VARIETY is the spice of life, so the saying goes, and 2026 brings a nicely diverse set of Lenten volumes to choose from. For group or individual use, extracting something from scripture to reframe how we see the world now, or using the world around us to enrich our understanding of scripture — all is on offer here.The Bible has a variety of images that keep on recurring — gardens, water, fire, mountains, and so on — and that appear in the text not merely because they are there, but because of what they mean. The texts of scripture are never merely descriptive: they have resonances and meaning that can interrogate and transform the reader’s perception, if only the reader has eyes to see.I suppose that conviction is what is behind Lavinia Byrne’s latest book. A Place of Belonging presents a series of biblical texts, examines them, and then draws out what might be of good for the reader, leading them to a richer understanding not just of the Bible, but also of their own experience too. Unafraid of critical tools — indeed, seeing them as essential to deeper understanding — this book is a fine example of a Lent book that is not just a book for Lent. Highly recommended.Rachel Mann goes to the movies a lot. And then she writes about them. Gravity Defied is the third time she has taken a film — in this case the “prequel” to The Wizard of Oz, Wicked — and invited the viewer to see a deeper meaning behind the story, a story that would appear to have little to do with the solemn season of Lent.Beneath its “fairytale” exterior, the film has characters, themes, and emotions that are all too familiar, and also more to do with Lent than one might superficially imagine. As the author says, “This Lent book . . . is an invitation to explore pressing yet perennial human dilemmas and challenges, placing them — ultimately — in the wider frame of the Christian vocation to grow ever more into the likeness of Christ.”Obviously, it is useful for the reader to have first seen the film. For group use, the book divides into smaller portions for discussion, leading into reflection on how the section enlightens and enriches Christian experience. This is a good example of extracting good news from apparently unpromising places, which is one of the many things Lent is meant to be about.The son of a bank manager, I find money a subject very close to my heart. Something similar is true of contemporary Church, in which sometimes monetary considerations can seem to outweigh missionary ones. It was ever thus, I suppose: money makes the world go round; but is it right for Christians to be bothered about all that? Shouldn’t we just give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and leave it at that? or let the PCC treasurer worry about the Common Fund and get on with whatever we imagine “mission” to be?Thankfully, we have Martyn Percy’s latest book, The Cost of Christian Living, to address these and other questions. Actually, it is much more than that. What we have here is a series of really rather high-quality exegeses of a series of Gospel passages that allude to money, transaction, debt, payment, riches, generosity ,and so on.The book is intended for group or individual use and is divided into two parts, of which the second uses themes that are more orientated to Lent and Holy Week. This is the book that I will probably reread more slowly in Lent, albeit in order to be discomforted again. “Mission and ministry are not for the benefit of the church,” the author reminds the reader. Another Lent book that is not just for Lent.A century ago, a friend of the novelist and poet Charles Williams (one of my Anglican heroes) asked what it meant to live the Christian life: what was one actually supposed to do? Williams’s answer was “Love, laugh, pray, and be intelligent.” In order to do these things, though, we need resources, spiritual food. What might that consist of?Paula Gooder has a gift for hiding much learning and substance beneath an accessible and inviting format. In Lentwise, she looks at five different passages of St John’s Gospel, and uses them as the jumping-off points for group discussion. Over five weekly sessions, she suggests five things that we need for the journey: a compass to give us a sense of direction; bread to feed us; light to guide us; shelter to keep us safe; and water to refresh us. This admirably succinct book provides what is needed to set up a Lent group, including all kinds of practical suggestions and reassurances: you don’t have to be the parish priest, and previous experience is not necessary.For any Christian, of course, the Bible is our primary resource, and a daily discipline of scripture reading is as good a foundation for Lent (and, it is to be hoped, the rest of the year) as there can be. Once again, the Bible Reading Fellowship and Maggi Dawn have come up with the goods.A reissue of a volume first published in 2009, Giving It Up is the BRF’s Lent Book for 2026, and a good thing it is, too. The simplest format is usually the best: each day from Ash Wednesday to Easter is given a scripture reading, followed by a short meditation. Questions for reflection end each week. A subtle thematic arc of entering into the wilderness and slowly being changed in heart and mind will prepare the reader more truly to perceive the change above all other that is Easter. Of course, this would be used in groups, but I think its primary value lies as a daily manual for the individual. I occurs to me that it would be especially helpful for someone separated from church or