Matt Woodcock
Matt Woodcock returns with this sequel to the
bestselling 'Becoming Reverend'.
Follow Matt's journey as he starts work at one of
Hull's oldest, biggest and emptiest churches. It's a shadow of its
former self, with a small congregation and huge bills to pay.
Adding the entrepreneurial (and somewhat excitable) Matt to their
clergy line-up is the last throw of the dice for this 700-year-old
institution.
But is Matt ready for such a tough first assignment?
Are his new flock - or his new colleagues - ready for the whirlwind
that's about to descend? And can Matt realize his vision of a
thriving church without wrecking his home life in the
process?
As this real-life diary reveals, Matt's life being
Reverend can be every bit as fraught, funny and fascinating as it
was becoming one.
'I have known Matt Woodcock for a number
of years and it was my privilege to ordain him. God's Holy Spirit
dwells in him, taking him on an adventurous Jesus-shaped journey.
Matt writes with his characteristic humour and honesty. It's a
story of God's love. In reading this book, let's all find God's
loving heart for each of us.' -- Archbishop John
Sentamu
A former newspaper journalist, Matt Woodcock is now a Church of
England minister in Hull. He puts on a sell-out beer festival in
his church every year and walks real camels down Hull's main
shopping street at Christmas.
9781781402016 £9.99 29 October
2020 Church House Publishing
Being Interrupted
Reimagining the Church's Mission from the Outside,
In
Al Barrett, Ruth Harley, Rachel Mann
21st Century Britain is a fragmented, anxious place, grappling
with its loss of national identity in 'the ruins of empire', and
with sharp and deepening inequalities - symbolized most tragically
by the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower. To these national anxieties
are added the pressures of church decline: numbers, money and
influence all seem to be heading in the wrong direction. Common
responses include on the one hand strategizing for numerical
growth, and on the other hand focusing in on the Church's formation
of Christians for our discipleship in the world. This book ventures
to suggest that both of these responses miss something of profound
importance.
Through careful and unsettling readings of five passages in
Mark's gospel, alongside stories from a multicultural outer estate
in east Birmingham, the book paints a vivid picture of an
'alternative economy' for the Church's life and mission, which
begins with transformative encounters with neighbours and strangers
at the edges of our churches, our neighbourhoods, and our
imaginations.
"A thought provoking and compelling read that is not
afraid to tackle some of the challenging issues the Church has had
to consider over recent times. Taking into account the turbulent
period from Brexit, the Windrush Scandal, the Me-Too Movement to
the COVID-19 Pandemic the authors examine the social fractures in
the light of the biblical imperative of what it means to love our
neighbour. What they offer is an inspired approach that
acknowledges both the challenges and the joys that 'being
interrupted' can bring in order to envision new
possibilities..." Revd Dr Sharon Prentis
Revd Dr Al Barrett is rector of Hodge Hill Church in the Diocese
of Birmingham. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Queen's
Foundation. Ruth Harley is an ordinand in the Church of England.
Prior to that, she was the Children's and Families' Minister at a
town-centre parish church.
9780334058625 £19.99 Publication:
30th November 2020 SCM Press