While the murder of his wife devastated Anthony Thompson, he and three other relatives of victims chose to privately and publicly forgive the shooter. Years later, the church and community still struggle to understand the family members' deliberate choice to forgive the racist murderer. But as Charlestonians have witnessed these incredible acts of forgiveness, something significant has happened to the community--black and white leaders and residents have united, coming together peaceably and even showing acts of selfless love. This book is the account of Anthony's wife's murder, the grief he experienced, and how and why he made the radical choice to forgive the killer. But beyond that, Anthony goes on to teach what forgiveness can and should look like in each of our lives--both personally, in our communities, and even in our nation. After much pain, reflection, and study, Thompson shares how true biblical love and mercy differ from the way these ideas are reflected in our culture. Be inspired by this remarkable story and discover how the difficult decision to forgive can become the key to radical change.

All are made in the image and likeness of God. If this is what we believe, then trans people, like all people, reflect something of God, and not just in the ways that they share in common with others, but also in the ways that they are different. They remind us that God is beyond all of our categories, even gender. In this book, Tara Soughers explores theology from the position of a trans ally-a parent of a trans young adult as well as priest. What does it mean about God and about humans, that there is not a strict gender binary? How can we affirm and include what we have learned about the permeability of boundaries to affirm those whose path does not follow traditional cultural stereotypes, and how might the broadening help us to understand the God who is never two for Christians, but both one and three? What gifts does this broader understanding bring to the church?

Ambassadors of Christ commemorates 150 years of theological education in Cuddesdon with a collection of substantial essays. It begins with a discussion by Mark Chapman of the revival of theology and education in the early years of the nineteenth century. This is followed by essays by Alastair Redfern on Samuel Wilberforce as a pastoral theologian and a revision by Andrew Atherstone of Owen Chadwick's Centenary History in the light of more recent historical research, bringing the discussion up to the 1880s. For the first time, Ripon Hall, which merged with Cuddesdon in 1975, receives a thorough and detailed historical treatment by Michael Brierley. Mark Chapman then discusses the 1960s under Robert Runcie, and a final chapter by Robert Jeffery deals with the theological and churchmanship issues which emerged from the merger. Two marvellous sermons preached at College Festivals by Michael Ramsey and Owen Chadwick are also reproduced in appendices. This special commemorative volume will appeal to past and present students as well as specialists in nineteenth and twentieth-century church history and all those interested in ministerial education and spiritual formation. A

Anglican Church School Education explores the contribution of church schools and considers how they might contribute to education in the future to allow for a better standard of understanding of church schools. Drawing together some of the leading writers and thinkers in church school education, this volume is divided into five parts: The Historical StoryCurrent Policy and Philosophy Reflection on Current Practice Instrumental in Shaping the Future Reflections and Recommendations This unique collection celebrates past achievements and informs the future engagement of the Church in education.

Richard Greenham was one of the most important and respected figures among the Elizabethan clergy. His contemporaries described him as the founder of a previously unknown pastoral art: the cure of cases of conscience. Despite his fame in the Elizabethan period as a model pastor, pioneer in reformed casuistry, and founder of one of the first rectory seminaries, scholars have made little use of his life and works in their study of Elizabethan religious life. This study restores Richard Greenham to the central place he held in the development of Elizabethan Reformed parochial ministry. The monograph-length introduction includes a biography, an analysis of his pastoral style, and a study of his approach to curing cases of conscience. The transcription of Rylands English Manuscript 524, cross-referenced with the published editions of the sayings, offers a useful source to scholars who wish to study the collecting and 'framing' process of the humanist pedagogical tradition. The selection of early published works includes Greenham's (unfinished) catechism, treatises on the Sabbath and marriage, and advice on reading scripture and educating children.

This book describes in detail the ways in which the life of the Church of England is affected by law. It deals with a great many topics including canonical jurisprudence, ecclesiastical government, the ministry of clergy and laity, faith, doctrine and liturgy, the churches' rites and the management of property and finance. Each of these subjects is studied and analyzed critically and where appropriate comparisons are made with the Roman Catholic Church.
Five general themes emerge: first is the degree to which the church can be said to be regulated; the second concerns the increasingly important use of administrative rules created executively at national and diocesian level to supplement the churches formal law; the third examines the relationship between the formal law and the pastoral values of clarity, certainty and flexibility; the fourth theme is the applicability of secular law; the final theme is the comparison with the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus the book provides for the first time a comprehensive, descriptive and critical analysis of the legal framework of the Church of England and the regulatory instruments which operate within this framework.

