Present in Every Place?

Will Foulger

Description

Amidst a world of seemingly endless movement and change many of us feel a longing to be rooted. It is this instinct that has led many to value the parish system, and to question the place of new churches, be they fresh expressions or church plants. This book is about the instinct to form churches that are of and for a particular place, and what this might mean in a world where place is contested, interconnected, and ever-changing. Above all it is an attempt to move the conversation beyond the binary choices of parish or non, new or inherited. It offers a powerful and persuasive vision for a Church that is national only by being local; a vision that can only be realised as churches continually become present to their places.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian Church
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd
• Date de parution: 30 avril 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780334062059
• Langue: English

Extrait

Present in Every Place?

The Church of England and the Parish Vocation Will Foulger

© Will Foulger 2023 Published in 2023 by SCM Press Editorial office 3rd Floor, Invicta House, 108–114 Golden Lane, London EC1Y 0TG, UK www.scmpress.co.uk SCM Press is an imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd (a registered charity)

Hymns Ancient & Modern® is a registered trademark of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd 13A Hellesdon Park Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR6 5DR, UK All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, SCM Press. The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this Work British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. ISBN 978-0-334-06203-5 Typeset by Regent Typesetting Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd

For my Godfather, Roger. Who gave me Proverbs 15.17.

Acknowledgements Preface

Introbuction

1. Longing for Place 2. Disagreeing Well 3. Place Isn’t What it Useb to Be 4. Putting the Parish in its Place

Postscript

Contents

Acknowledgements

Iwish to offer thanks to all those who have supported and encouraged me in the writing of this book. The ideas presented here arose out of research I carried out with four very different Church of England churches in four very different places. So the first thank you is for them. Thank you for allowing me to share some small part of your life together, and for letting me see how your worship of Christ led you to love your places. Thank you to Mum and Dad, and family and friends, all of whom have been more confident about something like this than I have been. To my colleagues at Cranmer Hall who have been a source not only of theological insight and questioning but also laughter. A particular thank you to Philip Plyming, who encouraged me to be here doing this, and who has made things work so that I have had space to think and write. Thanks, Sam, for reading some of this and for sparking ideas. Thanks go too to Robert Song and Alan Bartlett, my doctoral supervisors and the ones who planted the seed of an idea that would become this book. And to all my theology teachers over the years who have had a part in shaping these reflections. I mention here especially Alan Torrance, who first instilled in me a hunger to know more about the God who is free. That has remained my theological instinct all these years, and I will be forever grateful. Thank you to my friends in Nottingham – and at Trinity Church in particular – where I was privileged to see that all this might really matter. To everyone at SCM Press who has made this such an easy process to be a part of, thank you. And especially to David Shervington, for first opening the door of possibility and then for carrying it through to where we are now. The final thank you must go to my family. Vikki and Iris, Joe, Jesse and Huck have been patient with me as I have juggled demands. What I said back then is truer now than ever: you make everywhere that we are a place I want to belong.