Skip to main content

Reading for Spiritual Formation 2023-24

I wasn't sure whether to read another set of theology books this year. Could the time I spend on it be better spent on something else? At what point does it become reading for the sake of it, without having much impact on my wider life? It's difficult to tell.


However, as usual, I had a growing list of books I wanted to read. I do need to think about what I'm doing as well as what I'm reading, and I don't expect to continue this specific discipline indefinitely. But I decided there was space for at least one more year of Reading for Spiritual Formation.

So, without further soul-searching: The Books.

Three Mile an Hour God
Kosuke Koyama



Japanese theologians are few and far between; Christianity is still very much a niche religion in Japan. Kosuke Koyama was Japanese and appears to be both influential and accessible. Not every theologian is both! So I'm excited to read his recently republished book Three Mile an Hour God. It was originally written in 1979, and is a series of reflections based around the idea that God goes slowly. At walking pace, in fact. About three miles an hour.

The Interior Castle
St Teresa of Avila



This is a classic of the contemplative tradition. St Teresa of Avila was a 16th-century Spanish nun. She set up several new convents, and experienced visions and raptures which supported her faith. The Interior Castle speaks of the soul being like a castle with seven courts, with God in the central one. There have been many English translations of the book since it came out in 1588. This one by E. Allison Peers seems to be well-respected, and hopefully readable.

A Place at the Table: Faith, Hope and Hospitality
Miranda Harris and Jo Swinney



In 1983, Miranda and Peter Harris founded the Christian conservation charity A Rocha in Portugal. Gathering around a table for a meal was part of the charity's ethos, helped along by Miranda's hospitable nature. Her family kept telling her she should write a book about it, but they didn't think she had ever found time to.

Sadly, Miranda and two others died in a car crash in 2019. When her daughter Jo was clearing out her mum's study, she found a folder full of notes for the long-awaited book. Jo made it her mission to bring Miranda's book to print. A Place at the Table is the collaborative result. I'm looking forward to reading their reflections on conservation, hospitality, and the Christian faith.

The Twelve Steps of Humility and Pride and On Loving God
Bernard of Clairvaux



Born in 1090, Bernard of Clairvaux was highly influential in the church in the twelfth century. He was an abbot in the Cistercian order of monks, founding an abbey at Clairvaux in France, and travelling widely to help resolve disputes within the church. I don't know much about him or his writings, but if he's still being quoted a thousand years later, he must have something good to say.

At the Gates: Disability, Justice and the Churches
Naomi Lawson Jacobs and Emily Richardson



At the Gates is based on a decade of research by Naomi Lawson Jacobs. It shares stories from disabled Christians, who have often felt unheard and overlooked in churches, and calls for "justice, equality and access to churches for disabled Christians" (from Naomi's website). I expect this will be challenging but important reading.

As usual, I'll be reading these over an academic year, from September to July. I'll post a blog when I finish each book. Your thoughts are welcome!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

One hundred churches

About the middle of January, I was walking to school one afternoon when it occurred to me that I must have visited quite a few churches on my explorations. I started counting them. But I quickly ran out of fingers, so when I got home I plotted them on Google Maps. Not only was the number much higher than I was expecting, it was also tantalisingly close to one hundred. Only a few dozen to go. So of course, every walk since then has had to include at least one church! Last Monday I visited my hundredth church: St John the Baptist, Dethick. It was a beautiful little 13-century building with an unusual tower - I was glad it had claimed the 100 spot. I haven't been inside every church. Sometimes they were locked; sometimes I was in a hurry and didn't try the door. St Leonard's Church in Alton had bellringers practicing, and I almost interrupted a funeral when I stuck my head through the door of St Mary's, Marston-on-Dove. A few, such as St Oswald's, Ashbourne, and St Wys...

Derwent Valley Heritage Way: Steep drops ahead

It's been a long time since I fitted that much up and down into an eight-mile walk! 740m of steep climbs and steps. My legs were not very happy with me the next day. Between Matlock and Cromford, the Derwent River runs through a deep valley, with Matlock Bath - a landlocked town which pretends to be a seaside resort - down at the bottom. The ridge of high ground used to run all the way round to Scarthin Rock, cutting off Cromford from the rest of the valley, until somebody blasted a hole through it to build the A6. Matlock Bath: pavilion and amusement park I started in Cromford and climbed over the ridge at Harp Edge, then followed a path along through the woods, with the ground dropping sharply away to my right. There were a few small caves among the trees. At Upperwood someone had thoughtfully provided a bench. I wasn't in need of a rest just yet, though. In fact, I was feeling so bouncy that I went down an entirely unnecessary flight of steps, instead of staying on the reaso...

Limestone Way - the end! (for now...)

Bonsall is a pretty little village just up the road from Cromford. It was the centre point for my final Limestone Way walk. First I walked one way, back towards Ible, then I walked the other way to Matlock. I started at the fountain and climbed up to a tree in which a mistle thrush was singing loudly (helpfully identified by the Merlin app). A few fields took me across to the hamlet of Slaley. Then there was a pleasant walk through the woods, which dropped steeply to my left down to the Via Gellia. At Dunsley Springs the stream went right over the edge.  I made my way down more gradually, and then was faced with the long climb up again to the point near Leys Farm where I was rejoining the Limestone Way. Tree down! Rejoining the Limestone Way Once I'd reached the top, it was a very pleasant walk across dry grassy fields. There were signs of old mining activity, which suddenly made the ground feel less solid under my feet - how many holes were hiding under the turf? Back at Bonsall, ...