“We thank you for the inspiration and strength

That you have given to Madiba,

Enabling him, over so many years, to draw out the best in others,

rousing us always, by word and example,

to seek the highest good for every child of this nation.”

So prayed Archbishop Thabo Makgoba with Nelson Mandela in his home in 2009 at the request of Graca Machel. This marked the start of an unusual relationship between southern Africa’s Anglican leader and Mandela in his quietening years. Join Makgoba in his journey towards faith, from his boyhood in Alex as the son of a ZCC pastor to Bishopscourt and praying with Mandela. He shares his feelings about his pastoral approach to the world icon, and how they influenced his thinking on ministering to church and nation in the current era. What did praying with those nearest and dearest to Mandela mean? What was his spirituality? In trying to answer these questions, Makgoba opens a window on South Africa’s spiritual make-up and life.

THE INSTANTLY ICONIC NO. 1 BESTSELLER 'Devotees of Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories will feel most at home here' Guardian 'I've been waiting for a novel with vicars, rude old ladies, murder and sausage dogs... et voila!' Dawn French 'Cosy crime with a cutting edge' Telegraph 'Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice' Ian Rankin 'Charming and funny' Observer Even better than I knew it would be' India Knight 'Quintessentially English' Sunday Express 'An absolute joy' Adam Kay ''Wry, tongue-in cheek and whimsical' Daily Mail 'Glorious' Robert Webb 'Beautifully written, charming, funny, intelligent and mordant too' Sunday Times 'Pitch perfect' Philip Pullman 'A cunning whodunnit' Daily Express Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton, where he lives alongside his widowed mother - opinionated, fearless, ever-so-slightly annoying Audrey - and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda. When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in the church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village. And then Anthony Bowness - cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton - is found dead at the back of the church. As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his community together... and catch a killer.

Desmond Tutu is one of the most respected and influential leaders in South Africa and the world. From his modest beginnings in dusty townships, during the time spent as a teacher and his early days in the priesthood, to the days when he led the Anglican church in South Africa, he has consistently fought for his goal of a democratic alliance. This book tells the story of how, throughout his life, Tutu, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, has called for peace, love and brotherhood of all people. He has lived according to the principles of ubuntu: "that gift Africans have for the world, which says that a person can be a person only through other persons".

His story shows his warmth, his intelligence, his energy and his sense of humour and, above all, how he stuck to what he believed against all odds. Tutu will always be remembered as one of the great champions of humanity. Written in an entertaining style, this book draws on extensive research and interviews with Tutu himself to capture the essence of the man. They Fought for Freedom tells the life stories of southern African leaders who struggled for freedom and justice. In spite of the important roles they played in the history of southern Africa, most of these leaders have been largely ignored by the history books. The series tells their stories in an entertaining manner, in clear language and aims to restore them to their rightful place in history.

A rich and powerful exploration of desire, sin and redemption, by "our best chronicler of the rewards and pitfalls of present-day faith" [PHILIP PULLMAN] "A novel that probes any number of aggressive varieties of moralism, while testing the reader's own moral alertness for rigour, realism and generosity. An engrossing, three-dimensional, grown-up narrative." ROWAN WILLIAMS "An irresistibly readable, thoughtful and characteristically witty examination of the quandaries and compromises faced by the Church of England in an era of decline . . . I loved this book for its lightness of touch about serious subjects and for dialogue that glitters like clashing rapiers." MIRANDA SEYMOUR As a woman in the early 1980s, Clarissa Phipps is unable to pursue her vocation to the priesthood. Instead, she joins the BBC's religious affairs department, where she is sent to interview celebrated artist, Seward Wemlock, about the panels he is painting for an ancient Cheshire church. "A serious and important writer" ROSE TREMAIN Thirty years on, Clarissa, now rector of that same church, chances upon Brian, the chief bell-ringer and husband of her closest friend, fondling fifteen-year-old David. Dismissing David's claim that they are in love, Clarissa is obliged to act. Will she choose friendship or conscience, sympathy or her official duty of care? The fallout from that choice forces her to reflect on the original controversy over Wemlock's panels and her concerns about his relationship with the teenagers who modelled for Adam and Eve. Had she acted on the whispers that reached her at the time, how many lives - her own included - would have turned out differently? The Choice is a rich and powerful exploration of desire, sin and redemption, questioning whether it's possible, let alone prudent, to separate the art from the artist. It examines the fault lines in both religious and secular society, from the AIDS crisis and the struggle for women's ordination in the 1980s to the culture wars of today. Richly comic and deeply compassionate, The Choice is a remarkable synthesis of the sacred and profane. "At a time when British fiction has never been more timorous about tackling novels of ideas, Michael Arditti has produced one worthy of Iris Murdoch and Graham Greene. Brilliantly ambiguous, waspishly witty and thoroughly enjoyable, this is Michael Arditti's own masterpiece to date" AMANDA CRAIG

