Instruments of
Christ’s Love

Authors Phillip Tovey, Sally Buck and Graham Dodds
Publisher SCM £14.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334054351

Three people, one of them a Reader herself, all engaged with Readers and training Readers in some way write a book about ‘The Ministry of Readers’. Significant bits of it are descriptive – what some Readers do and what Readers say about their ministry in their own words. In Chapter 2, Phillip Tovey asks the perennially fascinating question ‘What is a Reader?’ and gives us a useful overview of the answers, set in the context of reflection on lay ministry in general. He also shows, in ‘Readers in History’, that Reader-like persons were very active and effective in the American colonies, pre-dating the revival of Reader ministry in 1866 by 150 years. (I was surprised, though, that there was no mention of the Elizabethan experiment.) A view ahead is opened up by Graham Dodds in ‘Readers as pioneers?’ There is no doubting the commitment of the authors to Reader ministry and their appreciation of its importance and potential. This book may be useful for those exploring Reader ministry or in training, wanting a reasonably concise overview of all things Reader.

GERTRUD SOLLARS

Reader Ministry