Published to mark the 25th anniversary of Terry Waite's release from captivity in November 1991

ECPA Christian Book of the Year Christianity Today Book of the Year Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist IVP Readers' Choice Award How can we trust God in the dark? Framed around a nighttime prayer of Compline, Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary, explores themes of human vulnerability, suffering, and God's seeming absence. When she navigated a time of doubt and loss, the prayer was grounding for her. She writes that practices of prayer "gave words to my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter the doctrines of the church not as tidy little antidotes for pain, but as a light in darkness, as good news." Where do we find comfort when we lie awake worrying or weeping in the night? This book offers a prayerful and frank approach to the difficulties in our ordinary lives at work, at home, and in a world filled with uncertainty.

This volume completes the edition of the two earliest manuscript Chapter Act books of Westminster Abbey, which is now the first cathedral or collegiate church to have all its Chapter Acts fully in print from the Reformation to the Civil War. It records the formal decisions of the Abbey's governing authority, many involving grants of office and leases of the Abbey's large and widely-scattered estate, principally in the midlands and the south-east, and especially in Westminster itself. A full introduction brings out the value of the documents in placing the Abbey in the tumultuous history of the church under James I and Charles I.

'The publication of this book is an important event as much for literature as it is for theology.' - T.S. Eliot The seventeenth century was an era of unparalleled brilliance in English life and literature. Many of the greatest figures of the century contributed to the religious debates of the era: poets like John Donne, George Herbert and Thomas Traherne; scientists like Isaac Barrow, Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton; theologians like Lancelot Andrewes, Richard Hooker and the Cambridge Platonists; lawyers like Francis Bacon and John Selden; literary figures like Thomas Browne, John Evelyn and Izaak Walton. Anglicanism is an authoritative collection of passages from the writers of the seventeenth-century, illustrating the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England. First published in 1935, this classic volume provides a rich anthology of theological writing from the golden age of English literature. Its importance is the greater since England did not produce at any time a single theologian to whom appeal can be made for a final sentence in disputed questions, such as Aquinas or Calvin. Anglicanism brings together in a single volume the most important English writing on religion from a period of unparalled brilliance. Paul Elmer More was the outstanding American literary critic of his generation. He was editor of 'The Nation' and wrote many books, of which the best known is The Greek Tradition. F.L. Cross was Lady Margaret Professor of Theology at Oxford and Canon of Christ Church Cathedral. He founded the Oxford Patristics Conference and edited the 'Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'.

Nathaniel Woodard founded an educational system 'firmly grounded in the Christian faith', and the establishment in 1874 of the first Woodard girls' school lies at the heart of his legacy. However, the role of one remarkable woman in securing this legacy has until now been obscured. Eliza Lowe and the Founding of Woodard Schools for Girls is her untold story. Drawing on scholarly articles, newspaper reports, letters from pupils, census records, and local and family archival material, Thompson describes life in Eliza Lowe's school, from swimming in the sea to politics at breakfast and competitions for an 'amiability' prize. While discussions of Nathaniel Woodard and 19th-century girls' education provide context, Eliza's own letters reveal a woman of wit, curiosity and humanitarian feeling. Her achievements will inspire students of women's history and girls' education, and encourage those who believe that religion enhances education, while her lasting legacy will interest both former pupils and those who continue in the Woodard tradition today.

Nathaniel Woodard founded an educational system 'firmly grounded in the Christian faith', and the establishment in 1874 of the first Woodard girls' school lies at the heart of his legacy. However, the role of one remarkable woman in securing this legacy has until now been obscured. Eliza Lowe and the Founding of Woodard Schools for Girls is her untold story. Drawing on scholarly articles, newspaper reports, letters from pupils, census records, and local and family archival material, Thompson describes life in Eliza Lowe's school, from swimming in the sea to politics at breakfast and competitions for an 'amiability' prize. While discussions of Nathaniel Woodard and 19th-century girls' education provide context, Eliza's own letters reveal a woman of wit, curiosity and humanitarian feeling. Her achievements will inspire students of women's history and girls' education, and encourage those who believe that religion enhances education, while her lasting legacy will interest both former pupils and those who continue in the Woodard tradition today.

