Robert Atwell

Pilgrim is a major new teaching and discipleship resource from the Church of England. It will help enquirers and new Christians explore what it means to travel through life with Jesus Christ. A Christian course for the twenty-first century, Pilgrim offers an approach of participation, not persuasion. Enquirers are encouraged to practice the ancient disciplines of biblical reflection and prayer, exploring key texts that have helped people since the earliest days of the Christian faith. Believing that the Christian faith is primarily about relationship, Pilgrim aims to lay a foundation for a lifetime of learning more about God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ and what it means to be his disciple. Assuming little or no knowledge of the Christian faith, Pilgrim can be used at any point on the journey of discipleship and by every tradition in the Church of England. Pilgrim is made up of two parts: Follow and Grow. Each consists of four short courses and a leaders’ guide. Follow introduces the Christian faith for complete beginners, while Grow aims to develop a deeper level of discipleship in those who have turned to Christ. Each short course contains six-sessions, supported by online audio-visual resources. All sessions combine a simple framework prayer, reflection on the Bible in the lectio divina style, an article by a modern writer, and time for questions and reflection. The Leaders’ Guide explains the aims and approach of Pilgrim and offers advice and support for running the sessions.

Pilgrim is a teaching and discipleship resource that will help enquirers and new Christians explore what it means to travel through life with Jesus Christ. It offers an approach of participation, not persuasion, encouraging enquirers to practice the ancient disciplines of biblical reflection and prayer, exploring key texts that have helped people since the earliest days of the Christian faith. What do Christians believe? Turning to Christ examines the heart of the Christian faith through the six questions asked at baptism. Over six sessions it aims to help participants discover their own answers to these questions. Session One: Do you turn to Christ? Explores the attraction of Jesus Christ. What happened when people met him? What would happen if you did? Session Two: Do you believe and trust in God the Father? What do Christians believe about God? This session uses the Old Testament to look at how God is like a Father. Session Three: Do you believe in his Son Jesus Christ? Looks in more detail at who Christians believe Jesus is, and what Jesus’ baptism reveals about his identity. Session Four: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? Uses the story of Pentecost to show how Christians believe the Holy Spirit makes Jesus present today. Session Five: Do you repent of your sins? Looks at what Christians call sin: that inbuilt tendency to get things wrong and God’s great desire to put things right. Session Six: Do you renounce evil? Explores the reality of evil, and how the Christian faith invites us to set the moral compass of our lives. All sessions combine a simple framework prayer, reflection on the Bible in the lectio divina style, an article by a modern writer, and time for questions and reflection, supported by online audio-visual resources.

This anthology of writings, drawn from five hundred years of spiritual exploration, shows how the early Church Fathers 'kept company with God'. It witnesses to the continuity of the Christian tradition as it emerged and grew from the era of the Apostles. In these days of division and cultural fragmentation, this rich heritage constitutes an invaluable resource of learning and wisdom. Including material from Cyprian, The Desert Tradition, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Benedict, and Gregory the Great, this collection will inspire and impress contemporary readers with its vitality and variety of thought.

As a new bishop, Robert Atwell responded to a direct challenge from older church members, who usually make up the biggest majority in any congregation. Why, they asked, was there always so much for the young; what was there for them? This book grew out of his response. A series of talks he gave on the spirituality of growing older and the gifts that wait to be discovered generated an unprecedented response, not only throughout the diocese, but on blogs and websites around the world. 60 really is the new 40 for increasing numbers of people. The retired are a huge consumer category, increasingly recognised by marketing gurus. They may have disposable income, time on their hands, and the leisure of choice - but wisdom, humour and honesty are essential for these transitional decades too and this short book offers all three in plenty. The author's background in Benedictine life, with its profound understanding of what makes for a balanced and rich life, flavours a book of timeless value

Everybody wants a christening, wedding or funeral service to be unique to them and one of the main ways of personalising a ceremony is to choose one's own readings. Not everyone reads poetry or novels together and many do not know where to start in choosing a special piece. Here, an experienced editor of such books has collected together 100 readings from scripture and literature across the centuries in celebration of a birth, a marriage, a life that has ended. There is humour, tenderness, challenge, wisdom and realism in abundance, offering, quite literally, something for everyone.

'Love' is an anthology of readings that celebrates the ideal and the humorously down to earth in relation to love, friendship and marriage across the centuries. Sonnets, poems, wedding blessings, readings from the Bible, and the reflections of various ancient and contemporary writers, together create a tapestry of wisdom about the joys of love and its occasional struggles. Offering, quite literally, something for everyone, 'Love' offers plenty of choice for those looking to personalise their wedding service.

Everybody wants a christening, wedding or funeral service to be unique to them and one of the main ways of personalising a ceremony is to choose one's own readings. Not everyone reads poetry or novels together and many do not know where to start in choosing a special piece. Here, an experienced editor of such books has collected together 100 readings from scripture and literature across the centuries in celebration of a birth, a marriage, a life that has ended. There is humour, tenderness, challenge, wisdom and realism in abundance, offering, quite literally, something for everyone.

Celebrating the Seasons offers daily non-Scriptural readings from the Christian tradition for every day of the Christian Year. A companion volume to Celebrating the Saints, it offers extracts from classical spiritual writings across the breadth of Christian history, with a particular emphasis on the work of early church Fathers. Writers featured include Augustine, Basil the Great, Columbanus, Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, Richard Hooker, George Herbert, John Wesley, Evelyn Underhill, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and many more. The collection is designed for devotional use all year long and may be used to accompany prayer and reflection at any time of day, in Morning or Evening Prayer, or with the Eucharistic lectionary.