Church House Publishing – looking ahead to an autumn harvest of new resources

September 2007

So far this year, Church House Publishing has produced a shelf-full of fresh titles to inform and inspire churches and individual Christians.

What’s more, everybody’s been talking about us! The book by Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, Do Nothing to Change Your Life, featured on Radio 4’s Today Programme, in the Daily Mail, Guardian, Daily Telegraph and the Independent; while Andrew Body’s guide to Making the Most of Weddings appeared in the Daily Mail, Sun, Times, and featured on BBC TV Breakfast.

Most recently, prayers taken from Pocket Prayers for Work – posted on the Church of England web site to help weary workers return to the grindstone on the first Monday of September – won coverage on Sky TV, in the Daily Telegraph, Times and Metro as well as Radio Five Live and Radio 4.

So what will be the talking points this autumn?

Reflections for Daily Prayer

A brand new set of daily Bible reading notes based on the Common Worship Lectionary are set to be a hit with anyone who wants to reflect each day with the guidance of accessible and stimulating commentaries in a handy format.

This first set of the pocket-sized Bible notes covers Advent to Epiphany, and has been written by authors from a wide range of backgrounds – Jane Williams, Stephen Cottrell, Paula Gooder, Gordon Mursell – and each share a passion for making that day’s chosen passage relevant for today’s reader.

These quarterly reflections will be published in January, April, July and October. You can find out more or order you set today at: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2393681

Connecting with Baptism

Packed with a blend of theological reflection and practical advice, Connecting with Baptism helps clergy and lay leaders unpack the range of rites contained within Common Worship: Christian Initiation.

From dealing with initial requests, to preparing godparents for baptism and ways of taking forward the relationship with the newly baptized, this book is grounded in the authors’ extensive personal experience. The book encourages churches to make the most of the mission opportunities that baptism presents, and charts typical ‘journeys’ of those approaching the Church for baptism today. For more details, see: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2393503

Still Growing Together

The Revd Andrew Body’s marriage preparation book, Growing Together, has sold more than 5,500 copies since 2005. Following demand from readers, we asked Andrew to create a linked course that parishes could use to help them prepare couples for married life. The result is Growing Together: The Course, which includes a free CD-ROM with multimedia content. This provides everything course leaders need to help couples develop a shared understanding of their future together and set their relationship within a Christian context.

For more information, see: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2393690

To listen to Andrew Body talking about the book, click here.

Gear up for Christingle

Created in partnership with The Children’s Society, the full-colour Christingle Cube has been designed to help children learn about Christingle in a fun way. The ingenious cube design follows our successful Lord’s Prayer Cube, Baptism Cube and Communion Cube, and makes an ideal gift for a child – or contribution to the box of toys at the back of church!

Find out more about the cube at: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2393551

Life events

We’ve also updated the content and refreshed the look of our popular series of leaflets exploring the key ‘life events’. Many churches use to help explain what the Church believes about baptisms, marriage and funerals, and what it offers at these important moments in our lives.

Visual Liturgy Gone Live

Visual Liturgy Live – the latest generation of our pioneering worship planning software – is designed to help clergy access the wealth of material in Common Worship with the minimum of fuss. The new version, released in the spring, includes a significant increase in liturgical content and applies major technological advances including a live update facility, an automatic feed of the latest Visual Liturgy news, and ‘smart templates’ to save time when planning services. Find out more at: http://www.visualliturgylive.net/

Crockford’s Celebrates Anniversary

This December is a red-letter month for us thanks to a twin celebration – the 100th edition, and 150th anniversary, of Crockford’s Clerical Directory. The definitive guide to ordained Anglican ministers in the United Kingdom is a must-have reference book for all involved in the life of the Church. This year’s edition will be extra-special – but more details on that next time…

Thomas Allain-Chapman

Head of Publishing

thomas.allain-chapman@c-of-e.org.uk