Anyone who finds solace in the words of the Book of Common Prayer will welcome this companion to its Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, to be used at the Ministration of the Holy Communion, throughout the Year.

Written for both the lay and ordained, this thought provoking commentary gives the words of Cranmer and his colleagues renewed meaning in our own time by providing historical context for their composition and reflection on their broader message. This book provides an excellent starting point for sermons or personal contemplation on the readings and prayers that comprise the liturgical year.

Carey s exposition of the biblical readings and Prayer Book collects is careful, thorough, and informed by a well-populated theological and cultural hinterland ... I wholeheartedly commend it and recommend it to every thoughtful Christian. - The Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove, Dean of Durham (from the foreword)

Kevin Carey is the Chairman of RNIB, the UK's leading blindness charity, and a Reader in his parish church. He has been a Member of General Synod, and is a chorister, published poet, and classical music critic.

Karen Favreau is a Generation X seeker who has run the spiritual gamut. Raised Catholic, she lapsed into atheism and began a long, strange journey back to Christian faith. In Ridiculous Packaging she chronicles her trip, offering a humorous, non-preachy, and heartfelt memoir in which she attempts to decipher why a cynical, thirty-three year old atheist would open her heart and accept God s love after having spent an entire lifetime running away from him.

The theology of the leading 19th century theologian and social thinker F.D. Maurice was rooted firmly in the communal action of the Book of Common Prayer. For him the Prayer Book is the key to any understanding of Anglican ecclesiology, and also provides the grounding for his social views. His practical and traditional approach was in keeping with the general spirit of English society.

Maurice was a fearless thinker, educationalist and social reformer, who made a profound impression upon his contemporaries, but it is mainly as a man of religion that he is remembered. Maurice came to his theological beliefs only after painful inward struggle. He was more than a man of brilliant intellect - he was utterly dedicated - and his religious beliefs were ground out in the mill of his own experience. He was never afraid to look unpleasant facts in the face, and his intellectual honesty challenges modern man as much as it did his own generation. Maurice's magnum opus was The Kingdom of Christ, published in 1838, and its relevance is clear at a time when the relationship between Church and State is being discussed. One can find in these pages Maurice's eager quest for a firm foundation for his own faith, and its expression in the Anglican church. Yet his ideas transcend his churchmanship, and he is regarded as the most significant influence in the religious life and thought of England during the nineteenth century, combining prophetic witness, systematic thought, and creative endeavour, unified and inspired by the ceaseless aspiration of a life consecrated to sanctity. Not for nothing did Gladstone describe him as 'a spiritual splendour'.

The correspondence of William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645, provides revealing insights into his mind, methods and activities, especially in the 1630s, as he sought to remodel the church and the clerical estatein the three kingdoms. William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645, is a central figure in the history of seventeenth-century Britain. Laud's correspondence provides revealing insights into his mind, methods and activities, especially in the 1630s, as he sought to remodel the church and the clerical estate in the three kingdoms. The Further Correspondence of William Laud prints 223 letters, drawn from thirty-eight libraries and archives, which were not included in the nineteenth-century edition of his Works. It has real importance for our perception of Laud and the early Stuart church, greatly increasing the number of his letters for the 1620s and providing significant new information, such as the three earliest letters to his closest political ally, Thomas Wentworth, in 1630. Other correspondents include politicians such as Sir John Coke and Lord Keeper Coventry, the diplomat Sir William Boswell, numerous heads of colleges at both Oxford and Cambridge, and churchmen such as Bishops John Bridgeman of Chester and John Bramhall of Derry as well as Cyril Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople. A lengthy introduction assesses the waysin which these letters deepen our knowledge, broaden our understanding and refine our views of Laud's various roles, as chief ecclesiastical counsellor to Charles I, court politician and administrator, chancellor of Oxford University, and overseer of religious reformation in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland. An appendix lists all of Laud's correspondence in chronological order. Collectively, the letters attest to his extraordinary energy andtireless commitment to reform and point to the indelible impact that Laud made on his contemporaries. KENNETH FINCHAM is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Kent. He has written extensively on religion and politics in early modern Britain, including two monographs, Prelate as Pastor: the Episcopate of James I (1990) and, with Nicholas Tyacke, Altars Restored: the Changing Face of English Religious Worship 1547-c.1700 (2007); edited two collections of essays, The Early Stuart Church 1603-1642 (1993) and, with Peter Lake, Religious Politics in post-Reformation England (2006); and edited two volumes of Articles and Injunctions of the Early Stuart Church (1994-8) for the Church of England Record Society.

