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Doorways to Hope

Mar 4, 2025 | 2025 - Lent, Book Reviews

Doorways to Hope

Author Christopher Chapman
Publisher Canterbury £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781786226099

Subtitled ‘Reflections on hope for challenging times’ this book has all the nuts and bolts needed for a personal Lent companion: forty short chapters, each starting with a well-chosen scripture passage or poem and concluding with suggestions for reflection and action. A format for group study is also given.

In the way we open twenty five doors in an Advent calendar here we have forty doors of Hope for Lent. Whether we are beset by personal troubles or overcome by the struggles of the world we live in, we will find doorways to hope here, for ourselves and to share. The author says in his introduction that everyone partakes of a book as they see fit. Whilst acknowledging the reader’s freedom to do this, he does suggest that the one who is tempted to skip forward should take a lesson in slowness. Even concentrating on, focusing on, one sentence each day can bring hope and blessing…and revelation.

From the initial chapter ‘When things fall apart’ to the conclusion of ‘Easter hope wakes once more’ we are led forward to resurrection with the potential for ever increasing hope. This is indeed a book to savour as it allows God to work in us.

Reviewed by LIZ PACEY

Lent

 

Lent at St Anselm’s: a tale of music, mystery and vegan cookery

Mar 4, 2025 | 2025 - Lent, Book Reviews

And finally, something rather different – a novel for Lent

 

Lent at St Anselm’s: a tale of music, mystery and vegan cookery

Author Peter D Toon
Publisher Eudaemonia Books
Format pbk
ISBN 9781068332401

Just before Lent Eleanor Foster, a retired music teacher, moves into St Anselm’s, a medieval alms-house in the cathedral city of Wiltonbury. The move is forced on her when the end of her part-time job coincides with a huge rise in the rent on her Soho flat, but she enjoys getting to know her new city. The Warden asks her to form a choir to sing in the hospital’s chapel, and she soon makes friends who share her interest in food and music. But not everyone is welcoming. Follow Eleanor and get to know her friends as they go through the challenges and trials of Lent to the joy of Easter morning.

A full review of this book will appear in Transforming Ministry Magazine later this year.

Peter Toon [petertoon@aol.com] writes:

Lent at St Anselm’s is published as an e-book and as a paperback. To obtain a copy, people can donate via my Justgiving page; .justgiving.com/page/peter-toon-lentatstanselms, send me a cheque or give me cash.   I have suggested a minimum donation of £5 for the e-book and £10 for the paperback, but donors are free to give whatever they can. I can deliver e-books anywhere, but will have to ask £2.50 postage and packing for those who want a paperback. You will be supporting The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral by buying a copy of this book.

Lent, Novel

 

In the Stillness, Waiting

Jan 16, 2025 | 2025 – Spring – Free, Book Reviews

In the Stillness, Waiting

Author Nicholas Worssam
Publisher Canterbury £16.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781786224880

This is a book about the prayer of silence and those who practised and taught it, from the roots of hesychasm in the desert tradition, via practitioners/teachers from the fourth to the fourteenth century, to the twentieth-century Greek monk St Porphyrios. Hesychastic prayer is the prayer that seeks God in the silence beyond words; in the Eastern Orthodox tradition it is usually associated with recitation of the Jesus prayer. (This is not a contradiction; the Jesus prayer is the way in, but not the goal.) Each of the saints is given ample voice, much of it verbatim. At the end of each chapter, there are questions for reflection and discussion, usually aiming to identify links between the reader’s experience and the teaching portrayed. The author’s own love of the prayer of silence comes through warmly in the introduction; after that, I found the historical account more of a description than an invitation. The ancient texts yield many gems but require careful attention. I would have valued some reflection on the place of silence and the personal pursuit of God in our own cultural and ecclesiastical context.

Reviewed by GERTRUD SOLLARS

Prayer

 

Can We Use the Prayers of Love and Faith?

Jan 16, 2025 | 2025 – Spring – Free, Book Reviews

Can We Use the Prayers of Love and Faith?

Author Mark Earey & Phillip Tovey
Publisher Grove £4.95
Format pbk
ISBN 9781788273879

This book informs us, in simple ways, about the most recent information from the House of Bishops. The introduction outlines how the material was produced. The next chapter helps us to understand the liturgical package under Canons B5, B5A and B2. Subsequent chapters explain prayers for a covenanted friendship using a possible scenario for a city centre church; provide useful resources such as prayers of dedication and thanksgiving, and prayers for God’s blessing – with the scenario of a Sunday morning service or choral evensong; and take us through some ideas for the blessing of a home together, likewise exploring prayers for a covenanted friendship. The authors have striven to condense ideas from Prayers of Love and Faith – sticking to the guidance of the November 2023 General Synod. The language is unbiased but informative, offering ideas for as much freedom as has yet been authorised and maybe paving the way for a greater freedom of celebrating relationship in all its many ways.

Reviewed by SUE PIPER

Living in Love and Faith

 

Hero, Lover, Daughter, Queen

Jan 16, 2025 | 2025 – Spring – Free, Book Reviews

Hero, Lover, Daughter, Queen

Author Lavinia Byrne & Jane McBride
Publisher Canterbury £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781786225931

This relatively short book investigates the story and personality of both the well-known and the less ‘Sunday School-friendly’ people in the Bible, starting with Jezebel. While not all the chapters are about women, as it is written by two women, it does encourage looking at things from a feminine viewpoint, especially around the story of Mary Magdalene and the woman at the well. Each chapter begins by giving what I would consider a traditional Bible interpretation, but then goes on to invite you to look at the person in a different light. I found this very helpful, as it encouraged me to learn more and re-read passages in the Bible that, I admit, I had previously skimmed over! Each chapter ends with several actions to carry out and some ‘to think about further’ suggestions. I really enjoyed this easy and at times entertaining read.

Reviewed by EMILY BRAILSFORD

Biblical characters and analysis

 

The Church, The Far Right, And The Claim To Christianity

Jan 16, 2025 | 2025 – Spring – Free, Book Reviews

The Church, The Far Right, And The Claim To Christianity

Author Helen Paynter & Maria Power (eds.)
Publisher SCM £25
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334065494

This book originated from a conference of Christian academics who met to discuss the challenge posed by the recent growth of far-right political movements with anti-Muslim and violent agendas, who are often hiding falsely under ‘Christian’ labels. It is timely, given the growing electoral strength of far-right parties across the world, and associated violence and terrorism. The challenge of this false ‘claim to Christianity’ has been largely underestimated by churches of all denominations. Although written as academic papers, with many footnotes and references, the contributions are all readable. I found them wise and disturbing in equal measure. They are drawn together by two excellent contributions from Helen Paynter, whose introduction sets out the problem, and whose concluding chapter summarises the consensus of findings and offers recomm-endations which should be required reading for all senior Christian leaders. The book has implications for all denominations, for inter-faith working and for anti-racism programmes. It is serious and significant reading for all Christians worried about these trends.

Reviewed by LEONARD RICKARD

Christianity and Politics

 

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