Reclaiming the Sealskin: Meditations in the Celtic Spirit by Annie Heppenstall-West is a series of meditations on themes that are mostly drawn from the natural world (eg Ripples, Deer, Fire, Otter). Each theme has a beautifully drawn card that comes ready to be pressed out of the book. The idea is to take a theme […]

Mission Implausible – Restoring Credibility to the Church (Paternoster Press £15.99)
Duncan MacLaren’s new book Mission Implausible should be required reading for all those formulating mission strategies and schemes in the church, as well as for students of the mission of God’s people in the world.
Contemporary sociological analysis of society is used by the author to […]

You’ve Got To Have a Dream – the message of the musical by Ian Bradley (SCM Press £16.99)
What will we have a theology of next? Ian Bradley’s book is a theological reflection on musical theatre.
We’ll start at the very beginning. Despite cheerfully admitting that it is rather difficult to locate references to God in the […]

This new book addresses a number of different themes facing rural life, which we are assured is changing in particular and distinctive ways. Drawing together essays by many contributors, the editors attempt to stimulate reflection on the rural economy, the environment and community issues.
Of particular interest is a chapter by the Most Rev Bruce Cameron, […]

The issue of homosexuality continues to polarise the churches, but what are gay people themselves actually saying? Michael Ford meets gay and lesbian Christians from the US, US and Africa and documents their own voices and their own views on current events. This is an engaging and readable book which explores the dynamics of being […]

Like a number of improving books (Bridget Jones and Tales of the City come to mind), this book began as a newspaper column. Jane Williams’ thoughtful reflections on the lectionary readings first appeared in the Church Times in the ‘Sunday Readings’ slot which is surely designed to prompt desperate preachers who have not made their […]

What do Anglicans think? At a time when it is becoming increasingly uncertain who Anglicans actually are, Raymond Chapman’s compendium is a helpful contribution. He takes a dozen big themes (Holy Orders, Authority, Holy Communion, Preaching etc) and then offers snippets of Anglican thought through the ages on each topic. Over a hundred voices can […]

This book brings together the work of many different writers who are known for their interest in the area of gender, sexuality and Biblical Studies. Whilst the Anglican Communion ties itself in knots over one gay bishop, gay theologians, writers and pastors are at work all over the world reading biblical texts in both radically […]