The Room Where It Happens

Author Rose Hudson-Wilkin
Publisher DLT £6.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781913657789

Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover since 2019, and former Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, often reminds us that she is still ‘the girl from Montego Bay, Jamaica’. Her roots are with immigrant communities but her strong evangelical faith has a flavour which crosses all boundaries. She herself had many barriers to cross in her journey to the priesthood, and to becoming a bishop. She is therefore the ideal author for this, the latest in DLT’s imaginative Lent course books, based on recent films or shows. The Room Where It Happens is of course based on the hit musical, Hamilton, and features five sessions for house or church gatherings. If you have not seen the show, Hamilton is about the founding fathers of America in the late 18th century, but it has huge resonances for American multi-ethic society today – and indeed British society. Bishop Rose has written this course from the heart, in order to ask questions of all of us, and to show how the Bible and the experience of Christian faith can teach us about the big issues of life, especially diversity, justice, and overcoming adversity. Good preparation by group leaders will be needed, including the availability of excerpts from the songs of Hamilton on ‘YouTube’, especially the dominant recurring theme of The Room Where It Happens. This surprising course has great potential to boost faith and to take Christians out of their comfort zones. I recommend you give it a go!

Reviewed by ALICE BURDETT

Lenten devotion