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These 14 essays by scholars who have worked with David Jasper in both church and academy develop original discussions of themes emerging from his writings on literature, theology and hermeneutics. The arts, institutions, literature and liturgy are among the subject areas they cover.

Henry Beeching (1859-1919), Dean of Norwich, was the quintessential Man of Letters. A popular preacher and active for the cause of reform in the Church, he was also a poet, eminent scholar and a widely read journalist. Seen through the spectrum of national issues and challenges, Peter Fanning highlights Beeching's wide appeal both as a Christian thinker, literary scholar and a humourist. Many of the most celebrated scholars, poets and clergy were friends and correspondents; amongst them was the enduring relationship with his uncle, the poet Robert Bridges. Above all, Henry Beeching was a literary scholar and lover of Shakespeare who married this passion to a love of God.A contemporary journalist wrote that Henry Beeching was "e;widely known as a poet, preacher and professor. Many men are content to make a reputation in any one of these department. Mr Beeching has made a mark in each."e; It is the breadth of his interests and achievements that is unusual. This first full-length biography covers Beeching's character and his many interests and achievements, from the satirical and scandalous "e;Balliol epigrams"e; to sermons during the First World War and the creation of the Memorial Chapel at Norwich Cathedral.

From the beginning, Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection have been the heart and foundation of Christian faith. Beginning with Mark, the first account to be written, these six series of sermons interpret the four Gospel narratives of Jesus' passion and death, taking account of the distinctiveness of each. The author believes that we hear the gospel first in the individual accounts of the evangelists, and neither in any "e;harmonization"e; of our own to smooth out the differences, nor even in the work of scholars to establish an historical core behind their divergences. The four Gospels are the authenticated "e;witnesses"e; to Jesus' death and resurrection. The differences between them give rise to a range of legitimate interpretations of Jesus' death. It is this richness of meaning and understanding that these sermons explore.Taking account of critical scholarship, but written in accessible language, this is an exploration of the foundation of Christian faith for those who would like to know more.

The most devastating experience of God's people in the Old Testament was the exile. But rather than destroying them, it resulted in them emerging from it with a fresh understanding of God and committed to new ways of worshipping him. For many churches and individual Christians, the Covid pandemic has also been a form of exile. How far have we emerged with fresh understanding of our faith, new ways of being and doing church, a reinvigorated commitment to the mission task?Mission, particularly the clear proclamation of the Gospel, is the core task of the church, our response to Jesus' Great Commission to "e;go and make disciples of all nations"e; (Matthew 28:19). Every individual Christian has their part to play in this, learning how to sing the Lord's song (the gospel) effectively in our current context, which is not always entirely friendly. Every Christian community, every local church, needs to be able to sing the same song through the quality of their life together. Whenever new people join us, we need to offer them a positive experience: comfortable facilities, meaningful worship, relevant teaching, and, above all, a genuine, warm welcome. Without this, any message we may proclaim is likely to fall on deaf ears.

What are we human beings? What might our common future be? Who or what is God?These are some of the most fundamental questions asked by Christians and many others, and they need asking anew in each generation. Neil Richardson's latest book offers a "e;new look"e; Christian faith, drawing from the Bible and from Christian tradition, but showing how much we have missed in the Bible, and how much some traditional beliefs have been misunderstood.The person of Jesus is key to all three questions explored here. As the "e;ultimate human being"e; and, paradoxically, the image of a God, Jesus is an iconic figure for our common human future.Neil Richardson also explores some of the practical outcomes this has for the life of the Church and the way Christians live in the world. Social justice and a greater sharing of the earth also follow, and the neglected Christian themes of enjoying both God and the world, and life before and after death.

Christians who feel drawn to remain unmarried but know that life in a religious order is not for them often face the challenge of identifying, naming and responding to their vocation, both within and outside traditional church life.Christine Barnabas takes a fresh look at consecrated celibacy, a calling she believes experiences a new lease of life on the edges of the institutional church. Reflecting on her own journey and encounters with others, she explores the biblical affirmation of the single life and the many ways consecrated celibacy has been expressed throughout history.This book will be a welcome resource for many who want to discern their calling to a committed and meaningful life before God. Christine Barnabas explores some of the questions that need to be asked, how to come to a decision and make a vow to stay single out of love for God and live out this calling "e;in the world"e;. It will also be helpful for spiritual directors, priests and pastors who accompany others on this journey or seek to deepen their own understanding about this ancient charism God continues to give to the Body of Christ.

