Lorraine Cavanagh

What are the fears that govern our lives? Why do we seldom share them with others? How do they inform the way we think of the politics of the day and the life of the church? These are some of the questions addressed by Lorraine Cavanagh in this short and readable book. Her reflections take us through the kind of private fears that originate in early childhood and remain deeply embedded in the adult psyche, so that they later shape the person's thinking and often define that person's life. They also emerge as fear worked out through the need for power and control over others and how that can lead to collective dependency on the kind of leaders we most fear. Fear is also rooted in loneliness, the loneliness of the individual and the endemic loneliness of Western society, both of which we try to evade with the help of social media and the private screen worlds we inhabit. Through imaginative imagery drawn from the Christian tradition, In Such Times speaks of the need to re-learn trust in the corporate contexts of both church and world. As its title suggests, it is a book whose time has come. ""In this present season of anxiety, Lorraine Cavanagh's timely and trenchant exploration of the divisive effects of fear and the ways in which it alienates us from our true selves, one another, and the world around us could not be more urgently needed. Power masquerading as strength, be it political or ecclesiastical, is exposed as the mask fear wears in the threatening presence of the 'other.' In Such Times is far from a surrender to despair, but a clear call to recover in our personal and collective heart the re-creating and re-generating 'perfect love' worked in us by the Spirit which 'casts out fear.'"" --Frank T. Griswold, XXV Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church ""The Christian way might be seen by some of its cultured despisers as an evasion of suffering and fear, a fanciful, imaginary bulwark against the darkness. Religion can perform this kind of suspect ideological function. At its best, however, it is a springboard for living life courageously, with full creative awareness."" --Stephen Pattison, University of Birmingham, UK Lorraine Cavanagh is a theologian and an Anglican priest in the Church in Wales. Her books include Finding God in Other Christians, Making Sense of God's Love: Atonement and Redemption, and Waiting on the Word: Preaching Sermons That Connect People with God. She blogs at lorrainecavanaghsblog.wordpress.com.

As we journey in faith, many of us begin to find God in the context of more than one kind of churchmanship. Even if we feel happy where we are, we may benefit greatly from getting out of our particular church 'comfort zone' in order to encounter God in new ways through Christians whose priorities and styles of worship are at variance with our own. This book calls us to a deeper and more compassionate approach to the challenges of diversity among Christians. It addresses issues such as: Are Christians meant to be more than friends? Jesus Christ as our common identity; Violence between Christians; Radical hospitality; Dealing with difference; The meaning of God among us, and finally, Christians in Christ and for the world.

How can we be restored to God's love? Is there a way back? Many people are put off Christianity by the idea of God punishing his Son for our sins. They find it hard to believe in a loving God who appears to be so angry and vindictive. Many also feel that the things Christians teach, publicly or privately, do not work for them in real life. This book therefore addresses some of the difficult questions that these people are asking. It is also for those who may be wanting to return to their faith, and for those who would like to explore it in greater depth. It aims to create an open theological landscape, which will take account of the many different ways in which we are saved and restored. Making Sense of God's Love will help to guide seekers towards a new understanding of what it really means to live as people who have been forgiven and brought into an honest and deep relationship with God through the atoning and redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

This is a book for anyone seeking a way out of deadlock in Church conflict situations. In employing a contemplative approach to the conflict in the Anglican Communion, it shows how relationships can be rebuilt with affection leading to trust. The author argues for reconciliation which comes with a renewed awareness of the dynamic activity of the Holy Spirit in the Church’s life of communion. The present conflict has blocked this activity, stifling the Church’s intellectual life by reducing it to a matter of issue-driven politics which have seriously undermined its relationships. The book offers the Anglican Communion the possibility of renewing its life together in a deeper and more apophatic encounter with God in which the certainties which divide it are set aside while the Church rediscovers the genuine bonds of affection which, until now, have held it together. This, it argues, is the work which needs to be undertaken before a Covenant is put in place if the Anglican Communion is to continue to reveal the Gospel in ways which are meaningful for a constantly changing and fragmented world.