community for whatever reason, by illness or geography.A thing called “mindfulness” has risen in importance for many, and is often seen as something new rather than something that has been locked into the Christian tradition for centuries. I suspect this has happened in no small part because the practice of “meditation” or “contemplation” has become bogusly professionalised in many church circles and thus perceived to be out of the reach of “ordinary” people. Meditation and silence are seen as sets of skills to be acquired rather than ordinary dispositions that need to be gently learned.Thank goodness, then, for Joshua Rey. A Season of Silence has 40 short sections, which makes it perfect for Lent, but it is not a Lent book as such: any time of the year will do. The idea is to introduce the reader slowly to the concept and the practice of silence. The key here is not to do too much too soon. The “technique” is to “sit, breathe, listen, here, now”. There is no great method: simplicity is the whole point.Each day has an introduction, a reading, a question, a prayer, and, most important of all, a period of silence, initially of no more than two minutes. This time will be extended, but only gradually; the point is to establish a pattern, not to get “better” at something. Here is a very refreshing and accessible contemporary take on an ancient practice all too absent from our rather noisy contemporary Church.Rhidian Brook is an established writer and will be familiar to all who listen to Thought for the Day on Radio 4. Notes on an Execution focuses on Holy Week and comes out of his time spent living in Jerusalem, and also responding primarily to St Mark’s telling of the Passion story. Delivered originally as a series of Holy Week addresses in York Minster in 2024, it appears here in print for all to appreciate.The readings and liturgies of Holy Week are overwhelming and wonderful, and their revival in Anglican practice in recent years has been a good thing. As with anything, though, there needs to be balance, and this series of reflections tell the (over-?) familiar stories anew, written as if from the point of view of the people there at the time: imagine what it was like if you were there. There is nothing new here, in a way — after all, the Jesuits have been using this kind of imaginative meditation for centuries — but it is nice to have a modern take on it so beautifully written.Have a good Lent. I hope that one of these books will help.
ANYONE who writes anything specifically for Advent is in some ways on a hiding to nothing. The declared, and laudable, intention of many of the writers under review here is to slow us down, and to make us take time to reflect on the scriptures and to try to hang on to some semblance of stillness and reflection and attentiveness in the madness that is the pre-Christmas rush. Four weeks or so really does not seem enough time to get ready prayerfully for anything, but perhaps, in their different ways, these books can help us to try.Reflections for Daily Prayer uses one of the more obvious and, therefore, one of the best, starting points: the Daily Office. Some readers may already be familiar with this material, as it has become an annual feature. The format here is basically unchanged, happily: a rather stellar line-up of Anglican writers offers a short meditation and a prayer for each day of the year, excepting Sundays, referencing the readings appointed for Morning Prayer in Common Worship.In addition, there are orders of service printed for a brief form of Morning Prayer and Compline, and a selection of essays on prayer and Lent. This is both a useful way into a form of daily prayer for the uninitiated and also an enriching source of material for those who already pray the Office. And it serves one of the most important functions of any prayer book: the hope is that it will help to instil habits of prayer and reflection that endure long after the book’s life has expired.For two of these offerings we go to the United States. Rich Villodas is a pastor in Queen’s, New York, and in Waiting for Jesus offers the reader a series of 25 reflections and prayers, together with suggested scripture passages, effectively for use from 1 December. Each day is intended to give 15 minutes’ worth of material. First, a biblical reflection unpacks one of the four themes chosen by the author (waiting, peacemaking, rejoicing, and beholding). Second, there is material for reflecting more deeply on the particular theme of the day.We move to Kansas for The Advent Tree, where Kara Edison is a Methodist minister. Her book is inspired by a family tradition from her childhood, when day-by-day images were made and added to a wall, making up a kind of thematic tapestry. Accompanying this were Bible readings and reflections. And so, in this book, which provides material all the way through Christmas to Epiphany, each day’s reflection is accompanied by an image (larger images for children to colour in may be downloaded). This might be a very good way of involving a congregation of young families: children could bring their material to a display in church, and gradually build up a colourful montage of what Advent and Christmas means.Over the Atlantic to Northern Ireland. After many years working as a nurse, Catherine Campbell has devoted her life to writing a variety of books expressing her love of the Lord, and Journey with Me through Christmas is the latest. In this very nicely produced volume of 25 chapters, the author retells a scripture passage and follows