Northumberland, one of the most sparsely-populated counties in England, with unique features like the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and Hadrian's Wall, was also a crucible of European civilization and remains a treasury of culture. Giving birth to railways worldwide through George Stephenson, it saw the beginnings of hydraulics, hydro-electricity and turbines and, with Joseph Swan, witnessed the earliest light from electric incandescent lamps; it was a laboratory of invention.Northumberland has, however, changed dramatically over the course of the last century: deep coal-mining, shipbuilding and much heavy engineering have gone, but new industries have flowered. So, the largest man-made lake in northwest Europe, lying within the largest man-made forest is set within the north west of the county, bringing water in abundance and supporting entirely new leisure and tourist activities. The lower Tyne has been transformed both architecturally, and culturally.This unique guide to England's most northern county explores the land, the people, the flora and fauna alongside its architecture and history. A gazetteer takes readers to Northumberland's towns and cities - Newcastle, Hexham, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, but also to villages, hamlets, castles, beaches, churchyards, great houses, ruined abbeys, and vast wild open countryside. Among the places visited are the castles at Warkworth, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Alnwick, the Farne Islands and the remote valleys of Allendale and the South Tyne, battle sites at Heavenfield, Otterburn and Flodden, alongside Vanbrugh's final triumphant Palladian mansion at Seaton Delaval.Fully illustrated with more than 240 photographs, this guidebook invites travellers and locals alike to explore the unique features and the true character of Northumberland.

Peace is something to which we all aspire, but what does it actually mean? Giving a pattern for each day of the year, Peace is a Doing Word uses poetry, story and prayers to reflect on what practicing peace means in every moment of our daily lives. The book offers insights throughout the course of the day, from "e;waking"e; to "e;resting"e; and concludes each section with a blessing. There are questions for reflection which could be a starting point for personal growth or group discussions. The book aims to encourage a wide-ranging engagement with peace keeping and peace making for ordinary people in everyday life.

A biography of George Congreve showing his contribution to the Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) and the Church of England by describing his teaching and quoting much of his unpublished or out-of-print writing.

A chronological survey of the Bishops of Hexham and Newcastle from 1850 to the present day.

Creating Space tells a professional and personal story of healthcare chaplaincy and models the way in which practice development emerges from reflecting on the human story. This book reveals to healthcare, the Church and the community, the unique role of the chaplain's experiences as a resource to others. It is written for professional practitioners, prompting their own contextual learning and development, whether as chaplains, pastoral carers, parish clergy, lay ministers, volunteers in any caring context, those who work in listening therapies, those who provide care and support to others of any kind, or those who use or teach reflective practice.The authors connect in a straightforward way their view of healthcare chaplaincy as a model of practical theology, based on key practical theologians who see the human story as a source of learning. They outline their own reflective practice tool for learning and share the way in which they see each pastoral encounter as a reflective source of learning. They discover how their experiences have developed the discernment process for chaplaincy vocation, urging the Church to see beyond the parish model in today's world.

Part travelogue, part exploration of religious images and pilgrimage, J. Richard Smith tells the story of icons and the places where the New Testament story really happened.

Posting the Word tells of the story of how Chris Harris, a laicised priest, managed, against all the odds, to set up a successful adult religious education course by distance learning. Life Light Home Study Courses grew over nearly half a century into a facility which has enabled thousands of mostly lay Catholic students to develop their biblical and theological literacy. A very large number of these have moved on to positions of responsibility for RE in schools and parishes.In the background lies a human story which unfolded in a succession of different settings: monastic, seminary, university, school, home and parish. The challenges confronted along this winding road are here described in some detail.Of particular interest is the contribution made by Chris and his wife Heather to the spirituality of Christian married life. Both had a deep appreciation of religious life and sought to lay the foundations of a complementary and equally rich spirituality for married people.Posting the Wordoffers a fascinating insight into lived Catholicism before and after the Second Vatican Council and also into the history of adult theological education within the Roman Catholic Church.

Recent trends in Old Testament studies have radically changed the way we look at the first book of the Bible. This commentary takes account of these developments-acknowledging that traditional source-critical theories need to be re-evaluated, seeking to explore the book holistically, and taking account of its qualities as a 'story'. Clare Amos draws upon her extensive knowledge of the modern Middle East, its peoples, its religions and its problems, to provide new insights into some of the challenges which Genesis offers for faith and life today. Birthpangs and Blessings offers new insights into the spirituality of the Bible, the voyage of mutual discovery between God and humanity, a recurrent theme of this important biblical book.

In the Middle Ages, the region of Tuscany and its surrounding area was, for around 150 years, home to a surprising number of holy women, from the birth of Margaret of Cortona in 1247 to the death of Catherine of Siena in 1380, with the fourteenth century seeing the greatest of them. While Catherine of Siena has received worldwide recognition, women like Agnes of Montepulciano and Angela of Foligno have received little attention outside their homeland. Yet they and others are important figures in what is a largely unrecognised movement of Tuscan mystics. Their individual stories are enhanced by the efforts of artists and writers which all help to create a recognisable type of religious woman.This study looks first at the underlying influences on Tuscan mysticism, from the legend of St Katherine of Alexandria through to the celebration of women in the secular literature of the High Middle Ages and the effect of the emerging monastic orders. It examines the life and work of Tuscan holy women and focuses in particular on how they were perceived in their largely patriarchal contexts and by the artists, biographers and "e;men of God"e; who brought their own cultural assumptions to bear on the telling of their story. In consequence, the power that stemmed from their godly lives was to varying degrees undermined by some of the people closest to them and eroded by the church itself.This story of women alternately constrained and encouraged by their social contexts is one of individual struggles and collective achievement. Although the movement in Italy began to fade away after the death of Catherine of Siena, the mystic tradition would live on in other parts of Europe, where the experiences of holy women such as Margery Kempe or, later, Teresa of vila will have much in common with their Tuscan predecessors.

