Edited by Neil Paynter (Wild Good Publications – www.ionabooks.com £7.99)

Getting this book for your next Holy Week might be a wise move. The dramatic events of the days leading up to Easter Sunday are expressed here through biblical readings and the reflections of several well-known Iona Community members.

This is a more devotional book than some of the liturgical scrapbooks that have been published by Wild Goose in recent years. Holy Week provides a tight framework for the reflections of the authors. The book consists of bible readings, reflections and questions for each of the days of the Week. The questions that are posed will prompt gentle self-examination and reflection.
This is a book for anyone wanting more material for Holy Week. It could be used by groups, but is more likely to be used by individuals entering in private into the mystery of this week. The book is well presented, with many pictures of sea-lochs and mountains, presumably from the west coast of Scotland. Notwithstanding the obvious attraction of such images, they sit rather oddly with a text that comes very much from those who are not located on Iona but are working on the mainland.

George McLeod the founder of the Iona Community famously reminded us that Jesus was crucified “on a city garbage-dump, outside the walls, between two thieves.” He would have recognised the pathways that these writers have taken and the reflections that they offer to share with us through the greatest week of the year.

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The Eye of the Storm: Spiritual Resources for the Pursuit of Justice by Kenneth Leech
This is an honest spirituality. Kenneth Leech knows that an authentic engagement with God will mean that everything changes. Here is a writer to knows that to separate spirituality from justice is to do great damage to Christian consciousness. A recovery of wholeness is necessary in order to avoid a false polarity between the two.
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The task of managing creaking church buildings is one which is mostly undertaken by volunteers in almost every community the length and breadth of the country. It is surprising therefore that so little has been written to aid those who take on this mammoth task. Those of us who do undertake such work now have a book aimed at helping us do a job which is often thankless yet for the mission of many church communities utterly invaluable. Maggie Durran’s book is practical and sensible, with suggestions for all levels of church building maintenance from keeping the basic structure intact to full-scale re-ordering of church interiors. Within these pages, there is sensible advice on things such as project management, budgeting, ecological constraints and balancing heritage demands against functional needs. The overwhelming impression is of common sense which has been learned over a number of years. One aspect which is of particular note is the attention given to dealing with professionals such as architects and those whose remit includes health and safety legislation. I know of no other comparable book which deals with the same subject matter for those of us charged with keeping our buildings in sound order. Strongly recommended.

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This is an attractive and lavishly illustrated handbook which deals with the Bible on a book by book basis. For each biblical book, there is a description of its origins and significance, the retelling of the main stories, background, history and theological themes. Religious art is used to the full. Taking the journey from Genesis to Revelation, the multi-denominational team of authors include people from both Judaism and Christianity.

Highly recommended.

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Marcus Borg writes for those seeking an adult understanding of God. His description is of a Christian faith which has more to offer modern people than the easy answers of fundamentalism. Borg uses his own spiritual journey to describe a fresh and authentic view of God. This is faith for those who respect science, recent biblical scholarship and a world in which religious pluralism is a given. The book will appeal to those seeking faith as well as those wanting their faith to grow. It is clear, coherent and highly readable.

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