Since the early days of Christianity, martyrdom has had a particularly honoured place, and 2020 will see the Catholic Church marking the fiftieth anniversary of the canonization of 40 martyrs killed during the Reformation in England and Wales. In this powerful exploration of the significance of martyrdom today, Catherine Pepinster looks at the lives of over a dozen martyrs, past and present, to consider how ideas about giving up your life for your faith have changed over the centuries, and especially the way martyrs often become caught up in the clash between religion and politics.

Professor Rupp looks at the consequences of the Revolution of 1688, including the Toleration Act and the schism created by those who felt bound in conscience not to accept the new monarchy. He asks how the alliance between Church and State affected the Establishment, and how party politics modified its attitudes and sought to silence its independent voice. He describes the life and worship of the Churches; the survival of intolerance despite the principle of toleration; the growth of the dissenting Churches, and the predicament of the Roman Catholics.

The life journey of a woman who-as a medical doctor, missionary nun, pioneer of gender equality, Anglican priest, and now a contemplative Catholic-influenced the lives of thousands. Una Kroll is one of the most outspoken campaigners for the ordination of women. She achieved a certain notoriety in 1978 at the Church of England's General Synod when its members turned down a proposal to prepare legislation to ordain women to the priesthood. Quoting from Matthew 7:9, she shouted from the gallery "We asked you for bread and you gave us a stone." 2014 marks the 20th anniversary of the ordination of women on the Church of England and 2015 will almost certainly see the consecration of women as bishops. This celebration will both rekindle interest in the history of the movement for women's ordination and also serve to further ignite debate for the same in the Roman Catholic Church. Una Kroll told BBC radio about the campaign for the full inclusion of women into the Anglican church and her role in it. Listen again at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04p5f3c

The convocation records of the Churches of England and Ireland are the principal source of our information about the administration of those churches from middle ages until modern times. They contain the minutes of clergy synods, the legislation passed by them, tax assessments imposed by the king on the clergy, and accounts of the great debates about religious reformation; they also include records of heresy trials in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, many of them connected with the spread of Lollardy. However, they have never before been edited or published in full, and their publication as a complete set of documents provides a valuable resource for scholarship. This volume contains a full account of the convocation controversy in its first phase, making use of the act books of both the upper and the lower house, as well as of eye-witness accounts which have survived from other sources. Most of this material has never been published before or is available only in rare eighteenth-century editions which invariably reflect a partisan stance and therefore reproduce only part of the evidence. An appendix gives a complete bibliography of the controversy.

After slavery was abolished, how far would white America go toward including African Americans as full participants in the country's institutions? Conventional historical timelines mark the end of Reconstruction in the year 1877, but the Methodist Episcopal Church continued to wrestle with issues of racial inclusion for decades after political support for racial reform had receded. An 1844 schism over slavery split Methodism into northern and southern branches, but Union victory in the Civil War provided the northern Methodists with the opportunity to send missionaries and teachers into the territory that had been occupied by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. To a remarkable degree, the M.E. Church succeeded in appealing to freed slaves and white Unionists and thereby built up a biracial membership far surpassing that of any other Protestant denomination. A Long Reconstruction details the denomination's journey with unification and justice. African Americans who joined did so in a spirit of hope that through religious fellowship and cooperation they could gain respect and acceptance and ultimately assume a position of equality and brotherhood with whites. However, as segregation gradually took hold in the South, many northern Methodists evinced the same skepticism as white southerners about the fitness of African Americans for positions of authority and responsibility in an interracial setting. The African American membership was never without strong white allies who helped to sustain the Church's official stance against racial caste but, like the nation as a whole, the M.E. Church placed a growing priority on putting their broken union back together.