Discover the story of the English Church from its earliest times to the present day. Having taken root in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, it emerged in the medieval world amidst poverty, pandemics and power struggles, and not free from abuses. We see here its struggles during the Reformation, leading to an English Bible and Prayer Book, and the virtual banishment of Roman Catholicism for three hundred years. We see the spawning of new forms of Protestantism, inimical to the Crown, with the emergence of Quakers, Independents and the Methodists among many others. Following the ending of the Slave Trade in 1807, the Church became a force for both social change and spiritual endeavour in the Victorian period.Patrick Whitworth charts both the contribution and shortcomings of the English Church. An extraordinary story well told, surely this will remain the standard work on the Church in England for many years to come.

Rudyard Kipling's poem, Eddi's Service, from which this book takes its title, is a set of verses put into the mouth of Eddius Stephanus, St Wilfrid's earliest biographer. Set in the tiny chapel at Manhood End, close to Selsey Bill, it tells of a dedicated priest persevering with a midnight celebration despite appalling weather, and with just a donkey and bullock as his companions. Reflecting the challenges of the seventh-century missions to Britain and Ireland, it captures something of how all who would be disciples of Christ must take up their cross and follow him. This book focuses on those challenges in the early missions to these islands, set in the context of Jesus' passion and, ultimately his crucifixion, in the very first Holy Week of all, in Jerusalem. Each of us is invited to walk that same path in Lent, in Holy Week or at any time in our own life or pilgrimage.

Embracing poetic and prose writings on philosophy, contemplation and bibliophily, key service books for the clergy, and devotional texts for the laity, this book explores the interrelated themes of literature and devotion in England from the Black Death to the Reformation as seen through the lens of twenty-six precious manuscripts in Durham University Library.

Mark's Gospel was written in Rome, the political centre of the ancient world. Its author was a follower of 'the Way' and likely an eyewitness of the ministry of Jesus. The Good News according to Mark relies on the recollections of the apostle Peter and was the pioneering prototype of the New Testament Gospels.In this accessible guide to the shortest and oldest of the Gospels in the New Testament, Patrick Whitworth explores some of the key texts and themes of the Gospel of Mark. From the outset, Marks Gospel proclaims Jesus as the Messiah (Christ) and Son of God and centres on Jesus's announcement of the God's kingdom. It is this kingdom that is at the heart of Jesus's ministry and passion and entrances Mark. Breath-taking in style, vivid in content, powerful in concept, the Gospel of Mark makes known Jesus of Galilee in a way which is ever fresh and ever challenging to the ways of the world and self-centred human life; and calls for a response of repentance, conversion and faith.

The local church holds a special place in the imagination of many people, whether or not they attend it regularly. Drawing on theology, literature, art, philosophy, popular culture and personal experience, priest and writer Tim Gibson uncovers its significance, arguing that churches play an important role in local communities and in the life of the nation, keeping faith alive for the whole population.In a deeply personal essay, Gibson tells the story of the church through the lens of his experiences in a variety of places, including Westminster Abbey, Holy Trinity Geneva and his home parishes in Sussex and rural Somerset. His imagining is at once faithful to tradition and optimistic about the future.Gibson's aim is simple: to identify the importance of the local church as a focus of faith and becoming in the national imagination. Considering themes such as time, place, identity and glory, he demonstrates how local church communities help us make sense of what it is to be human.Following the spirit of Anglican writers such as CS Lewis and Michael Mayne, Imagining the Church will delight and inspire anyone with a love of their local church or an interest in ministry and mission, while posing thoughtful questions about the role of the church and faith in contemporary society.

What happens when everything you thought you knew about your family turns out to be a lie?Joy and Felicity have always been like chalk and cheese. Self-sufficient and practical, Joy was a war baby who was forced to stand on her own two feet at a very young age. Her younger sister Felicity is the cosseted darling of the family. Highly musical and doted on by her father, Felicity looks set for a career as a singer until disaster compels her to choose a very different path.Now their mother is dying. And there are secrets buried deep in the past. Will the truth finally set them free? As the sisters meet at her bedside to say goodbye, they discover a bond that runs far deeper than either of them ever imagined.

The Spring of Hope is a collection of sermons and reflections for a variety of occasions throughout the Christian year. Many of these were originally preached as part of online worship during the time of national lockdown in 2020. Douglas Dales invites readers to embark on their Christian journey in the company of saints and church fathers, and to find there new hope and courage for their lives as disciples of Christ in the twenty-first century.

Although science is almost ubiquitous in the modern world, for many Christians there is a gap between science and their faith. In this book, the authors explore a number of subjects such as creation, evolution, cosmology, climate change and pandemics, and show how science and faith can mutually enrich each other and can be incorporated, confidently and healthily, into an orthodox Christian worldview.