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Editor:  We have featured mainly Lent books this month, to give your readers time to choose one before Lent begins on 17th February. Living His Story – Revealing the Extraordinary Love of God in Ordinary Ways Rooted in Love – Lent Reflections on Life in Christ Opening our Lives – Devotional Readings for Lent The...

Quite frankly, this hermit was about as weird as they come. But he loved God, and God blessed him, strange though he was. So perhaps Simeon Stylites (390 – 459) should be the patron saint of all REALLY eccentric people. Simeon was the son of a shepherd on the Syrian border of Cilicia. He joined...

On 6th January we celebrate Epiphany – the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus. But who were these Wise Men? No one knows for sure. Matthew calls them ‘Magi’, and that was the name of an ancient caste of a priestly kind from Persia. It wasn’t until the third century that they...

– revealing the extraordinary love of God in ordinary ways By Hannah Steele, SPCK, £7.99 This, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book for 2021, explores evangelism as a way of sharing God’s love with people. How can we convey the love of God to our neighbours in a post-Christian world that has largely forgotten the...

Magi from the East – it isn’t a lot to go on. The Magi had originally been a religious caste among the Persians. Their devotion to astrology, divination and the interpretation of dreams led to an extension in the meaning of the word, and by the first century the Magi in Matthew’s gospel could have...

The story of the coming of the Magi grew in the telling. By the 6th century they had acquired names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. By medieval times they were considered to be kings. Whoever they were, we do know from Matthew that they brought three gifts to Jesus. What about their gifts of gold, frankincense...

– Lent Reflections on Life in Christ By Sarah Mullally, SPCK, £7.99 This is the first Lent book from the Bishop of London, and it explores the ways in which we can live the Christian life to the full today. The forty reflections will help you to go deeper into the meaning and practice of...

– Devotional Readings for Lent By Trystan Owain Hughes, BRF, £8.99 This is the BRF Lent book for 2021.  Lent is not about giving up or taking up, but a radical opening up: the opening up of our lives to God’s transformative kingdom. Lent is not about giving up or taking up, but a radical...

Many saints have fed the poor, but not many were interested in actual food production.  Nathalan (died c.678) was, so perhaps he might be the patron saint of anyone who produces food – and gives most of it away to those in need. Scotland in the 7th century must have been a hungry place, especially...

– a Lenten Journey from Adversity to Maturity By Justine Allain Chapman, SPCK, £9.99  Is it possible to respond to the adversities of life by becoming stronger, wiser and more loving? The art of kintsugi (‘repairing with gold’) not only restores cracked objects but makes them even more beautiful than before. Alone on an 8-day retreat...

Editor:  Because most of the current ‘church stories’ are focussed on Christmas, we have brought you a smaller selection than usual this month. Five things I’d like to see in 2021 Tearfund helping the vulnerable CAP Scotland to open new Debt Centres across Scotland Introducing ‘The Wellbeing Journey’ Giving gifts of HOPE Being salt and...

– a Prayer Journey through Lent By Sheila Upjohn, SPCK, £7.99 Sheila Upjohn explores the ‘Revelations of Divine Love’ alongside passages from Scripture.  She reveals how Julian’s fresh perspectives on sin and judgement, anger and forgiveness, the Incarnation and the crucifixion can challenge and enlighten us, six hundred years later, in a world so badly...