnes Lewis and
her twin sister Margaret Dunlop have been enigmatic faces among the
portraits in Westminster College hall....
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The Miracles
of Jesus by Lois Rock
The Miracles of Jesus is exactly ‘what it says
on the cover!’ a biblically grounded retelling of a selection of Jesus’
miracles including....
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The Jesse
Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean
As explained in the introduction, ‘The Jesse
Tree’ is based on the tradition of a wooden, stone or glass tree in
church decorated with figures or symbols....click
here to read more
Imagine – how we can reach the UK
DVD by Mark Greene
Here is a thinking Christian’s ideas box for
the way to have an effective faith in 21st century Britain: a 50 minute
film with imagination-stirring clips....click
here to read more
The Church
and Economic Life – A documentary study 1945 to the present
by
Malcolm Brown and Paul Ballard
All of us feel encouraged when our efforts are
acknowledged, especially when praise comes from an independent
source....
click
here to read more
Faith and Politics: The Church as a movement for Anarchy
by Jonathan Bartley
The starting proposition for Bartley is that
we are in post-Christendom. The period which began with Constantine, in
which the Church was at the heart....click
here to read more
The Gospel According to The Beatles
by Steve
Turner
Steve Turner, long-time writer on the Beatles
since his first article in a fan magazine, turns his attention in his
latest book to the religious experiences of the group....click
here to read more
365 ways to
change the world by Michael Norton,
How to
give money to charity
by Jessica Williams,
Cheap
by David Bosshart
What are you going to do today? Thought about
changing the world? With the help of 365 Ways to Change the World (and
lots of other people cottoning on to the same idea)....click
here to read more
The Miracles of Jesus
by Michael Symmons Roberts
Was the
calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee a miracle or simply good
timing because the sea was about to subside
anyway?....click
here to read more
Ideas into Images by Pamela Pavitt
Doodles, warp and weft, ideas, flowcharts,
shapes, symbolism, word images, all are here in this fascinating book
Ideas into Images....
click
here to read more
The Nation’s Favourite Prayers by David
Winter
Praying is a funny old business. Following a move I became a member
at a small more-Methodist than URC joint church....click
here to read more
The Way of Wisdom by Margaret Silf
Among the Aboriginal people of Australia the naming of a person is
viewed as on ongoing process. Each child is named at birth....click
here to read more
On... Thoughts to provoke by Geoff Birch
I like to be the life and soul of the party and the centre of attention
(well, I am a Leo after all ..) but there are times when I enjoy a
smattering of introspection....click
here to read more
Aidan, Bede, Cuthbert – three inspirational saints by David
Adam
Reviewers need to be sensitive when they write about any David Adam work
because so many people enjoy his writing. More to the point....
click
here to read more
Wider
Visions
photographs
by Mike Hoyle
It was the photograph of people waiting for a train at a London tube
station that brought the words back to me, as if they were pinned on my
wall today...click
here to read more
I Am
Somewhere Else by Barbara Glasson
A number of years ago I was privileged to spend a morning with a
Christian Education Group at a church in Oklahoma....click
here to read more
Bonhoeffer and Britain by Keith Clements
Until I read Keith Clement’s new book, I never realised how important
Sydenham, Mirfield, Oxford and the Cowley Fathers were for Dietrich
Bonhoeffer....click
here to read more
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