Looking backwards and wondering ‘what if’ is an exercise that requires care and some measure of wisdom. However, we need to engage in the ‘what if’ questions to nurture reflexivity and so challenge ourselves to be energised by the possibilities of change. So here is a question – if you could turn the clock back […]
Holiday reading (1) Gordon Brown My life, Our Times Bodley Head 2017.
Posted on by James Woodward
Having successfully downsized my living and therefore ‘storage’ arrangements I think twice about buying a book! I was, however, immediately drawn to this political autobiography, not least because on the two occasions I met Gordon Brown I found him humane, reflective and generous. Retired politicians, we are told, are generally more attractive than […]
Bradbury on Practical theology and Pierre-Andre Liege : Book Review
Posted on by James Woodward
Practical theology and Pierre-Andre Liege : Radical Dominican and Vatican II Pioneer Nicholas Bradbury AshGate 2015 £65.00 ISBN 9781472418708 This is giant of a text from the priest with long experience of ministry, learning, leadership and reflective practice. The coherence and authority of this experience and skill as a reflective practitioner is demonstrated through […]
Conundrums in Practical Theology : Book Review
Posted on by James Woodward
Conundrums in Practical Theology. By Joyce Ann Mercer and Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, Boston: Brill, 2016. 320 pages. $76. (PBK). ISBN 978-90-04-32423-7. Reviewed by: James Woodward, Principal of Sarum College, Salisbury and Visiting Professor of Theology, the University Winchester UK All those engaged in learning and teaching will have a system for organising books […]
Visiting the Memory Café ; Embracing better Dementia Care
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Visiting the Memory Café and other Dementia Care Activities Evidence-based Interventions for Care Homes Edited by Caroline Baker and Jason Corrigan-Charlesworth. Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017, ISBN: 9781785922527 £16.99 They can be few families who are not affected by an individual who is engaging with some degree of significant memory loss. For some the prospect of […]
The Moral Heart of Public Service
Posted on by James Woodward
The Moral Heart of Public Service – Edited by Claire Foster Gilbert Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2017) ISBN 9781785922558 £18.99 Westminster Abbey takes its location to serve our national life with utmost seriousness. As well as attracting visitors from across the world the Abbey also seeks to engage with a range of major institutions and public […]
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Confused Angry Anxious? Why working with older people in care can be really difficult and what to do about it Bo Hejlskov Elven, Charlotte Agger and Iben Ljungmann Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017 192pp ISBN: 9781785922152 Positive Communication Activities to reduce isolation and improve the well-being of older adults Robin Dynes Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017 200pp […]
God Curious & the Importance of Theology
Posted on by James Woodward
God Curious: Exploring Eternal Questions Stephen Cherry JKP 2017 Over 30 years ago I trained for Ministry alongside Stephen at Westcott House in Cambridge. There were three particular things that I remember about Stephen. The first was his reflective intelligence. The second was his readiness always to look beyond the immediate into a broader […]
A Cry of Absence ?
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A Cry of Absence Reflections for the winter of the Heart Martin E. Marty W IPF 1983 This narrative emerges out of a particular experience, that of the death of the author’s wife, Elsa, from cancer. Marty narrates the life changing trauma at the opening of the book in the preface and then […]
Embracing our Mortality ?
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Marion Carter Helping children and adolescents think about death, dying and bereavement Jessica Kingsley publishers 2016 £16.99 ISBN 9781785920110 Carlo Leget Art of Living, Art of Dying Jessica Kingsley publishers 2017 £14.99 ISBN 9781785922114 In the UK in recent weeks there has been a great deal of discussion about the ‘British stiff […]
Understanding the Spiritual Shape of Older Age
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The Spiritual Dimension of Ageing Elizabeth MacKinlay Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017 £19.99 With a background in nursing and specialisation in gerontological nursing much of McKinley’s focus over the past years has been on age and spirituality. Her preparation for Ministry nurtured priest and nurse in a commitment to deepening our understanding of the ageing […]
Relationship-Based Research in Social Work
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Relationship-Based Research in Social Work : Understanding Practice Research Edited by Gillian Ruch and Ilse Julkunen Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2016, I write this short notice after a brief look over the Sunday newspapers. Misunderstanding, disconnection, prejudice and sometimes sheer blindness seem to characterise our human relationships. The information technology revolution does not seem to have […]
Positive Psychology Approaches to Dementia
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Positive Psychology Approaches to Dementia Edited by Chris Clarke and Emma Wolverson. Paperback 2016, 288pp ISBN: 978-1-84905-610-6 £24.99 This is a surprising book in so far as it, at first glance, appears to be a technical collection of essays written by experts in the field of dementia and psychology. It makes a distinctive contribution to […]
Sarum Centre for Formation in Ministry (Reviewing Becoming a Reverend)
Posted on by James Woodward
There persists a certain curiosity about clergy with some fixed stereotypes about what kind of people we are or should be. The language, structure and culture of ‘Church’ remains persistently inaccessible and sometimes just incomprehensible. Matt Woodcock is a wise, honest, amusing and candid writer who puts all of his journalistic experience to work in […]
Bishop Michael Perham
Posted on by James Woodward
It will be a great privilege to welcome guests to the Sarum College Bookshop for the launch of Michael Perham’s latest book, The Way of Christ-Likeness. This practical and theological companion to Lent, Holy Week and Easter offers advice on creatively using the church’s most dramatic and transformative liturgies. It explores how commemorating Jesus’ death […]
Better Disagreement? Public Debate and Dialogue
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Towards Better Disagreement: Religion and Atheism Paul Hedges JKP 2016 I happen just to have returned from the Swindon office of BBC Wiltshire where I was tasked to review the Sunday papers. I turn now to catching up on some pieces of writing but especially book reviews that have been sat on my desk for […]
Understanding Dementia (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
Posted on by James Woodward
I am gathering together a small collection of books all published by Jessica Kingsley who is certainly one of the most innovative and ground-breaking publishers working in this field. Their list covering a range of books on dementia is well worth examining. These first two books handle at first hand the experience of living with […]
Amazing Love : Theology for understanding Discipleship, Sexuality and Mission
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Amazing Love: Theology for understanding Discipleship, Sexuality and Mission Andrew Davison, DLT 2016, 114pp pbk This book has been with me over the past few weeks and my reading of it has been shaped by a number of events and experiences. First I attended a celebration of 35 years of a LGBTI support group that […]
Blessed are the Poor? By Laurie Green
Posted on by James Woodward
It has taken me some time to digest this book and so commend it to others for both reflection and action. Laurie Green has established a well-deserved reputation for his ministry amongst the poor and voiceless but also for his ability to think theologically. The book took me backwards into my story but also catapulted […]
Vulnerability and Care: Christian Reflections on the Philosophy of Medicine
Posted on by James Woodward
Vulnerability and Care: Christian Reflections on the Philosophy of Medicine Andrew Sloane, T and T Clark, 2016, 211pp, hbk, £84.99 I have recently seen at close hand the work a busy acute hospital having to deal with an older person suffering multiple challenges to well-being caused in the main by intense confusion as a result […]