One would certainly be Mitch Albom’s extraordinary The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Hyperion Books, 2003). The story of Eddie, an 85-year-old maintenance engineer in a seaside amusement park, it opens with his heroic act of throwing himself towards a free-falling rollercoaster cart to which a small girl is clinging. It is only much later that we discover whether or not the girl survived and in the meantime we accompany Eddie on his journey through heaven, as he meets people who help him to interpret his own life in new and sometimes startling ways. Of course Eddie’s journey to a certain extent becomes ours, as we search our own souls in response to Eddie’s exploration of meaning and love.

Kate Clanchy’s Newborn (Picador, 2005) is a collection of poetry reflecting on how new parenthood opens our eyes to the world in a different way. The poems are variously poignant, marvelling, wistful and charged with a deep, exquisite joy. In the shock and wonder of early motherhood my soul was shaped by the clarity of Clanchy’s thought and the resonances that I found in many of the poems.

More recently, Richard Rohr’s Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (Jossey-Bass, 2011 and SPCK, forthcoming) has pressed me to delve deep into my soul as I continue my internal ‘mid-life conversation’. Rohr explores the idea that our lives are a game of two halves, the first half all about building, establishing and constructing the container that will hold who we are, and the second in which we answer the questions ‘For what have I been preparing? What do I really want to do now?’ For mid-lifers, this is a deeply energising and affirming book, setting us up to live the second half deeply and well!

Short stories can offer focused and intense shafts of light, making unexpected connections with our soul’s questions and longings in just a few pages. Two collections by Helen Simpson, Hey Yeah Right Get a Life (Jonathan Cape, 2000) and Constitutional (London, Jonathan Cape, 2005), have made me think and re-think the nature of love, death, pregnancy, grief, healing and memory.

RM Lamming’s As in Eden (Faber and Faber, 2005) retells a series of biblical stories from the perspective of the female characters involved: Eve, Hagar, Pharaoh’s Daughter, Martha, Claudia Procula and others. Profound emotional insight and beautiful prose characterise this collection, which through an overarching sweep of biblical history offers many profound, intimate and personal insights. A book into which I found myself irresistibly drawn, fascinated by what I could learn from Lamming and the women whose stories she unfolds.

Rosemary Lain-Priestley is Dean of Women’s Ministry in Central London. Her most recent SPCK title is Does my Soul Look Big in This?

On Wednesday 9th at 1.30 p.m. in the Gold Cup Room, the Bishop of Oxford the Rt Revd John Pritchard will be giving a seminar on the topic of Losing and Finding God, that ties in with his book, God Lost and Found, published by SPCK in 2011. All are very welcome.

All week at 3.30 p.m. in the Churches for All Zone, our new authors Gordon Temple and Lin Ball will be holding events and talks about their new book, Enabling Church, a resource to help people get to grips with what the Bible says about disability.

They will host an official launch for the book on Thursday 10th May at 3 p.m. in the Zone and will be accompanied by Jeff Lucas. There will be the opportunity to purchase the book at the special launch price of £7.

We hope to see you there!

What is Theology and how long has it been in existence?

Theology is one of the longest running theological journals in any language. It began in 1920, an initiative by SPCK to help to promote theological reflection in the Church. SPCK dates from the late seventeenth century and has, throughout that long history, rethought how, in each generation, it can fulfil its core task, which is to promote Christian knowledge.

SPCK is rooted in the broad traditions of Anglican Church but Theology is an ecumenical journal that aims to host a wide range of theological thinking.  Over the years, Theology has played an important role in the churches, under such distinguished editors as Alec Vidler and Ann Loades.

Most journals are quite specialist, and have correspondingly narrow fields that they deal with. Theology is unusually broad in the topics it handles, which include biblical study, church history, historical and systematic (or dogmatic) theology, Anglican studies, missiology, social scientific study of Christianity and pastoral theology. As editor I am therefore constantly being taken outside my ‘comfort zone’ into areas I haven’t given much thought to. Consequently I’ve learned a huge amount from editing the journal, from both new and established scholars.

Theology sells in hard copy in about 40 countries around the world and that now that it is accessible online (at http://online.sagepub.com/) it can be read wherever there is internet access.

What do you think is the role of the journal?

Theology has, I think, three ‘unique selling points’.

The first I’ve mentioned already: Theology has relatively broad interests. The second follows from the first. It is that, though it aims to meet the highest standards with respect to quality and scholarship, Theology serves readers who are not specialists in all of the areas we cover and who therefore need the content to be accessible and readable. Finally Theology aims to bridge between what’s going on in the churches and what’s going on in academic institutions in such a way as to facilitate intelligent conversation between them.

In my own view and for a variety of reasons, the challenges facing churches today do not shape the agenda of theology as much as they should. On the other hand, people in churches are less and less aware of work done in academic theology and benefit correspondingly less from the important contribution of theological thinking to the Christian life. Ideally, Theology makes a small contribution to filling gaps like these.

