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Reviews and Resources
‘Purify’ a success – churches order bulk quantities New DVD promotes churches’ green shoots of growth Seeds in Holy Ground reprinted due to increasing demand Respecting children God's Politics The New Lion Handbook: Christian Belief The Way of Wisdom Little Grey and the Great Mystery The Spirit of Hinduism I Saw the Lord John Paul II
‘Purify’ a success – churches order bulk quantities Social concern charity CARE has been delighted with the success of the new CD ‘Purify’, with nearly 10,000 copies sent out to churches and supporters since its recent launch.
Purify contains songs written and performed by Graham Kendrick, and can be used as a journey of reflection and meditation to help Christians experience the grace and forgiveness of God afresh.
Priced at just 99p for orders of over 50 copies, some church leaders have ordered bulk quantities of the CD to give to their congregations.
The inspiration for the CD came from a day conference CARE organised entitled ‘Searching for Intimacy’, which looked at the growing problem of internet pornography and the need to support people suffering from addictions in a creative and practical way.
If you would like a copy of ‘Purify’ log onto www.care.org.uk, or call CARE Resources on 023 9261 0689 for bulk orders.
New DVD promotes churches’ green shoots of growth expressions: the dvd is an inspiring new resource for anyone exploring innovative ways of ‘being and doing church’. 14 examples of new initiatives are showcased in a collection of five-minute films, offering exciting glimpses of creative ‘Fresh Expressions’ being developed across the country. expressions: the dvd is published by Church House Publishing, priced £12.99, and is available from all Christian bookshops. **
Seeds in Holy Ground reprinted due to increasing demand
This new workbook for rural churches, first published in November 2005, has exceeded expectations - selling 4000 copies in less than six months. Designed for use by small groups and PCCs in rural parishes and benefices, it gives useful information on working with and for communities and enhancing the life and witness of the Church.
Questions and activities written by Dr Anne Richards (Mission Theological Adviser) make the full-colour A4 book an engaging and interesting resource. Copies can be obtained directly from the office of the National Rural Officer: katrinas@rase.org.uk by phone 024 7669 6460 or post Arthur Rank Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ. Cost £3.99 plus p&p.
Respecting children The Churches Network for Non-Violence (CNNV) has launched a new resource to support the Church's teaching that physical punishment is wrong and that children should be treated with respect, love and non-violence.
Respecting Children explores the rights and needs of 21st Century children, considers the difference between punishment and discipline, addresses alternatives to smacking and discusses practical ways of creating non-violent environments.
The handbook is designed for use through local churches and is flexible so it can be adapted to suit the needs and concerns of local church leaders, carers, children's organisations, educators and anyone else who might come to use it.
One of the key aims of the CNNV in publishing this pack is to encourage ending legalised violence against children.
Respecting Children is available at a price of £7 from: CNNV Co-ordinator, 6 Sylvia Avenue, Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 4QE. A CD of the handbook is also available for £3. Please make cheques payable to Churches Network for Non-Violence (CNNV).
Reviews
God's Politics by Jim Wallis Lion, £9.99
Jim Wallis' major new book is a scathing indictment of the way that conservative evangelicals in the US have self-righteously attempted to co-opt any discussion of religion and politics. And, while the Right argues that God's way is their way, the Left pursues an unrealistic separation of religious values from morally grounded political leadership.
God's Politics offers a clarion call to make America's religious communities and its government more accountable to key values of the prophetic religious tradition - pro-justice, pro-peace, pro-environment, pro-equality, pro-consistent ethic of life and pro-family. These are the values of love and justice, reconciliation, and community at the core of what many people believe, whether Christian or not.
Jim Wallis, an evangelical, is the leading figure at the crossroads of religion and politics in America today. He is the founder of Sojourners, a US network of progressive Christians working for justice and peace. A bestselling author, his columns appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.
