This work is given a lengthy review and made Book of the Month for June, as above.

Miroslav Volf's writing beautifully points away from the pettiness and selfishness so prominent in our culture today and toward the love that Christians are called to exemplify. His insights in this volume will inform and inspire all who wish to follow that path of love.
from the Publisher

This timely and important book explores what renewal of the liturgy might mean in a so-called post-modern society where the corporate practice of religion is in decline and where religious language and public worship have lost much of their appeal. It asks whether a well-meant policy of making the language and style of worship more accessible in recent years has resulted in a loss of the sense of mystery which has contributed to the decline. Avoiding any notion of a reversion to some imagined golden age, still less a wholesale antiquing of the liturgy and devotional practice, it offers a critical reappraisal of what is done in worship and how it is to be done. Particularly helpful is the analysis of the place of music.
from the Publisher

This work tells the lively and compelling story of the Anglo-Catholic Congresses and their remarkable influence in the Church of England in the years between the two great world wars. It was a time of great change for the church during which two important Lambeth Conferences met. It was also a time when the nation was in the midst of great social, political and economic upheavals.
from the Publisher

"We need the kind of exact and imaginative study this series offers us....so that our life in the Communion will be enriched as well as calmed, challenged as well as reinforced."
Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

In this first volume in an important new series leaders from around the Anglican Communion reflects on the ten main themes of the 2008 Lambeth conference:

• Celebrating common ground: Anglican identity
• Proclaiming the good news: evangelism
• Transforming society: social injustice
• Safeguarding creation: The environment
• Engaging with a multi-faith world
• Equal in God's sight: gender violence
• Living under scripture
• Human sexuality
• Other churches and God's mission
• The Covenant and the Windsor Process

In this third volume in the Creative Pastoral Liturgy series, Jan Brind and Tessa Wilkinson offer practical and imaginative ideas for celebrating our Christian journey, for affirming all who belong to the family of God in the context of the local church, and rejoicing in the gifts that God has graciously given to each.

In these pages you will find may ideas for Baptism services, making them personal and memorable. There are ideas for things to make, themed service sheets, simple gifts, prayers and songs etc. There are complete liturgies for those events that are part of every church's life:

• welcomes and farewells — for clergy, ordinands and lay workers
• services of blessing for pilgrimage groups, students, travellers
• home blessings
• dedication of a new or re-ordered church
• closure of a church building

The word caregiver typically suggests someone doing all the giving for a frail, physically or mentally challenged, or aging person who is doing all the receiving. Mary Richards proposes a rebalanced approach of caresharing. From this perspective, the "cared for" and the "carer" share a deep sense of connection. Each has strengths and resources. Each can teach the other. Each can share in grief, hope, love and wisdom. Richards shows you how to move from independent caregiving to interdependent caregiving by engaging the spiritual and emotional aspects of caring for a loved one.
from the Publisher

In order to address shortcomings in the field of palliative care, more than forty spiritual and palliative care experts gathered for a national conference to discuss guidelines for incorporating spirituality into clinical practice. Their consensus findings form the basis of Making Health Care Whole. This important new work will serve as both a scholarly review of the field as well as a practical resource.

"This book is an important advance in understanding the relevance of spirituality in health care, particularly in palliative care. It is a lucid exposition into how we bring respect, wisdom, and compassion into caring for those who are seriously ill and those who are facing death."
Joan Halifax, founder, the Upaya Institute.

What is the meaning of death? How can we see it not just as an inevitable fate but as an act of fulfilment? Can our death be fruitful, a profoundly human gift to those we love? These are some of the questions that Henri Nouwen addressed in his later writings. In the years since his own sudden death in 1996, Nouwen's influence as a spiritual mentor and companion has continued to grow. His writings on prayer, ministry, and the spiritual life have affected countless people of all faiths. But in this work, and largely through his own words, Michelle O'Rourke concentrates on his reflections on death and dying — a theme that stands out as one of the unifying threads in all his books, and one that may turn out to be one of his most important contributions.
from the Publisher

"Highly recommended both for those new to these possibilities and for experienced travellers."
Literary Journal USA

"Aside from being calm, safe and restful guesthouses, one of their standout features is their affordable cost."
Intravel Magazine USA

Sixty years after Bonhoeffer's death and forty years after the publication of Eberhard Bethge's ground breaking biography, Ferndinand Schlingensiepen offers a definitive new book on Bonhoeffer, for a new generation of readers. Schlingensiepen takes into account documents that have only been made accessible during the last few years — such as the letters between Bonhoeffer and his fiance Maria von Wedemeyer. Schlingensiepen's careful narrative brings to life the historical events, as well as displaying the theological development of one of the most creative thinkers of the 20th century, who was to become one of its most tragic martyrs.
from the Publisher

What does Jesus reveal about himself through his encounters with women in the gospel stories, both as a real historical figure and as a continuing living presence? In responding to this question, Joanna Collicutt McGrath explores the tendency for many Christians to see Jesus as a sort of 'romantic hero'. In the first chapter of the book she muses on what makes the character of Mr Darcy so alluring, and on the resonances with Jesus. She then helps us to consider several significant aspects of the psychology of Jesus as expressed in his engagement with women. The recurring and deeply affirming theme of the volume is that through encounter with Jesus, women are raised up:

Being raised with Christ is about becoming fully human, reaching our God-given potential and therefore becoming truly adult.