What feedback do you get as editor?

When readers feed back to us their views – about changes in presentation, about the overall direction of the journal, about the balance between reviews and articles, or about particular articles, it is always helpful. On at least two occasions in the past year, reader comments have resulted in a change of approach in a subsequent issue. On another occasion a reader’s comments led me to write an editorial in response. The more such comments the better.

In your view, what role does the discipline of theology have in the Church today?

The role of theology as a discipline in the life of the Church will, obviously, vary – sometimes subtly, sometimes quite significantly – in each of the contexts it is read in.

With this caveat in mind, I can make two comments somewhat in tension with each other. The first is that the role of theology in the life of the Church today is what it has always been. It is to reason about God and, by extension, to reason about God’s dealings with the world. For me personally and, I would think, for many (probably most) of those writing for the journal, Anselm’s famous definition of theology as ‘faith seeking understanding’ would also be true – that is, theology is a disciplined reasoning that proceeds from a commitment to Christian faith. Christian theology then tries to think creatively from and with the Christian Scriptures, and traditions of their interpretation within the Church, about God and about the Christian life.

Secondly, though the role of theology today is indeed what it always has been, some of the challenges Christians face today are different in kind, or scale, to what Christians have faced through most of their history. However they are understood, the complex processes termed globalisation and secularisation, are very significant. Environmental change and economic crises present further challenges. Theologians have a particular role in pushing the Church to reinterpret traditions in response to changing conditions, not making it up as they go along, but being both disciplined and creative. In my own ‘neck of the woods’, in the UK, I am not persuaded that the Churches are nearly as aware as they should be of the importance of nurturing theologians and theology, and of listening to God in their thinking.  I wonder sometimes if those outside the Churches more genuinely curious about Christian theology than those inside.

How do you see the future of the journal?

As already mentioned, we have recently moved to an online version of the journal.  Possibilities for the future include making more use of new communications media to make the journal more interactive, with discussion of articles, and some additional content published only online.

We are always open to suggestions about where the journal might go and how it might be improved.

Stephen Plant is Dean, Runcie Fellow and Director of Studies in Theology and Religious Studies at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and an Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Divinity. He has worked in local ministry in Hammersmith and in Harpenden, as Europe Secretary of the Methodist Church, as a lecturer in the Cambridge Theological Federation and as a Lecturer in Theology at the University of Durham.  He has written or edited several books on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Simone Weil, and is currently writing on theology and international development.

The launch took place in the Crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Central London, where Rosemary was formerly the Associate Vicar. Guests were treated to wine and refreshments and she gave an enlightening talk about the book.

It was a lovely evening and our sincerest congratulations to Rosemary.

What’s your leadership style?

The following six leadership paradigms are ones that I have found operating in church life. In my view, the most popular ones operating within the church today are the Monarch and the Warrior. They both deliver real benefits but carry within them the seeds and dynamics of dysfunction. The next four are what we might call ‘minority paradigms’, which offer more hope for the Church and for those disciples seeking to offer leadership in the world beyond the walls of the church building. For each paradigm, I’ve given an example of a person, whether real or fictional, who exemplifies this style.

The Monarch

The world is full of monarchs, so a good one would understand the regressive tendencies of dependency and work with them. They would be loved but not idolised, trusted but not indulged.  They would hold boundaries quietly and compassionately. A church led by a monarch is strong and steady.

As my example I am going to go for St Benedict, though for his rule rather than his life.

The Warrior

There are so many Warriors leading others in their fight against evil or injustice.  At the same time they exhibit a kind of warmth of humanity and spirit that makes you willing to do anything they ask.  (That’s also the danger, of course). A church led by a Warrior is full of energy.

As my example I am going to go for the minister in the church where I grew up, Edmund Heddle.  He was brought up as an evangelical, and was inspired by the early flush of the charismatic movement, yet flavoured with the deep psychological understanding shaped by his friendship with Leslie Weatherhead.

The Elder

I think going for a single person is hardly right as Elders always come in communities and councils, so I want to go for those tribal leaders I met on my first journey to Canada.  They were prayerful, patient, and willing to wait and talk and chew the fat until consensus was reached and all were content.

If I were to choose a single person then the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers springs to mind.  His thoughts on what he had learned in his life are seminal signposts for an Elder leadership style.  A church led by elders is full of wisdom.

The Servant

Apart from Jesus of course, it has to be Leo, the servant in the Hermann Hesse novel Journey to the East.  This was the book that inspired Robert Greenleaf to write his first essay on servant leadership.  Those of you familiar with the book (and it is only 90 pages) know that Leo keeps the group of pilgrims together without any of them realising it.  However, when he disappears the pilgrimage grinds to a dismal failure.

The true servant will have nurtured the pilgrims so they could manage on their own without him and without realising what he had done for them.  A church led by a Servant will have leaders all over the place.

