What do you think holds us together ? What should be our attitude to these moments of living? What are we struggling with? Where is 2023 taking us – these moments of ‘post pandemic weariness’ ? Is the future welcoming ? Jurgen Moltmann, in Theology and Joy wrote “We may have fun, […]
Burkeman on the lessons of Time
Posted on by James Woodward
Four Thousand Weeks: Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your four thousand weeks count Vintage 2022 What is your relationship to time ? How long is that To Do list ? And what about those good intentions we start any day with? This Saturday started quite well – an early start and off to […]
From the Shores of Silence – Learning from feminist voices in Practical Theology
Posted on by James Woodward
From the Shores of Silence Conversations in Feminist Practical Theology Edited by Ashley Cocksworth, Rachel Starr and Stephen Burns with Nicola Slee SCM Press £30.00 (ISBN 9780334060963) Practical theology has had a slow journey into securing some significance in the academy. There have been landmark books, institutions and academics who have contributed to its […]
Transgressive Devotion : radical, original, unsettling theology at its honest best
Posted on by James Woodward
I remember one of my university teachers sitting in on a seminar that I was leading some 20 years ago. He was attentive and appeared to be making careful notes. On the feedback form his only comment was, ‘clearly expressed and excellent engagement with the group, but I wanted to hear and learn something arresting […]
Reading David Whyte – Consolations
Posted on by James Woodward
We live in strange times. Listening to this mornings news adds to the complexity and anxiety. The junior doctors strike which informs us to avoid being ill this week. The advance of AI and its implications for our knowing and understanding. The preparations for the visit of President Biden to Ireland as they mark the […]
‘Bedtime’ Reading : Super- Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne
Posted on by James Woodward
Being confined to quarters while a bout of flu ( or something – I have never been very good at diagnosis ) and amidst cancelling appointments ( sorry ) and searching for paracetemol brings some gifts. Determined to leave the e mails to answer themselves ( wouldn’t that be nice) I decided to have a deep […]
Listening to your Soul Julia Mourant
Posted on by James Woodward
Canterbury Press 2022 ISBN-13 9781786223364 Pb 144pp In these strange and unpredictable post lockdown days of uncertainty and weariness who do you turn to for support? Who listens to us ? How do we listen to ourselves ? At any point on our life journey how might we ‘make meaning’? This book opens up […]
PRACTICES FOR THE SOUL : FINDING MEANING IN OUR STRANGE NEW WORLD ?
Posted on by James Woodward
The Power of Ritual : Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices Casper Ter Kuile William Collins 2020 reposted from 6th April 2021 I am indebted to my friend Jane Shaw for pointing me in the direction of this rather stimulating and wonderful book. It came out of a conversation about what learning might look ( […]
Waking up to God – Exploring faith by asking the right questions?
Posted on by James Woodward
Waking Up to God: Rediscovering Faith in Post-Pandemic Times by Neil Richardson Sacristy Press 2022 Neil Richardson has had a long and distinguished ministry as a Methodist theologian. This has included serving as the British Methodist President in 2003 and leading Wesley College, Bristol, as Principal. In eight chapters he tackles head-on with […]
ON FAILURE – HOW TO SUCCEED AT DEFEAT
Posted on by James Woodward
(The School of Life 2022) A hopeful and encouraging book that is gentle on its reader! In 2008, Alain de Botton was one of a team of writers and educators who founded The School of Life. Based in centres across the World, The School of Life , offers an emotional education focusing in particular on […]
Hearing God in Poetry by Richard Harries
Posted on by James Woodward
Hearing God in Poetry Fifty Poems for Lent and Easter Richard Harries SPCK 2022 This is the time of the year when some turn to the possibility of taking something up for the season of Lent as part of a pilgrimage of disciplined and intentional spiritual learning. Some will join a Lent course. Others […]
Chosen : Lost and Found between Christianity and Judaism Giles Fraser Allen Lane 2021
Posted on by James Woodward
Some of you might be be familiar with the BBC series Who do you think you are? In the programme a number of celebrities uncover, one assumes with the BBC researchers assistance, a number of lost connections and unfamiliar parts of their histories. The thread running through the programme is the persons history revealed in […]
‘Its not about me’ : Reading Cottrell On Priesthood over a lockdown weekend
Posted on by James Woodward
I wonder what you are finding absorbs your time and attention during these strange hours and days? My table at home is gathering some small (and neatly organised) piles of books. Some associated with work and lectures to prepare. Some for pleasure and others (I hope) for self-improvement ! Stephen Cottrell’s book (On Priesthood : Hodder […]
Take this Journey with Rohr
Posted on by James Woodward
Richard Rohr The Universal Christ SPCK 2019 ( £9.99) It is an often stated conviction expressed by a wide variety of individuals and groups that the Church, Organised Religion and (important for us here at Sarum College) Theology are in decline. The statistics certainly bears this assertion out. However this should not be our final […]
Back to my Roots? The legacy of Brooke Foss Westcott
Posted on by James Woodward
I finished reading Isabel Hardman on turned to thoroughly researched life of Westcott. There were many resonances and connections. As the son of a miner the title was arresting. Ordained in Durham after theological studies at Westcott House Cambridge there were further connections. I have a copy of his commentaries on Hebrews and St Johns Gospel and […]
Christmas Reading – what kind of politicians do we have or need?
Posted on by James Woodward
I wonder what you will dip into over this holiday season by way of escape or relaxation? I took a risk with this book. The title was arresting and the author the recognisable voice of BBC Radio 4s Westminster Hour. Of course we live in a complex and contested world and one where the quality […]
A Shaking Reality – a new book for Advent from Peter Price
Posted on by James Woodward
A Shaking Reality : Daily Reflections for Advent Peter B Price DLT 2018 Sometimes even the the most faithful of hearts might wonder how our religious words, images and metaphors make a difference. How do they shape our understanding of the world, God and the practice of believing ? If we desire God to shake and change us […]
Spirituality in Hospice Care
Posted on by James Woodward
Spirituality in Hospice Care How Staff and Volunteers Can Support the Dying and Their Families Edited by Andrew Goodhead and Nigel Hartley Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017, 240pp (pbk) ISBN: 9781785921025 £19.99 The concepts of spirituality and spiritual care are complex. This book makes a distinctive and important contribution to the growing literature in this […]
In a Glass Darkly: The Bible, Refection and Everyday Life
Posted on by James Woodward
In a Glass Darkly: The Bible, Reflection and Everyday Life Zoe Bennett, Christopher Rowland SCM Press £25 (978-0-334-05422-1) Moments of honesty and candour can be both refreshing and threatening in equal measure. I recently heard an intelligent and energetic parish priest make a passionate plea for Christians to be more honest about change and […]
Still Growing : The Creative Self in Older Age
Posted on by James Woodward
Still Growing The Creative Self in Older Adulthood Donald Capps The Lutterworth press 2015, PB 208pp, 9780718893910, £16.50. This is the most delightful of books in its thoroughness, scholarship and creativity. It has all the potential to transform the readers understanding of the nature of age. In our functional and reductionist world that over […]