There can be no doubt that these recent weeks have been traumatic and testing for the Church of England and for the public face of religion. Two things have occurred that that bear upon the shape, processes and content of this book which make it important for these debates. The first is a […]
Try Softer ? In praise of grounded advice from Kolber.
Posted on by James Woodward
Where do you pick up recommendations for books these days? Half an hour on Waterloo station yesterday yielded a couple of books from Foyles, tempted of course by their buy one get the other half price offer! A trusted source is the Marginalian ( take a look- https://www.themarginalian.org/ ) which is broad, grounded and […]
On Digging Deep – a cluster of Books from Sacristy Press
Posted on by James Woodward
Perhaps you have some awareness of both the problems and possibilities that emerge from the way we articulate the shape and meaning of our religious convictions. What do you understand by God? How do we convey the presence, rationality and engagement of God amidst the complexities of this new year? We see and hear minute […]
Does Belief change in Old Age?
Posted on by James Woodward
On re-reading – Belief and Ageing :Spiritual pathways in later life Peter G. Coleman (Editor) Paperback, 192 pages Policy Press Bristol 2011 I agreed to offering a session at this years Sarum Centre for Formation in Ministry on what the Bible might show us about flourishing in older age. I grabbed a few books […]
Seeing beyond the immediate: listening and learning alongside older people
Posted on by James Woodward
From 1998 through to 2009, I had the privilege of working with many hundreds of older people in an Almshouse charity. We lived together in rather splendid seventeenth-century buildings which were surprisingly adaptable for modern use. It was an intentional community with a Church, primary school and a community of older adults living together. I […]
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 […]
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 […]
Coping with the Uncertainty of these Present Times
Posted on by James Woodward
I have just returned for leading a retreat for twenty women and men supporting them as they prepare for their life as clergy. They talked about their communities and families. They shared the stress and strain and anxiety that many are feeling in their families and communities. The future feels fragile – a change in […]
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 […]
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 […]
Vulnerability and Care: Christian Reflections on the Philosophy of Medicine by Andrew Sloane
Posted on by James Woodward
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 of the Alzheimer’s disease. The result was shocking and frustrating. Although,of course, a one-off situation which was intensified by my […]
How do we access the spiritual?
Posted on by James Woodward
Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2015; 280 pages; £19.99 ISBN 9781849054973 I review this book (the second week of July 2016) when two particular conversations were at the forefront of my mind. The first was the smooth transition between Cameron and May into 10 Downing Street and the office of Prime Minister. What followed was much speculation […]
Performing Pastoral Care
Posted on by James Woodward
Making the case for the relevance of pastoral care today, this book explores the role of pastoral care through the prism of music. Using musical analogies, the author provides a new way of understanding and practising pastoral care, grounded in practical theology. Challenging overemphasis on mission, he shows that pastoral care remains essential to the […]