You may be interested in…
-
Life Together
Influences & Suggested Reading, New Monasticism, Re-imagining ChurchDietrich Bonhoeffer, the now famous theologian who was martyred by the Nazis in 1945, wrote this book on the eve of World War II. It resulted from his experience as head of a semiary of the German 'Confessing Church' at Finkenwalde near Stettin. Here many of the pastors who witnessed against Hitler received their inspiration. It was, as Professor John D. Godsey points out in his study of The Theology of Deitrich Bonhoeffer, 'a kind of theological education that was startlingly new in Germany: a communal life in which Jesus Christ's call to discipleship was taken seriously.' Professor Godsey calls Life Together 'simply written, powerfully convincing and unusually quotable...It is an attempt to give practical guidance to those who want to take their lives as Christians seriously.'£13.99 -
Solitude
Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneySome long to find it, others long to escape it. Whether we welcome or dread it, solitude is something we all experience in different forms at different points in our lives. After enduring nearly five years of solitary confinement, in cruel and terrifying conditions, Terry discovered he was drawn to find out more about the power of solitude in the lives of other people. Here, he recalls encounters with people who have experienced differing ways of being solitary: among them the peaceful solitude of remote and beautiful places, the unsought solitude of lonely people living in busy cities, the deceptive solitude of those living in the twilight world of espionage, the enforced solitude of the prisoner, and finally, the inescapable solitude of those drawing near to death.£16.99 -
Into the Silent Land: The Practice of Contemplation
Spiritual Exercises, The Inner JourneyAn introduction to contemplative prayer that draws on insights from the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the Jesus Prayer, from the Western Carmelite tradition, from poets and novelists and from the author's own experience as a retreat director and confessor.£10.99 -
The Cost of Discipleship
Influences & Suggested ReadingWhat can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the labourer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is His will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between 'cheap grace' and 'costly grace'. 'Cheap grace', Bonhoeffer wrote, 'is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship...Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know...It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it give the man the only true life.' The Cost of Discipleshipis a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.£21.99 -
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s New Monasticism: A Central Influence
Core Teaching, Influences & Suggested Reading, Monasticism & New Monasticism, New Monasticism, Northumbria Community Resources & Teaching, Re-imagining ChurchThis booklet, by Trevor Miller, looks at the ways in which Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been an influence on our Community. A Lutheran Pastor in the Confessing Church in Germany in the 1930s, Bonhoeffer’s early exploration of Community and New Monasticism was cut short by the Nazi regime, but his writings have lived on. In this booklet Trevor helps us to make the connections between Bonhoeffer’s life and work and our own journey as a Community.£5.00 -
A Silent Action: engagements with Thomas Merton
Spiritual GrowthThomas Merton's life, especially once he had become a writer, was to a great extent one of dialogue with people who were distant, both geographically and historically. In these probing and perceptive studies, Rowan Williams looks closely at the key intellectual and spiritual relationships that emerge in Merton's writings, exploring the impact on him of thinkers as diverse as Hannah Arendt, Karl Barth, William Blake, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Olivier Clement, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Paul Evdokimov, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Vladimir Lossky, John Henry Newman, Boris Pasternak and St John of the Cross.£10.99 -
Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer
Scripture & Prayer, The Inner JourneyThe most important journey in life is the journey inwards, to the depths of our own being. It is a journey we are all invited to make. It takes us beyond words and images into silence. The silence allows the restless mind to become still and in the stillness we enter a new world. We return to our hearts. Here we find our true selves. We discover an ancient way of finding God that has almost become lost. Slowly, we realize that we are in union with the source of life and love itself. Our whole life changes. Our goal now is to take God’s love to others in our everyday lives.£10.99 -
Help me to journey beyond the familiar 210mm square print
Celtic Sites & Saints, Celtic Studies & Spirituality, Creativity, Spiritual GrowthLynda Owen-Hussey, a companion with the Northumbria Community, is a mixed media artist living on the shores of the West Coast of Ireland in County Kerry, close to the birthplace of St Brendan. These days, her work is inspired by the many gifts of the sea she encounters on walks along the shore, often pondering the life of St Brendan and the many monks of old who inhabited this land. In describing this original artwork Lynda says:£12.00Painted whilst on retreat at Nether Springs, the Mother House of the Northumbria Community, this artwork is inspired by a verse in the Northumbria Community’s Brendan Liturgy:
Lord, I will trust You, help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown.
Brendan’s journey begins as his heart is stirred by a vision that takes him beyond his present circumstances and surroundings. In Genesis 12 we find Abram, who like Brendan, followed the call of God to leave the familiar comforts of home and venture towards the land of promise. Sometimes we hear that call ourselves, but oftentimes it is discomfort or the unexpected which proves to be the catalyst that opens us afresh to seeking out new ways as we journey in trust.