English Christendom has never been a static entity. Evangelism, politics, conflict and cultural changes have constantly and consistently developed it into myriad forms across the world. However, in recent times that development has seemingly become a general decline. This book utilises the motif of Christendom to illuminate the pedigree of Anglican Christianity, allowing a vital and persistent dynamic in Christianity, namely the relationship between the sacred and the mundane, to be more fundamentally explored. Each chapter seeks to unpack a particular historical moment in which the relations of sacred and mundane are on display. Beginning with the work of Bede, before focusing on the Anglo Norman settlement of England, the Tudor period, and the establishment of the church in the American and Australian colonies, Anglicanism is shown to consistently be a religio-political tradition. This approach opens up a different set of categories for the study of contemporary Anglicanism and its debates about the notion of the church. It also opens up fresh ways of looking at religious conflict in the modern world and within Christianity. This is a fresh exploration of a major facet of Western religious culture. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars working in Religious History and Anglican Studies, as well as theologians with an interest in Western Ecclesiology.

If God means for us to save sex for marriage, why doesn't he just zap us with sexuality on our wedding night? Why do most of us experience sexual feelings throughout our adult lives, not just in the safe confines of marriage? Is limiting marriage to the union of a man and a woman anything but outdated prejudice? What is our sexuality actually for? Today's culture overwhelmingly tells us that sex is essential for human flourishing. Far too often the church perpetuates the same message - as long as you are married. But far from being liberating, this idolising of sex leaves us even more sexually broken than before. With refreshing honesty and clarity, Ed Shaw calls on the church to rediscover its confidence in the Bible's teaching about our ability to experience or express sexual feelings. He points us to how God's word reveals that sexuality's ultimate purpose is to help us better know God and the full power of his passionate love. He shows us how this is surprisingly good news for all our joys and struggles with sexuality.

To many people, the Church of England and worldwide Anglican Communion has the aura of an institution that is dislocated and adrift. Buffeted by tempestuous and stormy debates on sexuality, gender, authority and power - to say nothing of priorities in mission and ministry, and the leadership and management of the church - a once confident Anglicanism appears to be anxious and vulnerable. The Future Shape of Anglicanism offers a constructive and critical engagement with the currents and contours that have brought the church to this point. It assesses and evaluates the forces now shaping the church and challenges them culturally, critically, and theologically. The Future Shape of Anglicanism engages with the church of the present that is simultaneously dissenting and loyal, as well as critical and constructive. For all who are engaged in ecclesiological investigations, and for those who study the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, this book offers new maps and charts for the present and future. It is an essential companion and guide to some of the movements and forces that are currently shaping the church.

Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses show the beloved author and theologian bringing hope and courage in a time of great doubt. Addressing some of the most difficult issues we face in our day-to-day lives, C.S. Lewis's ardent and timeless words provide an unparalleled path to greater spiritual understanding. Considered by many to be Lewis's finest sermon of all, and his most moving address, 'The Weight of Glory' extols a compassionate vision of Christianity an dincludes lucid and compelling discussions on faith. Also included in this volume are "Transposition," "On Forgiveness," "Why I Am Not a Pacifist," and "Learning in War-Time".

Weaving social, political, and religious history together with church music and architecture, A People's Church is a clear-eyed look at Anglican history through the ages. This history is as tumultuous as it is long. The transformative 1534-1660 period shaped not only the Church of England but the country itself, encompassing the Reformation, the return to Catholicism under Mary, and the Civil War. This was closely followed by the Restoration of the monarchy in 1688, the expulsion of the Dissenters, and the 1689 Bill of Rights. By the time of John Henry Newman and the Industrial Revolution, the church was fragile. How, then, has it endured? And what of its future?

Originally published in 1988, this was the first full and scholarly account of the formal Elizabethan and Jacobean debates between Presbyterians and conformists concerning the government of the church. This book shed new light on the crucial disagreements between puritans and conformists and the importance of these divisions for political processes within both the church and wider society. The originality and complexity of Richard Hooker's thought is discussed and the extent to which Hooker redefined the essence of English Protestantism. The book will be of interest to historians of the late 16th and 17th Centuries and to those interested in church history and the development of Protestantism.

