A collection of Bible verses, prayers and liturgies for use during times of change, concern, and celebration. While many books provide prayers for worship and daily prayer, few books help clergy and lay people acknowledge, celebrate, or mourn the more secular events of their daily lives. Here, at last, is a collection of prayers, biblical references, liturgies, and reading appropriate for use on birthdays, at the birth of a child, on a couple's engagement, wedding, or wedding anniversary. Other prayers acknowledge the pain of divorce, illness, and the death of loved ones. Resources are also provided for celebrating the beginning of a new job, the move to a new home, and retirement. An excellent pastoral companion for clergy, this book is also helpful to lay people who want to mark the important moments in their lives.

This tried and test collection is a must for anyone leading intercessions in the Church of England. It provides prayers for every Sunday, Holy Day and Festival, Years A, B and C that can be easily adapted to local contexts. The prayers reflect the Bible readings of the day, creating a more integrated act of worship. This expanded edition also contains forms of intercession for numerous extra occasions: * Principal Feasts - e.g. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, the Transfiguration * Other Holy Days - e.g. The Birth of John the Baptist, Holy Cross Day * Red Letter Saints' Days * Pastoral occasions in the context of a Eucharist - baptism, confirmation, marriage, funeral, healing service, Remembrance * Installation of a new incumbent A trusted liturgical resource for many years, regularly used in hundreds of parishes, this continues to be the essential handbook for Lectionary-based intercessions.

Forms of Speech in Victorian Fiction examines how Victorian writers used dialogue in the presentation of characters and the relationships between them, and its contribution to the work as a whole. Quoting over a hundred novels of the period, including all the major authors, many fascinating topics are discussed. The book also looks at the conventions which governed the writing and circulation of fiction, imposing certain restraints on the novelists. It also relates the dialogue used in Victorian fiction to evidence from other sources about the actual speech of the period. This book will be of great value to those studying the social history of the period, as well as literature, and will appeal to the general reader interested in Victorian fiction.

Forms of Speech in Victorian Fiction examines how Victorian writers used dialogue in the presentation of characters and the relationships between them, and its contribution to the work as a whole. Quoting over a hundred novels of the period, including all the major authors, many fascinating topics are discussed. The book also looks at the conventions which governed the writing and circulation of fiction, imposing certain restraints on the novelists. It also relates the dialogue used in Victorian fiction to evidence from other sources about the actual speech of the period. This book will be of great value to those studying the social history of the period, as well as literature, and will appeal to the general reader interested in Victorian fiction.

This sequel to the best-selling Leading Intercessions offers a completely new set of intercessory prayers for Sundays and special occasions, following the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary. Rather than draw on all the Bible passages for the day, this second collection draws entirely on the Gospel readings for the day's Principle Service. Using images and phrases from the life of Jesus Christ, it connects the comfort and guidance of his life and teachings to our prayers for the church and the world today. Elegantly written, the prayers are complete in themselves yet also allow for local and topical concerns to be inserted.

Illustrated devotions to enrich your understanding of the Nativity narratives. includes readings and prayers to help individuals and groups walk the Stations of the Nativity.

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) had wide influence through her work on Christian mysticism, especially by her continual insistence that the mystical experience is not esoteric, but open to any sincere believer. Resisting the growth of popular unfocussed mysticism in the early part of the twentieth century, she used her great historical scholarship to expound the work of past thinkers and show its relevance to the contemporary world. She was a prolific writer on many other subjects, including liturgy, prayer and individual spiritual formation, and was also a novelist and a poet. She was much in demand as a retreat conductor and spiritual director, and she lectured at universities and church congresses. She contributed to various journals, and in her later years gave broadcast talks. She was acknowledged as one of the leading Anglo-Catholic thinkers of her time, and her reputation has grown in recent years; there is a flourishing Evelyn Underhill Society. Despite her formidable learning and intellect, she had sympathy and practical advice for individuals, and had a delightful sense of humour which often enlivened her profound advice with homely analogies. In both her published works and her private letters, her teaching was always directed against personal anxiety and introspection, and towards concentration on a closer union with God. She maintained and promulgated calm and commonsense through a lifetime which saw much social and religious unrest. In the Second World War she strongly advocated Christian pacifism. In this volume, extracts from some of her many writings are set out by their main themes, from general mysticism to personal letters, with extracts also from her fiction and poetry. There is a biographical and critical introduction, relating and giving perspective to her life and work. Raymond Chapman is Emeritus Professor of English in the University of London, and an Anglican priest He is a Vice-President of the Prayer Book Society and of the Anglican Association. He has edited previous volumes in the Canterbury Studies in Spiritual Theology and published a number of other critical and devotional works including Leading Intercessions, A Pastoral Prayer Book, and Stations of the Nativity, Cross and Resurrection

Intercessory prayer is a key part of the liturgy of the Eucharist. Intercessory prayers need to reflect a response to the preached Word and topical concern for the world and need to be prepared afresh for each service. Intercessory prayer is also known as 'the prayer of the people' and is often said by a member of the congregation, not a priest. For anyone with this ministry in their local church, here is a complete companion handbook that includes: a simple theology of intercessory prayer; an explanation of its purpose within the liturgy and its relation to the readings of the day; the difference between public and personal prayer; a guide to writing intercessory prayers that connect with the whole service; technical advice: use of language, addressing God, vocal expression; common errors to avoid: excessive length or detail, breaches of confidence; prayerful preparation; using other resources; developing a personal style; and, ready to use intercessory prayers.

