Church House Publishing – Getting ready for Lent… and another year of mission opportunities

Bulletin 7, February 2009

As churches prepare to mark the season of Lent, we have collected together a selection of new titles that you might like to consider using for personal or group reflection during the period, beginning on Ash Wednesday, 25 February. We’ve also got a preview of some of the latest books written to equip church leaders for the year ahead.

Living Lent

If you’re new to Love Life Live Lent, it’s this simple: complete a small act of kindness or thoughtfulness, suggested each day in handy booklet, and supplement it with a healthy dose of regular prayer… and discover that doing something positive can be as transforming as giving something up.

Love Life Live Lent returns for a third year with two pocket-sized booklets based on the ‘best of’ the previous series – one for children, and one for young people and adults. The new set of booklets are undated, meaning they can be used during any future year. What’s more, new for 2009, we’ve produced a family book packed with extra hints, tips and advice on completing a Lent’s worth of actions as a family. This attractive resource book includes all the actions from the booklets, plus extra activities, recipes and prayers – ideal for using alongside the family wallchart, downloadable from www.livelent.net.

The price of the small booklets has been held at £1 each (discount available for bulk orders) and the family book costs £4.99. Find our more and order copies for you and your church now at: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/feature.asp?id=2394561

A survival pack for life’s challenges

Lentwise is a five-session course designed for small groups to use during Lent, reflecting on how the strengths of Christian faith can help us weather the challenges of life. Lecturer and Canon Theologian Dr Paula Gooder uses fresh insights from John’s Gospel to help answer the question: what spiritual essentials will help us survive life’s storms?

Five survival tips are explored, one by one, over 90 minute sessions: direction, nourishment, wisdom, refreshment and security.

Each session includes guidelines and full background notes for leaders, and kicks off with a passage from John’s Gospel, freshly translated by the author. Inspiring quotations and personal stories, prayer exercises and discussion pointers, and ideas for using multimedia resources in the group are all offered.

The book’s honest confrontation with the realities of modern life is reflected in Jane Williams' praise for the course: “User-friendly, undaunting and profound. The author is an experienced and trustworthy guide on our journey through Lent. With her help, Lent will be a journey of delighted discovery.”

For more details, or to order, visit: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2394309

Hit the Ground Kneeling this New Year

Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Reading, returns with some heartfelt advice for those in leadership positions of whatever context. In Hit the Ground Kneeling, Bishop Stephen takes common statements about management and turns them on their head, in the light of Christian perspectives on leadership.

This pocket-sized book suggests 'jumping off the bandwagon', 'counting your chickens before they've hatched', and 'reinventing the wheel', all within the bishop’s overall argument that good leadership flows from contemplation, and that the best leaders are not busy but focused. He makes a passionate argument for more delegation and better work/life balance, in a book that could make a perfect gift for yourself or someone you know.

Order your copy online today at: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2394311

Offering Welcoming Weddings

Stephen Lake, Sub-Dean of St Albans Cathedral, presents an engaging guide for clergy on how recent changes to marriage law have opened up new opportunities for using marriage as a mission opportunity. Drawing on research into the ‘wedding market’ and real-life case studies, Stephen builds a picture of thousands of couples keen to approach a church for special day, and what clergy and those involved in church wedding administration can do to help make those couples feel as at home as possible.

Find out more at: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/feature.asp?id=2394599

Seeing church – and life – through the Eyes of the Child

A landmark collection of essays, Through the Eyes of a Child considers 14 key theological themes from one of the most neglected of perspectives - that of children.

Honouring Jesus' command to place the child at the centre, theologians, psychologists and educationalists including Anne Richards, Peter Privett and Rebecca Nye look afresh at some of the most challenging topics in Christian theology, in a work that will provide food for thought for anyone engaged in children’s ministry.

Find out more at: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2394647

Improving access to church

As the Church of England’s definitive guide on how to meet the requirements of various pieces of access and disability-related legislation, Widening the Eye of the Needle helps those responsible for church buildings understand legal principles and the practical steps necessary to comply with such laws.

Following a major update to reflect recent legislation, the book includes illustrations to explain legal requirements alongside forms and checklists to ensure your church is meeting the needs of those who have special needs when attending services and other events in church.

See more details here: http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2394312

For more information on any of these titles or any others that will be published during the year, please contact me or visit www.chpublishing.co.uk. The next bulletin will be issued in April.