On Preaching is not another book about what to preach from the pulpit. It's a book about how to be heard - a book to put the heart into preaching. In an age when people resist being "preached at," when attention is fractured and trust is fragile, the spoken word still has extraordinary power - if we learn how to use it well.This book is about the craft of preaching: how listeners receive meaning, how delivery shapes understanding, and how the smallest choi...

This book explores God through the eyes of a skateboarder, using stories from the world of skateboarding to explain who God is and what God's like. When a skater first learns to street skate, pop an ollie, or ride a ramp, there is a buzz of excitement! It's the thrill of riding a skateboard joined with the fun of learning a new trick. There's a similar thrill when someone begins a relationship with God. Each step into faith can brings fun and joy, like learning a new trick. Life's journey ...

'In less than seventy words, Jesus gives us a prayer to learn by heart and a prayer to get inside our hearts, shaping the way we live.'This book is for beginners of all ages: Whether you know this simple prayer already, or this is your first encounter, be inspired to learn more about how and why we pray these words in this simple guide.Each phrase and page is illustrated with original lino print artworks from Jack Seymour

As you explore the Christian faith, you will soon encounter some challenging words: Trinity, Sacrament, Reconciliation, Sin, Incarnation, even the word 'Christ' itself. It isn't Jesus's surname! It is a title with a meaning and history.Sooner, or later, these words, and the ideas behind them, must be addressed and understood. It is simply not possible to be a Christian without understanding sin and forgiveness, knowing what a sacrament is, or accepting Jesus as the Christ.T...

Peter Atkinson has made a highly distinguished and much respected contribution to the Church of England—the last principal of Chichester Theological College and the dean of Worcester for 16 years. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the ablest preachers of his generation.To mark his retirement and honour his ministry, this volume distils the very best of his sermons for the lasting benefit of the Church as a whole.Drawn from over 25 years of ministry, the collection comb...

This volume brings together leading voices from the new wave of research on musical instruments to consider how we can connect the material aspects of instruments with their social function, approaches that have been otherwise too frequently separated in musical scholarship.Shaping Sound and Society: The Cultural Study of Musical Instruments locates the instruments at the centre of cultural interactions. With contributions from ten scholars spanning a variety of methodolog...

In the Gospel of Mark's account of the Passion narrative, Jesus calls out from the cross 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which is the Aramaic for 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' - the first line of Psalm 22. It's an anguished expression - traditionally ascribed to King David - of defeat, failure, abandonment and despair.This series of reflections, written for Lent and Holy Week 2023 by the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, ponders the significance of these w...

Ethnomusicology and its Intimacies situates intimacy, a concept that encompasses a wide range of often informal social practices and processes for building closeness and relationality, within the ethnomusicological study of music and sound. These scholarly essays reflect on a range of interactions between individuals and communities that deepen connections and associations, and which may be played out relatively briefly or nurtured over time.Three major sections on Perform...

'Stephen Cottrell writes about Christ as if he were here now. As if redemption were possible for all of us, as if the void that threatens to engulf us all could be filled by a personal relationship with Christ in the present. He is a compelling writer.' - Russell BrandInspired by a conversation with a barista who asked him why he became a priest, this is the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell's extended answer to that question - as well as the letter he'd...

The follow-up to the author's highly successful The Things He Carried, this book takes the post-resurrection sayings of Jesus as starting-points and uses the same reflection format.The meaning and significance of the resurrection, how it was first communicated and how it is communicated to us today, are explored by piecing together these sayings of Jesus.However, the content may not quite be what we imagine. Following the resurrection, we would expect the t...

'A movingly personal book ... the fruit of much deeply meditated sharing of the good news with people of all sorts. Reading it is a real discovery of the fresh waters of faith.' - from the foreword by Rowan Williams'After this, when Jesus knew that all now was finished, he said, "I am thirsty."'Jesus' words from the cross - a picture of God sharing the world's suffering, experiencing our humanity - can be a window onto God's purposes, leading to a ...

Congregations are often confused or uninspired by the emphasis on Old Testament themes during Advent and too “over� Christmas by December 26 to pay much attention to the gospel stories that follow Jesus' birth. Walking Backwards to Christmas starts at the end of the story, with Jesus' presentation to Anna and Simeon at the temple, and moves backwards through Herod's slaughter of the innocents, the wise men's visit, Jesus' birth in a stable, Mary's pregnancy, and finally to the...