it with pithy reflections and prayers. A very good exercise in retelling the apparently familiar.An experienced spiritual director and broadcaster, Gemma Simmonds is a Roman Catholic theologian and religious, with ecumenical interests in the Church in Wales and the Community of St Anselm at Lambeth Palace. Donkey Roads and Camel Treks is her latest offering. There is a strong sense in this book of movement, pilgrimage, going forward to meet the Lord; and this is inspired in no small part by memories of an actual pilgrimage in the Holy Land in 2019. There is the familiar format of meditation, questions, and prayer, but, in addition, the biblical passages for each day are printed out in full, thus making the book much more valuable for those needing something more portable. Suggestions for group use are included. Full marks again to BRF for print quality: this does actually matter.I look forward every Lent to what the latest offering is from the York Courses. Material of substance, ecumenical content, multimedia formats and great adaptability make their material useful in many contexts. This Advent, there is a four-part course, put together by the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines. The title of Who am I? initially provoked flashback memories of long distant sessions at theological college, of ever-increasingly pointless sessions of introspection in the name of “self-awareness”. Were we to be in for more of this? Not at all: this course is striking for the absence of that kind of thing: any discussion of the individual is always in relation to others, and in relation to the world that we inhabit in all its beauty and horror.This course is about what is to be human in the fullest sense, what the Bible is saying about human nature, and what that means for us in the world today. Audio and visual material is available of discussions between Baines and Nick Spencer and Chine McDonald of the Christian think tank Theos, which offer a spur to group discussion. This kind of course is ideal for a pastor wanting to put on something for Advent, but pressed for time to come up with material. It’s all here.Last, we go back many centuries with O Come Emmanuel. The shape here is given by the seven Advent “O” antiphons, 1700-year-old sentences that plead for the Lord to come in densely allusive and moving imagery. Traditionally, they were chanted before and after the Magnificat at Evening Prayer (a practice encouraged in Common Worship), and recently the texts have attracted the attention of contemporary composers.The book here is divided into eight sections: one for each of the antiphons and the eighth for the Magnificat, the Song of Mary, which they were designed to frame. The contributing authors take a section each, and offer three brief reflections on a short scripture reading, followed by an invitation to reflect, and a prayer. Suitable for individual or group use, the book is richly illustrated throughout by original artwork from Sun Young Kim.Helpful suggestions offer ways for the reader to use the antiphons further. Perhaps the best way would be to use them in Evening Prayer, their original context. And perhaps that would be an opportunity to think about using Evening Prayer more regularly. And perhaps that could be done along with Morning Prayer (the subject of the first volume under review here). And perhaps that would help in some tiny way to rebuild the spiritual substance of a Church that sorely needs it.Reflections for Daily Prayer: Advent 2025 to Christ the King 2026Rosalind Brown, Joanna Collicutt, Isabelle Hamley and othersChurch House Publishing £17.99(978-1-78140-496-6)Church Times Bookshop £16.19Waiting for Jesus: An Advent invitation to prayer and renewalRich VillodasEbury Publishing £12.99(978-1-84604-903-3)Church Times Bookshop £11.69The Advent Tree: Meeting Jesus in God’s big storyKara EidsonWestminster John Knox £15(978-0-664-26931-9)Church Times Bookshop £12Journey With Me Through Christmas: An Advent devotionalCatherine CampbellIVP £12.99(978-1-78974-584-9)Church Times Bookshop £11.69Donkey Roads and Camel TreksGemma SimmondsBRF £9.99(978-1-80039-347-9)Church Times Bookshop £7.99Who Am I? An ecumenical course in four sessionsNick BainesYork Courses/SPCK £14.99(978-1-915843-54-8)Church Times Bookshop £13.49*For digital editions and group member packs, visit: spckpublishing.co.ukO Come Emmanuel: Reflections on the Advent antiphonsDavid Hoyle, Jane Williams, Philip North and othersChurch House Publishing £9.99(978-1-78140-519-2)Church Times Bookshop £8.99
Our Church Warden, Bethan Lant, will run the Great North Run, 13.1 miles, on Sunday 7 September to raise money for the London Churches Refugee Fund.Bethan, who is also a trustee of the fund, says, "the Fund enables organisations working with those in the asylum system to provide direct, practical support to those most in need in the form of small cash grants for travel cards, phone credit, food, toiletries, and other essential items". If you would like to sponsor Bethan's efforts you can do so via Just Giving here .Unfortunately, as Bethan is also our live-streamer, the 11am Mass on Sunday 7 September (the first Sunday of the month) will not be live-streamed.
The WaSh Wombles, a community interest company dedicated to picking up litter from our neighbourhoods, is now running a community litter-pick from St Mary's on the last Saturday of each month.You can join us from 11am to 1pm, working together to make our neighbourhoods a more beautiful place. All equipment is provided.