"......Avis brings his extensive knowledge of church history, Anglicanism and ecumenical dialogue to bear on some of the outstanding, seemingly intractable issues: episcopacy, primacy, the enduring place of ecclesial identity, and the relation of pulpit and altar fellowship to the ordering of the ministry and the life of the Church, with its underlying question of whether we can speak of first and second order issues. This is a stimulating read, well written and though provoking. The book ought to give heart to those who have grown weary in the ecumenical cause. ....Avis has no doubt that the quest for visible unity is a Gospel imperative which we cannot turn out backs on if we are to be faithful to the Lord of the Church."
Dame Mary Tanner, European President of the World Council of churches and Former Moderator of its Faith and Order Commission.

Here Andrew Shanks challenges all who are tempted to erect boundaries around their faith. Far more important than dogma and metaphysics, he argues, is the need to be open to all, and to engage with people who hold views at odds with our own. He shows how a commitment to this ideal can create fresh energy and new ways forward for the church.
from the Publisher

"One of his remarkable experience of the Bible as translator, theologian and monk, Henry Wansbrough has provided a brilliantly readable and attractive introduction to the understanding of the Bible from the new Testament itself to its use in the present state of Israel."
Benedicta Ward SLG, Reader in Christian Spirituality, University of Oxford, UK

Paul Molnar is known for detailed and fair-minded reading of text; this volume on my father's theology exemplifies those practices of faithful reading. I believe Paul Molnar is profoundly right in identifying my father's understanding of the Trinity as the proper point of entry to his theology as a whole. The volume is meticulous, thorough and always clear. I thoroughly recommend it. Paul Molnar knew my father personally, talked to him, questioned him and understood him as well.
Iain Torrance, President of Princeton Theological Seminary and younger son of Thomas F. Torrance

There are other books on the place and role of pastoral concerns in worship but none come even close to what is achieved here. By identifying four central themes of pastoral concern in weekly congregational worship — reconciliation, lament, hope and communion — and bringing psychological insights to bear on each, he shows how theological and biblical understandings of these themes may touch the struggles and longings that we bring with us to the worship hour. The book demonstrates how worship affords many opportunities for us to open ourselves to God and thereby enable God to become accessible to us. Pembroke addresses our hope that worshiping together will revitalize us by emancipating our heats and minds from shame, anger, disappointment, distress and the need for moral pretence. This is a thoughtful and enlightening testimony to the fact that worship has the power to open our hearts, to liberate our minds, and to heal our souls.
Donald Capps, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton US.

When faced with times of crisis or challenge, many people turn to self-help for support. But what about Christians — how can we find strength not merely in self-help but in God's help.

This book is a five-session course which explores God's promise to comfort his people as they struggle through life's wildernesses. Each session focuses on an aspect of God's comfort, based on a short passage from Isaiah. It contains enough material for 90 minutes and includes:

• guidelines and full background notes for leaders
• a lively introduction for each section
• a passage from Isaiah, freshly translated by the author
• prompts to aid both discussion and understanding
• inspiring quotations and personal stories
• questions to help course members apply the lessons learned
• ideas for using music in the group
• resources to support individual prayer and worship as a group.

Here Richard Rohr helps you recognise the forces (such as ego resistance and dual thinkng) that separate you from your deeper self. Then, drawing from the Gospels and the greatest Christian contemplatives, he shows you what it means to be spiritually awake. You'll learn:

• Why your ego resists change and growth
• What Jesus, the first mystical leader in the West, can teach you
• What is useful about popular ideas such as "the law of attraction"
• How you can enhance spiritual awareness without sacrificing reason

This simple little book is an examination of what we ourselves must bring to the discipline of prayer — whatever form it takes — in order to make prayer authentic and real, a deep and profound part of our lives.

Prayer is the link to a life beyond the mundane, the daily, the routine, the immediate dimensions of life. It is the beginning of a relationship with the God who is closer to us than we are to ourselves. But authentic prayer requires something from us, as well as from the God we seek. It requires that we bring to it an open heart, a good deal of self-knowledge, constancy in darkness and a willingness to attend to the Light, even when all we can see is darkness.

This is great spiritual reading for every person who longs for prayer to be the very breath of his or her soul.
from the Publisher

On the face of it, the biblical book of Deuteronomy seems to be filled with triumph. In No Gods but One, however, Daniel Berrigan turns a searching eye toward this text and finds its darker side. With grace and incisive candour, Berrigan draws clear parallels between Deuteronomy's time of mingled triumph and broken law and our own moment in history, uncovering the stories within the story of this complex biblical book.

"Without fail Berrigan makes daring and compelling connections between text and life. He has long pondered the idolatries of our society and knows, from the book of Deuteronomy, that a more excellent way is possible. No Gods but One is a welcome summons at just the right time."
Walter Breuggemann

Previously Published as The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible.

If you have been looking for a fresh way to read the Bible, The Life with God Bible will help you rediscover Scripture as living text, rich with insights into how to live your life more intimately with the Creator.

Features Include:

Study Notes: Insightful introductions for each book of the Bible

Spiritual Exercises: Challenging and relevant exercises to deepen your encounter with God while reading the Bible

Topical Index: A glossary of Bible references designed to help you with further study on spiritual disciplines that foster life with God

Study Helps: Fifteen progressive essays on living the "with-God life," over sixty profiles of key biblical characters, and sixteen pages of detailed maps

Concordance: An index to help you locate familiar words, phrases, and verses in the Bible

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