Wikio - Top Blogs - Religion and belief

Saturday, 7 August 2021

Review - Finding Abundance in Scarcity

 

Philip Welsh has reviewed 'Finding Abundance in Scarcity: Steps Towards Church Transformation - A HeartEdge Handbook' in the latest edition of Church Times:

'this lively account of the response from St Martin-in-the-Fields over the first months of the pandemic provides plenty of pastoral and theological food for thought to take up as the story moves on.'

This new book from Canterbury Press includes contributions from myself and others at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

The publisher's description is as follows:

'All churches have had to learn to do things differently during closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. None has been more imaginative or inventive than London's St Martin-in-the-Fields. Through its HeartEdge programmes, it has continued many aspects of its ministry, and developed significant new initiatives and is now a virtual college with an impressively varied programme for practitioners.

Here the St Martin's team reflects theologically and shares its newly found pastoral and practical wisdom in many areas:

Finding God in Lockdown
Meeting God and One Another Online
Rediscovering Contemplative Prayer
Facing Grief amidst Separation
Preaching at Such a Time as This
Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Time
Hearing Scripture Together in Difficult Times
Praying through Crisis
Creating a Community of Practitioners
Finding Faith at Home
Conclusion: A Strategy for Transformation

Contributors are all on the staff at St Martin's and key figures in HeartEdge: Sam Wells, Richard Carter, Sally Hitchiner, Fiona MacMillan, Jonathan Evens and Andrew Earis.'

The book uses a similar format to our earlier Liturgy on the Edge: Pastoral and attractional worship in which I wrote about the creation of Start:Stop at St Stephen Walbrook.

Both books can be bought from the online shop at St Martin-in-the-Fields, as can my own The Secret Chord, an exploration of what makes a moment in a 'performance' timeless and special, co-authored with Peter Banks.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Switchfoot - Meant To Live.

No comments: