David Stancliffe

Grasping the Heel of Heaven honours the immense legacy to the church of Michael Perham. A skilled and imaginative liturgist, a passionate advocate of women’s ministry, an inspirational dean and bishop, a wise and patient administrator, he was above all a faithful priest who loved the Church as the body of Christ. In all his ministry he sought to nourish that body by encouraging its worship and prayer and shaping its governance in the light of gospel ideals. In this volume, friends and colleagues bring their own expertise to reflect on some of the topics and themes that were most important to him, including: • Being transported and transformed by liturgy • The making of Common Worship • The full inclusion of the ministry of women • How structures and decision-making express an understanding of God • Unity despite differences in and through God • The gospel as good news for all Together, the contributors reflect the numerous ways that Michael Perham saw heaven touching earth and earth glimpsing heaven.

For centuries, churches have been a key part of the landscape of the world. In this fascinating book, David Stancliffe takes us back to the earliest churches, showing how they were conceived as spaces for worship. We see their historical development from the early Roman house churches, through Byzantine, Romanesque and on to Gothic. With the Reformation came significant change in the religious landscape - these changes are described and the journey to the modern understanding of church architecture explored. The book is infused throughout with the spirit of human quest for meaning and transcendence. The text is lavishly illustrated with over 500 colour illustrations, photography, cutaways and line drawings.