The first thing that strikes you about Adam Lewis Greene's project, Bibliotheca is the beauty of what he is creating.
The picture above captures some of that, even before you open one of the four (soon to be five) volumes that make up his reprinting of the Bible. Using the American Standard Version of 1901, Green has aimed to make a Bible that is suitable for reading, rather than proof-texting.
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The well-known US Christian video resource site Sermon Spice (http://www.sermonspice.com/) serves at least two major purposes for Anglicans here in the Anglican Church Southern Queensland. In the first place the site is an absolute treasure trove of video material for everything from adding a welcome, to stories that enhance homilies, to blessings with heart. But what is the second??
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Paula Gooder is one of the authors of the wonderful Pilgrim: a course for the Christian journey. Our diocese is just about to launch into a focus on these materials for small groups and faith formation. Exciting! Paula was recently the guest of St Francis Theological College where she gave the Felix Arnott lecture and a few workshops. She was brilliant! Articulate and witty, her thinking is top rate, but she also has the gift of being able to explain her thoughts in ways that don't distance.
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Did you know:
“Find out how you can engage young people with the Bible; what’s working and what isn’t, and to get that other 99 to pick up a Bible. Bible Society’s Adrian Blenkinsop has pulled together a collection of essays for youth engagement with the Bible to help them, and their youth leaders, keep the faith.”
- See more or order at: http://www.biblesociety.org.au/genz
Pilgrim: a Course for the Christian Journey may just be the best thing since sliced bread. And that’s so even if you’re gluten free.
Developed by the Church of England and written by a number of practical theologians and rubber-hits-the-road experts, Pilgrim includes four books so far, each featuring six 60-90 minute sessions. Working through the ideas in our baptismal vows, the sessions feature everything you need to know if you are just starting out on the Christian journey.
But wait a minute: even if you’re an experienced traveler on that journey, this resource is useful too. The discussion questions are written so that anyone, at any stage on the Christian journey can be inspired and fed.
As well, each session includes online resources: a video clip with input from the book’s authors and an audio prayer reflection. The leader’s guide that rounds out the course’s materials is great, with ideas for each session and liturgical resources as well.
Here’s what the publishers say:
Pilgrim’s approach
It starts at the very beginning
Pilgrim assumes very little understanding or knowledge of the Christian faith.
It focuses on Jesus Christ
Pilgrim aims to equip people to follow Jesus Christ as disciples in the whole of their lives.
It flows from the Scriptures
The primary focus of each session is a group of people engaging with the Bible together.
It draws deeply from the Christian tradition
In the Early Church, the Christian faith was taught by the transmission of key texts which summed up the heart of the Christian message. Pilgrim restores this approach for the twenty-first century.
It honours the Anglican way and its many streams
Pilgrim has been developed as a specifically Anglican resource which aims to cater for every tradition in the Church of England.
All in all, this is a middle of the road kind of small group resource that any parish in our diocese could use, no matter where you sit on the theological spectrum.
The Cathedral bookshop will have the books in stock in late July./August but you can have a look at the real thing at the Roscoe Library, or delve into the materials at the UK website.
And what’s more, St Francis College will be offering regional training workshops for potential leaders of the Pilgrim course in the second half of the year. Contact Jonathan Sargeant if you’re interested in those and we’ll see where to hold them.
IBelieve: reflections on our shared faith by Janet Dyke, Lakeside Publishing
As belief becomes increasingly individualised by our society, Janet Dyke’s new collection of studies represents a gentle call to something different: belief in community.
I Believe: reflections on our shared faith enables small groups to examine the Apostles Creed, that document of the early church that began to define the lines of demarcation between establishing Christianity and other off-shoots and faiths.
The slim book features seven sessions: Believe, Father, Christ, Ascend, Spirit, Forgive and Life. Each contains material to draw participants into a conversation with the text. There is some supporting historical material as well. Janet manages to offer this in a non-threatening way that nevertheless does not shy away from the big challenges that some of the ideas in the creed engender. Her questions for discussion are foundational, just right for a group finding its feet in the arena of belief. That she does so in a manner that will enable long time believers to answer and discuss at their own level is to her credit.
There’s a real knack here for connecting ancient ideas with present realities which is the secret of good small group faith formation material. Drawing on her own life experience brings a personal touch here and there which grounds the studies nicely.
In an age where individualism often brings loneliness, focusing on what binds us together is a vital task of the church. Ms Dyke has successfully helped us along that path.
You can order the book or find out more here
Jonathan Sargeant, Lay Education Officer, St Francis College
Left it late to leap into Lent? Here's a resource for individual use that makes it easy to catch up...
The ABM “Lent 2014” App provides you with a reflection, prayer and action for every day of Lent, starting today!
This Lent you are invited to travel (virtually) around the world with ABM exploring the many facets of mission: reconciliation, building amity, loving our neighbour, embracing kindness, loving justice and walking a way of peace.
Over the 40 days of Lent the App will introduce you to some of ABM’s partners and how they are involved in making God’s love known upon earth, and what you can do to join them in mission.
Download the ABM Lent 2014 Smartphone App in the Apple and Android stores:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lent-2014/id823229503?ls=1&mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abm.lent.app
With over 100 million installations around the world, the YouVersion app is a simple, ad-free Bible for your phone, tablet, and computer. It is available on almost all platforms (Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone/iPad, and Blackberry) and will help you read and study the Bible, subscribe to Bible plans, and take the Bible with you wherever you go. For more information, visit the dedicated website.