ARTHUR HAWES, a former Archdeacon of Lincoln, is the author of 51 thoughtful and informed sermons, mainly related to the Church’s own year, and two long papers, collected in High Days and Holy Days: Voices of the Christian West (Balestier Press, £9.99; 978-1-911221-65-4). They are grouped under the calendar months, with a final section that includes such subjects as marriage, prison chaplains, and people with hearing difficulties.
His longstanding involvement with mental-health issues is reflected in pieces on mental health and exorcism, and World Mental Health Day. The sermons, which often end with a prayer, avoid laboured commentary on set readings, and instead reflect the author’s knowledge of doctrine and church history as well as his experience on the General Synod and elsewhere. They would reward unhurried reading, and provide hints for those who must themselves preach. GP