Settlements were a distinctive aspect of late-Victorian church life in which individual philanthropic Christians were encouraged to live and work in communities amongst the poor and set an example for the underprivileged through their own actions. Often overlooked by historians, settlements are of great value in understanding the values and culture of the 19th century.
Settlement missions were first conceived when Samuel Barnett, the incumbent of St Jude's, Whitechapel, in the East End of London, sought to introduce them as a major aspect of Victorian church life. Barnett argued that settlers should be incorporated into London communities that suffered from squalor and poverty to live and work alongside the poor, to demonstrate their Christian faith and attempt to enhance social conditions from the inside. His first recruits were Oxford undergraduates and when Toynbee Hall was founded in Oxford in 1884, his radical vision of adapting Christian morality towards tackling social deprivation had begun. By the end of the Victorian era more than fifty similar institutions had been created.
Whilst few settlements lasted beyond the Victorian period, by injecting Christian ethics into trade unions, local government and the community, they had a huge impact which is still felt in the way these organisations operate today.

Synopsis: A major aspect of the history of Christian missions is the way groups who have jumped the ecclesiastical ship have renewed and recalled their parent bodies back to biblical roots and a biblical vision. This book examines fourteen such vibrant Christian movements which operated outside the box. Each chapter ends with a practical section highlighting those factors that made the particular group successful. They were all missional movements that pursued a Christian vision and developed structures to facilitate it. In contrast, the traditional organizations from which they emerged tended to do mission from an established, given structure. Here are seriously committed movements that offer a dynamic challenge to our contemporary churches. Endorsements: "This is a serious and scholarly book that is informative and highly readable. It is written by a Christian scholar who knows his material well and uses it to make Christian history relevant to the present age. I commend it wholeheartedly and without reservation as an important resource for our own growth in discipleship, but also as a textbook for those who want to grow in missional leadership." --From the Foreword by Canon George Kovoor, Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II and Principal of Trinity College, Bristol, UK " This is] a lively and scholarly account of orthodox Christian movements that flourished outside the bounds of mainline denominational churches, and in so doing provoked and encouraged them to renew their vision. This is an invaluable book with clear, practical lessons for those with a heart for mission, mission strategies, and fresh expressions of Christianity: applied Christian history at its best." --Paul Roberts, Tutor in Worship at Trinity College, Bristol, UK Author Biography: Nigel Scotland is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Gloucestershire and Tutor at Trinity College, Bristol University. He is the author of more than a dozen books on church history and new religious movements.

'Most illustrious Prince, I have considered that the Supper of the Lord (which has been violated by many and great superstitions, and turned into gain) should be renovated and restored according to the institutions of our Saviour Christ; and I have considered that all should be performed according to the Divine Word and of the Ancient and Holy Church, the care and instruction of which belong in some part to my office'. (Thomas Cranmer, Dedication to King Edward VI, A Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament.) In this fascinating and practical study, Nigel Scotland looks closely at the Service of Holy Communion in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and with further illumination from earlier versions of the Prayer Book and Cranmer's other writings, draws conclusions which may refresh and challenge our contemporary practices. The aim of this 'Anglican Foundations' series which focuses on the Formularies of the Church of England and the elements of the different services within the Prayer Book is to highlight what those services teach about the Christian faith and to demonstrate how they are also designed to shape the practice of that faith. As well as providing an account of the origins of the Prayer Book services, they offer practical guidance on how such services may be used in Christian ministry. Nigel Scotland has spent the greater part of his life lecturing in Church History at what became the University of Gloucestershire. He has served as rector of four country parishes and led a Fresh Expressions church plant for 13 years. Since 2006 he has taught theology students at Trinity College Bristol. He is married to Anne and in their leisure time they enjoy music, walking in the Cotswolds, gardening, visits to the gym and enjoying times with their grand-children. He studied at McGill and Bristol Universities and earned a doctorate at Aberdeen University. He is the author of eighteen books mostly in the area of Christian history.

This is a book about American revivalist religion and the ways in which it impacted British Christianity in nineteenth-century England. The term 'revivalist' seems to have first been used in the period after the 'Second Great Awakening' in the United States. It designated those individuals and churches who sought to manufacture or create revival by human endeavor rather than, as in former times, pray and wait for a sovereign move of God's Spirit. Revivalism had a number of marked features which are charted in detail in chapter 1. It was inevitably characterized by emotion, excitement and religious exercises. Particular attention has been given to ways in which the different American revivalists understood revival and the methods by which they sought to achieve it. The book includes a focus on one or two female revivalists whose work has tended to be overlooked in some studies.