The Prophet

I want to choose Dan Berrigan, whose book America is Hard to Find was very important to me.  Berrigan was a Jesuit priest who broke into American army bases where the draft papers for the Vietnam war conscripts were held.  He burned them with napalm, and celebrated the mass.  He went on the run and was eventually sent to prison.

A church led by a Prophet can look like one led by a Warrior, except that no one will expect success!

The Contemplative

Thomas Merton springs to mind as an example of this style, as does Henri Nouwen.  The Contemplative leaves behind all the seductions of the world to search for that single pearl of great price, that ephemeral moment of unity with God with an intimacy that transcends all other experience.

A church led by a Contemplative will not look for success or relevance but a quality of love shaped in prayer.

The Fair will run from Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 April and you can find us on stand E625 in Earls Court 1.

For more information on the Fair, you can visit their website here.

Liturgies for High Days – Easter Sunday

photo: Ben Mizen

Why Confirmation is brilliant!

The Confirmation service is an amazing opportunity for young people to make a stand for their faith, and an exciting way for them to enter into full adult membership of the church.

There are lots of ways that we can help young people get the most out of this experience: we can invest in memorable, life-changing preparation and we can plan and run a service that will stick in their minds. We can follow the service up with a great party, and we can make sure that they know that being confirmed opens up all manner of opportunities for joining in the serving and leading in church.

The start of a journey, not the end

It’s vital to remember that confirmation is part of a young person’s discipleship journey, another step on ‘the way’. Sadly lots of young people feel that their confirmation was somehow the end of a process; they’ve been through a preparation course, and once the service finishes it can feel like it’s all finished. It’s why it’s so important to give young people every opportunity to turn the confirmation experience into something that will have an impact on the rest of their lives.

At the heart of the service, the Bishop has an opportunity to commission confirmands with these words:

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,

in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

Will you persevere in resisting evil,

and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

Will you proclaim by word and example

the good news of God in Christ?

Will you seek and serve Christ in all people,

loving your neighbour as yourself?

Will you acknowledge Christ’s authority over human society,

by prayer for the world and its leaders, by defending the weak,

and by seeking peace and justice?

May Christ dwell in your heart(s) through faith,

that you may be rooted and grounded in love

and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.

Amen.

To each of these solemn promises the confirmands will reply ‘I will’, or some bishops get the young people to answer corporately with the words ‘we will’, emphasising the importance of the community that they are being confirmed into.

Living it out

It seems to me that good confirmation preparation will prepare the young people to live out those promises long after the service has finished. I am currently preparing a group of young people for their confirmation and as well as addressing some of the big questions that life will throw at these teenagers, we are also studying these promises and asking what it might mean to fulfil them.

In Living Your Confirmation we wanted to give young people a structure on which to put their confirmation promises into action. Each chapter begins with Paul Butler, Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, explaining why the particular promise is in the service. Bishop Paul has confirmed hundreds of young people over the years, and his enjoyment of the confirmation service and his passion for the young people he is confirming hasn’t dwindled. His introductions give each chapter a strong foundation, and remind the young people of what they promised.

It’s really helpful for young people to see that the confirmation service is grounded in Scripture rather than simply an odd, man-made service, and a good excuse for a party. So each chapter continues with an opener, a biblical and practical reflection on each promise. The openers are a mixture of stories of young people’s discipleship experiences, my experiences as a youth worker or simply bible stories retold and reflected upon.

The chapters all conclude with two sections helping young people put the theory into practice.

The reflect section helps a young person find ways to explore the promise as part of their personal spiritual discipline. Drawing on ancient prayer practices, as well as entirely original ideas, the reflect section is a great way for anyone to add some variety to their usual routine, and will help young people develop a rich and varied prayer and study life. So young people can expect to try out lectio divina as they explore the apostles teaching, or to think about having a go at an awareness examen when rising to the challenge of resisting evil. More contemporary ideas include using your computer to create pictures of the friends you’d like to share the good news with.

The react section is far more practical and gives young people the opportunity to put their promises into action. Whether it’s coming up with ideas for indiscriminate acts of kindness, strapping on the armour of God whilst listening to movie battle music or starting a campaign about a subject you’re passionate about you’re bound to find something that will stir you up to action.

Above all else Living Your Confirmation seeks to be honest. It isn’t another ‘be a good Christian like me and it will all be OK’ kind of book. Rather, it encourages questions, doubts and exploration. It  also suggests that young people ask youth workers and church leaders for support and fosters engagement with a real Christian faith.

If confirmation leads young people to getting to grips with an adult faith, that expects them to serve and grow then Living Your Confirmation is an ideal resource to help them on their way.

Pete Maidment is Diocesan Youth Adviser for the Diocese of Winchester. He likes running, drinking coffee and eating. Follow him on Twitter: @maidoP