What is really going on inside the Church of England? God's Church for God's World offers essays and testimony from Evangelical Anglicans ahead of the Lambeth Conference 2022, that explore both the current state of Anglicanism and the future of Anglicanism in the UK. Featuring contributions from the likes of Andrew Goddard, Esther Prior, a number of serving bishops and many more, this collection offers a unique window into recent Anglican history that has often be tumultuous, and the workings of the Anglican Communion today. With a rare blend of theological reflection and timely storytelling, each essay offers something fresh - with no easy answers. Combining critical reflection with good news stories, they explore topics such as church planting and mutual flourishing, and encourage all of us to think through what faithfulness might look in our own context. God's Church for God's World brings together voices drawn from all major Anglican evangelical networks in the UK, demonstrating a commitment to the Gospel being proclaimed and a unity both throughout and beyond the Church of England. With a number of young contributors, it also offers a glimpse of possible futures for the Anglican Church. An honest, behind-the-scenes look at the Church of England in the twenty-first century, God's Church for God's World is a book for anyone looking for insight into the Anglican Communion from an evangelical perspective, and to understand what might lie ahead for the church.

Modern missional movements have often viewed the historic Christian traditions with suspicion. The old traditions may be beautiful, the thinking goes, but they're too insular, focused primarily on worship and on the interior life of the church, and not looking outward to evangelism and good works. In Liturgical Mission, Winfield Bevins argues that the church's liturgy and sacramental life are in fact deeply missional. He explores the historic practices of the Christian church, demonstrating how they offer a holistic framework for everyday Christian discipleship and mission in the twenty-first century. The result is a book that not only invites all Christians back to the historic liturgy of the church, but also invites those already in liturgical churches to rediscover the missional life that has too often remained latent in their own traditions.

Child Protection in the Church investigates whether, amidst publicised promises of change from church institutions and the introduction of "safe church" policies and procedures, reform is actually occurring within Christian churches towards safeguarding, using a case study of the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Australia. Through the use of interviews and document analysis, the book provides an insight into the attitudes and practices of "ordinary clergypersons" towards child sexual abuse and safeguarding to understand how safe ministry is understood and executed in everyday life in the Church, and to what extent it aligns with policy requirements and criminological best practice. It adopts organisational culture theory, the perspective used to explain how clerical culture enabled and concealed child sexual abuse in the Church to the present, in order to understand how clerical attitudes (cognition) and practice (conduct) today is being shaped by some of the same negative cultures. Underlying these cultures is misunderstandings of abuse causation, which are shown here to negatively shape clerical practice and, at times, compromise policy and procedural requirements. Providing an insight into the lived reality of safeguarding within churches, and highlighting the ongoing complexities of safe ministry, the book is a useful companion to students, academics, and practitioners of child protection and organisational studies, alongside clergy, church leaders, and those training for the ministry.

It is hard to comprehend the last 500 years of England's history without understanding the Church of England. From its roots in Catholicism through to the present day, this is the extraordinary history of a familiar but much-misunderstood institution. The Church has frequently been divided between high and low, Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic. For its first 150 years people sacrificed their lives to defend it; the Anglican Church is and has always been defined by its complicated relationship to the state and power. As Jeremy Morris shows, the story of the Church - central to British life - has never been straightforward. Weaving social, political and religious context together with the significance of its music and architecture, A People's Church skilfully illuminates a complex and pre-eminent institution.

Have the Church of England lectionary calendar at your fingertips with Common Worship Lectionary 2022. Featuring readings and Bible passage for the whole of the liturgical year, this little book is an essential resource for church readers. With clear, streamlined presentation, laid out a week to view with both the Common Worship and the Book of Common prayer calendars on facing pages, makes it incredibly easy to use. Covering Sunday and major festival as well as weekday services, the Common Worship Lectionary 2022 is a simple and thorough resource for anyone following the Anglican church calendar. It also features the Additional Weekday Lectionary, making it the most complete lectionary available. A5 sized, this paperback edition of the lectionary is light and portable, ideal for carrying on the go, while featuring plenty of space for any notes you want to make. There is no better way of following the Church of England calendar than with the Common Worship Lectionary 2022.

For John Newton, one of Christendom's greatest hymn writers and writer of "Amazing Grace," God's matchless grace was intensely personal. Saved from a life of slave trading, John Newton was fully aware of the "depths from which he was pulled."

In this autobiography, revised and updated for today's readers by Dennis Hillman, Newton relates the events that led him from unimaginable sin and spiritual bondage to a life of ministry and renewal--transformed by God's amazing and inexhaustible grace.

Discover the timeless story of John Newton's conversion and the true meaning of the familiar words, "Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see."