One of the great advantages of living in Salisbury is the availability of a well-run mainstream cinema. Friends will know that I enjoy a regular visit to the big screen. Like you I am sometimes captivated by the trailer but in the end disappointed by the film! Last night rath
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, h
A Christmas Reflection 2016
Posted on by James Woodward
The Christmas story contains so much. Angels, animals, shepherds, an unmarried mother and an older father, people filled with expectation, hopeful, but also consumed with political cynicism. It is all in the story – and if you pause to think about some of the story of 2016 –
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 mo
Better Disagreement? Public Debate and Dialogue
Posted on by James Woodward
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
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
Amazing Love : Theology for understanding Discipleship, Sexuality and Mission
Posted on by James Woodward
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
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 b
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-bein
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
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
Understanding Spiritual Accompaniment
Posted on by James Woodward
Spiritual Accompaniment and Counselling: Journeying with psyche and soul
Edited by Peter Masden Gubi
Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2015 paperback 192 pages £16.99
Here at Sarum College (www.sarum.ac.uk) our two year certificate in spiritual direction is very popular t
Loving Later Life An Ethics of Ageing
Posted on by James Woodward
Loving Later Life An Ethics of Ageing
Frits de Lange Eerdmans, 2015, 169 pages, pbk, £12.99
If asked to name one of the urgent ethical priorities for academics and practioners working across a number of sectors it would be to deal with this question ‘what are older people
Going Deeper for Truth and Freedom
Posted on by James Woodward
A Sermon preached at Westminster Abbey
on Sunday 25th September 2016 at Evensong
(John 8, 31- 38,48 – end)
John 8;32,33 ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’
If you visit Birm
Spiritual Care: luxury or necessity?
Posted on by James Woodward
Spiritual Care in Practice : Case studies in Healthcare Chaplaincy
Edited by George Fitchett and Steve Nolan
Paperback 2015, 320pp, ISBN: 978-1-84905-976-3
It seems as if English bank holiday weekends bring out the some of the more gloomy of stories in our newspapers.
Nurturing Imagination ?
Posted on by James Woodward
Here at Sarum College our aspirational strapline is Learning to nourish the human spirit ( see something of our work at www.sarum.ac.uk) and as I complete the first year of my presence, engagement and leadership of the College I have been much intrigued about what it is that
Andrew Walker, Notes From A Wayward Son: A Miscellany
Posted on by James Woodward
Andrew Walker, Notes From A Wayward Son: A Miscellany,
ed. by Andrew D. Kinsey (Cascade, 2015)
This is an intriguing, stimulating and rewarding book that offers a space within which Andrew Walkers rather original and distinctive voice can be heard. Some will know Walker thro
How Do We Access the Spiritual?
Posted on by James Woodward
How Do We Access The Spiritual
Edited by Jonathan Pye, Peter Sedgwick and Andrew Todd, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2015; 280 pages; £19.99
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
Longing for a deeper Church ?
Posted on by James Woodward
Andrew Walker, Notes From A Wayward Son: A Miscellany, ed. by Andrew D. Kinsey (Cascade, 2015), 322pp. no price marked. ISBN 978 – 1– 62564 – 161 – 8.
This is an intriguing, stimulating and rewarding book that offers a space within which Andrew Walkers rather orig
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