The New Lion Handbook: Christian Belief By Alister McGrath Lion, £20
How have Christians come to believe what they do? Today, in our increasingly secularized generation, there is a greater need than ever before for clear explanation of the unique features of Christian belief. The Lion Handbook of Christian Belief (published in 1982) sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. The New Lion Handbook: Christian Belief follows in the footsteps of its predecessor but has completely new text, design and structure. It has been put together by an international team of consultant editors and contributors with the needs and interests of a new generation of readers in mind.
Dr Alister McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford. He was formerly Principal of Wycliffe Hall Theological College, Oxford.
The Way of Wisdom By Margaret Silf Lion, £8.99
This fascinating book brings together wisdom from around the world and through the ages. Sources include the Bible, new science and new cosmology, native spirituality, folk stories, natural history, poetry and commentary on life situations by wise people (e.g. Desmond Tutu and Kahlil Gibran).
Themes include: • Original wisdom (the wisdom that makes possible the universe we know) • Natural wisdom (the wisdom in the created world) • Native wisdom (the wisdom expressed in all human traditions from the earliest stages of our human journey) • Life wisdom (practical wisdom we gather and pass on) • Desert wisdom (wisdom we gather in the dark times) • Guiding wisdom (the wisdom that gives us direction) • Unfolding wisdom (the wisdom unfolding around us that reveals that we don’t have all the answers).
Little Grey and the Great Mystery By Rachel Rivett Lion, £5.99
Little Grey wants to know about the Great Mystery at the heart of everything.
Grandmother sends Little Grey out into the woodland world to ask the birds and the trees, the stream and the moon - and finally, his own heart. Little Grey discovers that there is love at the heart of all creation and, although creation is earthbound, that love lifts it mysteriously to heaven.
This story sparkles - on one level a sweet and simple story of a woodland animal, yet conveying a message of delight in the world around, with reverence for the mystery and the heart of things and with trust in the creator’s love.
Rachel Rivett, a mother and teacher, has worked with children with behavioural difficulties.
The Spirit of Hinduism By David Burnett Monarch, £11.99
This lucid introduction will equip all Christians seeking to reach Hindus with the gospel.
Hinduism is a large, complex faith, rooted in the Indian subcontinent and finding many forms of expression.
David Burnett brings together a vast array of information concerning the complex (and debated) history of Hinduism; the role of various deities (personal, family, village); the nature of Hindu worship; the role of ghosts and spirits; the ethical constructs and the place of pilgrimage (there are thousands of shrines).
For this new edition Dr David Burnett has updated his text and added web-based resources for every chapter along with learning objectives and topics for discussion. Dr David Burnett was until recently Academic Dean at All Nations Christian College, Ware, UK, and is a Fellow of the Royal anthropological Institute. He is author of a number of distinguished books including Clash of Worlds, The Spirit of Buddhism and World of the Spirits.
I Saw the Lord By Anne Graham Lotz Hodders, £8.99
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Anne Graham Lotz was asked for a message of hope and faith for the American nation. What she said led to an invitation to deliver a similar message to over 600 British MPs and leaders at the House of Commons.
I SAW THE LORD publishes her address for the first time and digs deeper into the message that she believes is the most important prophecy God has ever given her.
Based on Isaiah 1-6, it is a wake-up call for all Christians living in a world more divided and insecure than ever before. Only God can understand our deepest fears and needs. As individuals and as a nation, we need a passionate rediscovery of Jesus and the call he makes on our lives.
Anne explains with sensitivity and brilliant biblical insight, what it really means to see Jesus, and how he can change our lives at the deepest level.
This dramatic call to revival will be highly publicised both in the UK and USA, and will demand a profound response from the Church and Christians everywhere.
John Paul II by Edward Stourton Hodders, £20
John Paul was, famously, a bundle of paradoxes; he defied every attempt to put him in an ideological box, and he was equally bewildering to his admirers and his detractors.
Edward Stourton unravels John Paul’s life, his beliefs, his actions and ultimately places him in context within the Catholic Church of the 20th and 21st Century.
A wonderfully, insightful, involving and rewarding look at the life of a man who was not only one of the most important men of the last thirty years of the 20th century but who became, in his last days, a living symbol of the Christian response to suffering and an inspiration to billions.
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