-
Seize the Day
Daily Readings, Monasticism & New Monasticism, New Monasticism, Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneyDietrich Bonhoeffer's faith-driven resistance to the Nazis during World War II resulted in his execution. Multitudes have been inspired by the hauntingly powrful words of this man who was willing to die for his convictions. In this collection of 365 meditations Dr Charles Ringma allows us to experience the power of Bonhoeffer's words in a way that challenges us to live out our discipleship daily - combining personal spirituality with an active concern for those around us. These daily meditations on Bonhoeffer's writings may make you uncomfortable. But if you are willing to wrestle - as Bonhoeffer did - with what it means to be a follower of Christ, you'll be empowered to seize each day.£13.99 -
God is on the Cross: Reflections on Lent and Easter
Lent & Easter‘This is my second Passiontide here. When people suggest in their letters ... that I’m “suffering” here, I reject the thought. It seems to me a profanation. These things musn’t be dramatized. I doubt very much whether I’m “suffering” any more than you, or most people, are suffering today. Of course, a great deal here is horrible, but where isn’t ? ... No, suffering must be something quite different, and have quite a different dimension, from what I’ve so far experienced. FROM A LETTER TO EBERHARD BETHGE FROM TEGEL PRISON, 9 MARCH 1944 These stirring words are among forty-seven devotions that will guide and inspire readers as they move thematically through the weeks of Lent and Easter, encountering themes of prayerful reflection, self-denial, temptation, suffering, and the meaning of the cross. Passages from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s letters and sermons provide special encouragement as readers prepare themselves spiritually for Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Supplemented by an informative introduction to Bonhoeffer’s life and a Scripture passage for each day of the season, these daily devotions are moving reminders of the true gift of Christ on the cross.£10.99 -
Fierce Imaginings; the Great War, ritual, memory and God
Everyday LifeFrom Rachel Mann, Canon Poet-in-Residence at Manchester cathedral, comes a lyrical and very personal story of remembrance, faith, family and identity shaped by the chaos and trauma wrought by the Great War and the flux in early twentieth century Europe. Rachel brilliantly explores the significance of the War to all of us today who live under its long shadow - our shared memories, culture and the symbols and relics that linger on all around us, as well as the influence of the Great War on her grandparents and how it echoed through her childhood in 1970s Britain discovering her authentic self in God, undergoing a change of sex and experiencing chronic illness and disability. Foreword by Rowan Williams.£12.99 -
Lost in Wonder: Rediscovering the Spiritual Art of Attentiveness
Everyday Life, The Inner Journey'To take time to be apart ... is not a luxury, it is essential. The gift of space for myself seems so simple, and in a way it is; but it is also surprisingly difficult to do without some form of external encouragement. And that is the very simple purpose of this book.' With these words, Ester de Waal begins to show us ways into a fuller and deeper sense of attentiveness to the world around us and to the presence of God in that world. As she observes, 'if we fail to find the time to stand back, to give ourselves a break, a breathing space we are in danger of failing to be fully alive, or to enjoy that fullness of life for which we were created.' Many aspects of modern life can distract us: busyness, boredom, stress, lethargy, lack of direction. Yet Christ's invitation to each of us is, 'Come and see'. Responding to this call, Lost in Wonder clears and refreshes our inner vision, teaching us again how to use those gifts we may have come to take for granted or forgotten we had: sight, sound, silence, awareness, mystery, wonder.£9.99 -
Sold out
Life Journey CD
Creativity, Spiritual GrowthDavid Fitzgerald and Dave Bainbridge produce an instrumental album based around the artwork, prayers and poems of Mary's Life Journey book. The music on this album was originally commissioned and conceived as an interpretation in sound of the incredibly inspiring imagery and prose contained within Mary Fleeson's wonderful book Life Journey. In that it has undoubtedly succeeded, but has also transcended the original brief as the unique chemistry between the two musicians that co-founded Iona has once again produced a deeply spiritual, timeless work. A completely instrumental album (apart from some choral samples), the two Davids came together and spent several days improvising as they poured over the book and responded to the words and pictures. Over the next year, these improvisations were gradually shaped into complete compositions which follow the chapters of the book. Dave B relates:Original price was: £14.99.£12.00Current price is: £12.00.In many ways this felt like we were returning to the source of the inspiration that birthed IONA the band. IONA was born out of David and I improvising together during soundchecks on Adrian Snell gigs back at the end of the 1980's and David's mystical experience of God's powerful Presence one dark night on the Island of Lindisfarne. This book was also birthed by Mary on Lindisfarne and much of its imagery is inspired by that amazing place. At certain points during the album you can hear sounds that Mary's husband Mark recorded on the island - the St Mary's church bell, the sea lapping on nearby St Cuthbert's Isle, the sound of the seabirds.
-
Contemplative Prayer
Influences & Suggested Reading, Scripture & PrayerThomas Merton's classic study of monastic prayer and contemplation brings a tradition of spirituality alive for the present day. But, as A M Allchin points out in his Introduction to this new edition, Contemplative Prayer also shows us the present day in a new perspective, because we see it in the light of a long and living tradition. Merton stresses that in meditation we should not look for a 'method' or 'system' but cultivate an 'attitude' or 'outlook': faith, openness, attention, reverence, expectation, trust, joy. God is found in the desert of surrender, in giving up any expectation of a particular message and 'waiting on the Word of God in silence'. Merton insists on the humility of faith, which he argues 'will do far more to launch us into the full current of historical reality than the pompous rationalisation of politicians who think they are somehow the directors and manipulators of history'.£9.99