Skip to main content

Reading for Spiritual Formation 2022-23

It's the summer holidays, and I have finished my spiritual formation reading list for the year! I've really enjoyed the process of reading and reflecting, even though I haven't found every book helpful. Of course, one book leads to another, so I was barely halfway through this year before I'd started making a list of what to read next. I've ended up with five books, but last year I managed to fit Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations in as an extra, so I think it will be doable.

 

Interestingly, my list this year has skewed towards British women (Evelyn Underhill, Penelope Wilcock, Chine McDonald) and Catholics (Stephen Bevans, Oscar Romero, Evelyn Underhill). They are also all 20th-21st century authors - Underhill, who was born in 1875, is the earliest. None of that was intentional.

So it's not quite as balanced a list as my previous one. But I'm looking forward to reading them so much that I had a hard time deciding which order to put them in. I wanted to read all of them first! 

Here's the list.

Concerning the Inner Life with The House of the Soul by Evelyn Underhill


On my recent retreat at Launde Abbey, I was browsing the bookshelves and noticed several books by Evelyn Underhill. I'd vaguely heard of her as a 20th century mystic, so I took one of the old-fashioned, blue-bound volumes with her name on and dipped in. I was immediately taken by her practical but profound thoughts on caring for your own soul - and those of others. When I got home, I ordered my own copy; it's got a snazzy new cover, but I'm pretty sure the interior is a facsimile of the 1947 edition I picked up at Launde. It's actually two books in one - hence the odd title - but they're very short.


Equality is Biblical: Lifting the Curse of Eve by Penelope Wilcock

 

OK, I confess I have read this one already. Each chapter finished with some interesting and thought-provoking questions. I wanted to have time to think about those and answer them properly, and the best way to do that was to make this one of my spiritual formation books. So I did.

 

Models of Contextual Theology by Stephen B. Bevans


This wasn't meant to be a spiritual formation book. I bought it for something else. When it arrived, I opened it at random, read two sentences, and went, "Ohhh! Richard Rohr has an anthropological model of theology! (pause) I definitely don't. I wonder what model of theology I have?" Well, I had to read a bit more to find that out, and also to realise that the book isn't really about your personal theological preference (I was so sure there would be an online quiz for that, but I couldn't find one). It's very much about mission, and how culture and faith intersect. I decided that was quite relevant for spiritual formation, so... on to the list it went.

 

God is Not a White Man and Other Revelations by Chine McDonald

 

I can't quite remember how I came across this one, but I was pleased to have it recommended by a friend recently. It was also featured on the wonderful Beer Christianity podcast. So I expect good things. Plus it sounds like it's partly a memoir, which should be a nice change after Bevans' scholarly monograph.

 

The Scandal of Redemption by Oscar Romero


 

Archbishop Oscar Romero is certainly a voice worth hearing from. He was a Catholic priest in El Salvador who stood up for the poor and spoke out against the corrupt government. In 1980, while he was celebrating mass, he was shot dead by an assassin. This book is a collection of excerpts from his letters, sermons, and radio broadcasts.

 

So that's my five books to read between September and July. I'll let you know my thoughts as I go along - and you're most welcome to read with me, or borrow a book afterwards.


Stained glass image by Marybeth from Pixabay
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor   Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as
Post a Comment
Read more

The Churnet Way: bells at Alton

Alton village and Alton Towers are perched on opposite banks of the Churnet, with the river cutting a deep valley between them. Most people drive straight through the village on the way to the theme park. But I have a great liking for walks and no fondness at all for rollercoasters, so I found a large layby to park in at Town End, in Alton, and pulled on my boots. The church bells were ringing as I set off. I vaguely wondered if there was an event. A wedding? Unlikely on a Tuesday morning. Maybe a funeral. I followed a footpath across a few fields to reach Saltersford Lane. This was the width of a single-track road, but mostly overgrown and muddy. I was grateful for the strip of stone flags (and some more modern concrete slabs) which provided a dry surface to walk on. Presently I came out into some fields and dropped down a slope to the old railway line, at the point where I left it on my previous walk .  bit of old rail   There followed several miles of walking along the railway path.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Churnet Way: Rocester and Denstone

I looked at the stile and shook my head. Only a few metres beyond it was a busy B-road with a nice wide verge to walk on, but between the stile and the road was an impenetrable mass of brambles and bushes. I wasn't getting through that lot. Reluctantly, I turned left and trekked along yet another field boundary in search of a gate. You may recall that my previous walk had taken me to Thorpe, with Toby. If you're really paying attention you will know that I'm then supposed to be continuing on the Limestone Way as far as Matlock. Well, I've taken a detour.  I realised that I had crossed every bridge over the Dove so far, apart from one small one just south of Rocester. I couldn't miss that out, could I? So today's walk was designed to take in that bridge, but it also happened to start me off on the Churnet Way , which I rather liked the look of. I think I will follow it for a while and come back to the Limestone Way later. JCB factory and lake The walk had start
Post a Comment
Read more