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