November #ThemeOfTheMonth: New Beginnings
Added about 2 years ago by Sacristy Press
As we approach the beginning of a new liturgical year three of our authors reflect on the theme of new beginnings and introduce us to their liturgical resources.
Graham Turner, the writer behind Alternative Collects: Prayers to a Disruptive & Compassionate God, is a full-time chaplain at a public-sector prison in the North West of England. He has served in a variety of parishes, mostly in urban neighbourhoods. Through community enterprises and businesses he has worked tirelessly to help overcome social injustice while also exploring a range of Christian traditions to help deepen his own faith as well as that of others.
Graham Turner has written a new set of collects that follow in the wake of Cranmer. Turner fully understands and appreciates the force of the genre; his offer is a set of prayers that are fiercely timely, bold in their claims, and venturesome in their voicing. I cannot think of better access points to worship than those offered by Turner.
Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
The collects in this book are short … and yet you are transported into the prayer, you feel totally part of it, you want to believe the words in their entirety. They are readily usable as personal or corporate prayers on their own. In fact they are ready-made short homilies! This is one of the best books I have reviewed, and one which I will treasure for the depth of its content, clarity and relevance, and use regularly.
Alan Rashleigh, Preach
Kevin Carey is one of Sacristy Press’s founding and most prolific authors, writing Christian literature in all major forms: novels, non-fiction, plays and verse. His book Stir Up, O Lord: A Companion to the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels in the Book of Common Prayer 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)
Prayers for Living: 500 Prayers for Public and Private Worship grew out of Rosalind Brown’s thirteen years of ministry at Durham Cathedral. It offers 500 new accessible, contemporary and wide-ranging intercessory prayers suitable for public worship or private devotion. As one Evensong worshipper put it, they “say what I want to say to God”.
Keep your eye on our blog and social media through out the month to see what these three authors have to say on our #ThemeOfTheMonth: New Beginnings and pick up your copies of their books here
Please note: Sacristy Press does not necessarily share or endorse the views of the guest contributors to this blog.