A former parish priest offers a provocative examination of the contemporary Church of England—an institution in crisis—in this controversial book.Dire Sunday services, shrinking congregations and financial meltdown are the realities of today's Church of England. In Last Rites, Michael Hampson, who worked as a parish priest for thirteen years, examines why this centuries-old institution is in such crisis. He describes a church divided between liberals and e...

Dire Sunday services, shrinking congregations and financial meltdown are the realities of the contemporary Church of England. In this controversial book, Michael Hampson, who worked as a parish priest for thirteen years, examines why the Church of England is in such crisis. He describes a church irreconcilably divided between liberals and evangelicals, shackled by tradition and with little resonance for the laity of modern Britain. He locates the roots of its demise in its history, from th...

The addresses that Rowan Williams has given in Canterbury Cathedral for Christmas and Easter are small masterpieces of this kind. They constitute part of Rowan Williams' essential legacy to Christian believers.With a new introduction by Dr Williams, this is the first time these pieces have appeared in print. Perfect reading material for Lent or Advent.

After reading Man Visible and Invisible students have sometimes remarked that the list of qualities there given seems incomplete, and that nothing is said as to some others which are at least equally common , such for example as courage, dignity, cheerfulness, truthfulness, loyalty...

Where You Go, I Shall is a book that was born of experience and need. The authors, two of whom are widows and the third an Episcopal priest, were participants in a monthly support group for widows and discovered that many of the Bible's remarkable women-Mary, Ruth, Naomi, Abigail, Anna, Tamar, Judith, and some who are unnamed-are widows. In this book, they tell and reflect upon the biblical stories, offering background for greater understanding, and the two authors who are themsel...

In this volume of The New Church's Teaching Series, Stephen Holmgren introduces us to the world of Anglican ethics and moral theology. He focuses on questions all people of faith must ask: How will I keep my baptismal promises? How am I meant to live “after Easter?”In developing a distinctively Anglican approach to ethics, with its emphasis on holiness, sanctification, and the need for spiritual disciplines, Holmgren identifies clear axioms for Anglican moral theology and the ethos...

This classic guide helps servers to perform with confidence and reverence, allowing the liturgy to unfold in a smooth and prayerful manner. A glossary of words and objects accompanies illustrations of vessels, linens, altar preparation, vestments, posture symbols, and examples of processions. Also contains easy-to-draw symbols that servers can use to make a diagram of their sanctuary's layout for study and practice.

John Bunyan (28 November 1628 31 August 1688) was an English Christian writer and preacher, famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he was a Reformed Baptist, in the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on August 29. As his popularity and notoriety grew, Bunyan increasingly became a target for slander and libel; he was described as "a witch, a Jesuit, a highwayman" and was said to have m...

The variety and depth of Anglican theology is best engaged through personal encounter with its many sources - the theologians and theological witnesses themselves. Anglican theology is often worked out in personal terms that provide a synthesis between reflection on the truths of faith and the particular contexts of culture and life. This book presents modern Anglican theology through a unique ’gallery’. This theological gallery includes a portrait or sketch of ten Anglican writers - DuBos...

Missionary of Reconciliation: The Role of the Doctrine of Reconciliation in the Preaching of Festo Kivengere of Uganda, 1971–1988 Alfred Olwa (Sydney, Australia) In the period 1971–1988, the Christian doctrine of reconciliation was central to Festo Kivengere’s preaching in Uganda and beyond. This doctrine so gripped Kivengere that it shaped his attitude to life, to others, and even to his enemies. He exhorted his audiences to be reconciled with God and then with their fellow human beings, ...

The diversity of opinions which were held by Anglicans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was, ideally, the ingredients of a unifying comprehensiveness. In fact, it was invariably the cause of unhappy and tense divisions, which gradually became institutionalised in respectable political organisations: the circumspection of churchmen towards “party” was replaced by a conviction that while factiousness was un-Christian, political societies were natural and, indeed, essentia...

Christianity: The Basics is a compelling introduction to both the central pillars of the Christian faith and the rich and varied history of this most global of global religions. This book traces the development of Christianity through an exploration of some of the key beliefs, practices and emotions which have been recurrent symbols through the centuries:Christ, the kingdom of heaven and sinBaptism, Eucharist and prayerJoy, divine union and self d...