What we know today as Anglo-Catholicism, a strong and distinctive strand within Anglicanism that accounts for approximately a third of all Anglicans, began with a small act of political protest in an Oxford pulpit., There in 1833 John Keble preached a sermon that gave voice to widespread and growing fears of increasing state control of the Church and erosion of its status. At the same time, Roman Catholics were enjoying new freedoms in society and Anglicans who regarded themselves as loyal to the Catholic tradition, despite the interruption of the Reformation, saw this as an opportunity to promote Catholic theology in the Church of England. Keble's sermon sparked an immediate and active response and the Oxford Movement sprang into life. Publications flowed from its luminaries which included John Henry Newman and Edward Bouverie Pusey. Ninety influential tracts together with Newman's legendary sermons and work by other writers, including some novels, focused on the themes that today characterise Anglo-Catholicism: a high doctrine of the Church as a divine society, the importance of the sacraments, insistence that Anglican clergy were priests in the Apostolic Succession with sacerdotal power, the quest for personal holiness. Energised by the vitality of the old, true faith, parish life began to be transformed. Religious life revived for the first time since the Reformation, remarkable social work in slum parishes was accomplished and a distinctive liturgical style emerged. Firmly I Believe offers a wide selection of the writings of the Tractarians and other supporters of the Oxford Movement, introduced with a useful commentary and explanation. This unique volume is both an ideal starting point for students and scholars and a rich treasury of Anglo-Catholic devotion and theology.

This is a new combined and enlarged edition of two favourite Canterbury Press backlist titles, Raymond Chapman's Stations of the Nativity and Stations of the Resurrection. This new edition now includes a new section based on the most widely observed Stations prayers of all - the Stations of the Cross. Not just for seasonal use, this volume offers timeless devotions on the three central themes of the Christian faith - the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection. These themes inform Christian life and worship throughout the year. The many churches that observe weekly stations prayers will find this a rich resource for expanding their worship and it will make an ideal companion to Daily Prayer for many individuals. Illustrated throughout with woodcuts by Eric Gill and David Jones, this is a classic contemporary devotional guide.

Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626) was a towering figure in the formative years of the Church of England. Averse to the puritanical spirit of the age, he helped to create a distinctive Anglican theology, moderate in outlook and catholic in tone. He believed that theology should be built on sound learning, he held a high doctrine of the Eucharist and he emphasised dignity and order in worship. His influence defines Anglicanism to this day.A devout scholar and gifted linguist, he served as Dean of Westminster and under James I became Bishop of Chichester, then Ely and finally Winchester. In 1604 he was appointed as one of the translators of the Authorized Version and became responsible for most of the Old Testament. It was as a preacher that he achieved the greatest fame and he was a favourite of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I. His spiritual classic, "The Private Devotions of Lancelot Andrewes" was for personal prayer what the "Book of Common Prayer" was for the worship of the Church. Here is a wide selection from his writings and a general introduction.

Aimed at the clergy, deacons, readers and laity in all bilingual churches using the three-year lectionary, this title provides prayers of beauty and depth that echo the scripture readings of the day. Following the customary pattern of praying for the Church, the world, the community, the sick and the departed, these prayers are complete as they stand but ellipses indicate where items of topical or local concern can be inserted.

From Geoffrey Chaucer's "poor Parson" to Jane Austen's Mr. Collins to Oscar Wilde's Canon Chasuble, religious figures have served as some of the most memorable characters of English literature. Drawn from a thousand years of literature and letters, "Godly and Righteous, Peevish and Perverse" is a sumptuous literary anthology that celebrates the holy (and not so holy) men and women, both British and American, portrayed in great works of prose and poetry.

Throughout this unique, enjoyable book readers will find old friends and new. The clergy and religious in these extracts from masterpieces of literature are as varied as they are numerous: here are the saintly and the venial, the pious and the worldly, the noisy and the reserved, the wise and the foolish, the admirable and the absurd. These selections are not only engaging but also instructive. In mixing the fictional with the factual, they capture the varied personalities of clergy as well as their changing relationship with society and common folk over time and place. Their holy profession and the faith they proclaim have aroused every emotion from reverence and amusement to tolerant acceptance and scorn.

Editor and compiler Raymond Chapman has arranged the book into thematic sections and includes lively introductions and helpful running commentary throughout. Indexes of the authors and the featured clerics make it easy to locate a particular story or figure. Presenting a motley group of human beings as it does with panache, "Godly and Righteous, Peevish and Perverse" will please a wide range of readers, including lovers of great literature and all who are interested in clergy and religious life.

Authors included: JaneAusten
Charlotte Bronte
Thomas Carlyle
Geoffrey Chaucer
Charles Dickens
Emily Dickinson
George Eliot
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Thomas Hardy
George Herbert
Washington Irving
Barbara Kingsolver
D. H. Lawrence
John Milton
Elizabeth Sewell
William Shakespeare
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Jonathan Swift
Mark Twain
Oscar Wilde
William Wordsworth
"and many more

Week by week, in thousands of places of worship and in homes, Christians gather around the Scriptures to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed. The Revised Common Lectionary, now used widely by church communities throughout the world, has restored the Early Church principle of continuous readings through the Gospels: Matthew in Year A, Mark in Year B and Luke in Year C with additional readings from John in all three years. This pattern of reading enables the narrative of each to unfold and invites reflection on the distinctive style and approach of each of the Evangelists. Following the Gospel through the Year aims to enrich and deepen understanding by providing for each Sunday, Holy Day and major festival. It offers: * a summary of the essential message of the Gospel reading * a link to the other readings of the day * an extended meditation and reflection * an illustrative quote from the spiritual classics * a closing prayer With additioanl background notes on each of the Gospels and of the seasons of the Christian year, this book is an inspiring resource for worship leaders, preachers and those who help to lead the intercessions, and a reliable guide for personal devotional reading at all times.