Belonging without Barriers: Building accessible Christian community by Triona Brading, Lois Bunyan, and Claire Wood (BRF, £14.99 (£13.49); 978-1-80039-420-9)
“Brading, Bunyan, and Wood begin by exploring the theological basis for this vision, aiming to inspire the reader with God’s love for the weak and marginalised in society. They then move into a practical section outlining a range of different experiences we are likely to encounter, including autism, learning disabilities, and physical disabilities. Each chapter contains up-to-date research, personal accounts, interviews, and a range of specific, actionable ideas, including changes that any individual within the church could make. This book shares a vision not just for inclusion, but for full integration and belonging for those with additional needs. Throughout, the emphasis is that this is an ‘every believer ministry’ as we all grow in love together as Christ’s disciples wherever he has put us.”
Middling: What Jesus said about perspective, being between things and not yet knowing stuff by Emma Ineson (SPCK, £12.99 (£11.69); 978-0-281-09135-5)
“From St Augustine to Shakespeare, and from the wisdom of Scripture to the example of Jesus himself, many of our greatest voices have praised the virtue of moderation. In Middling, Emma invites readers to rediscover the creative, faithful power of living in the middle. The middle is where most of us spend much of our lives – between certainty and doubt, conviction and compassion, what has been lost and what is yet to be found. Yet we are often taught to apologise for this space, to rush toward extremes or easy answers. Middling challenges that assumption, revealing the middle as a place of integrity, nuance, and deep humanity. Drawing on her experience as a bishop, Emma reflects on the difficult questions faced by leaders and disciples alike: when to speak, when to remain silent, and how to hold tension without losing hope.”
Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the age of disenchantment by Charles Taylor (Belknap Press, £24.95 (£22.45); 978-0-674-30359-1). New in paperback
“In seeking understanding and a new orientation to life, the language of poetry is not merely a pleasurable presentation of doctrines already elaborated elsewhere. Rather, Taylor insists, poetry persuades us through the experience of connection. The resulting conviction is very different from that gained through the force of argument. Poetry’s reasoning will often be incomplete, tentative, and enigmatic. But at the same time, its insight is too moving—too obviously true—to be ignored.”
Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.
