THIS scholarly and yet easily accessible book breaks new ground in very successfully bringing on to the written page a Traveller theology, from someone with a rich Traveller heritage. Since the 19th century, there have been numerous sociological and anthropological studies of Gypsies written by outsiders, sometimes romanticised, other times focusing on lurid myths; but here is a work that is written from experience and profound theological reflection.

So much of Traveller culture and theology in this country is oral and passed on by word of mouth, but here the stories and religious practices are given to a wider audience through the written word. Historically, Travellers have kept their culture separate to survive, and this with societies’ deep suspicion and prejudice against nomadic people has led them to be the most marginalised group in the UK.

The really positive message of this book is that Christianity is the bridge between Travellers and “Gorgers” — the rest of us. To embrace Christianity is to take on “otherness” and find a new distinctive way of living, but also find a unity in Christ in whom there is no Jew nor Gentile, nor slave nor free.

Horne leads us into the world-view of Travellers who see so many settled people as separated from God and through their sin as unclean, cleverly mirroring negative historical stereotypes which have seen Travellers as dirty and ungodly. He invites us to see as a Traveller sees. The author takes us on a journey through Gypsy history, prejudice, sin and purity, nomadic life in the scriptures, Traveller cosmology, and Traveller Christology.

Particularly interesting are his thoughts on time, which in contemporary culture is seen as a lineal thing, but in Traveller and Christian thought is something much more permeable. The image of breaking camp and moving on helps us to understand the impermanence of our existence and the importance of living in the now, which is to live in Christ.

He manages to combine academic and theological depth with a readable style, but just sometimes there’s a clash in styles. His reflection is often done Gypsy-style, through the telling of stories, where we meet bareknuckle fighters, a fortune-teller, and travel to the famous Appleby Horse Fair.

The book is compulsory reading for the growing numbers of Anglicans and others called to minister among and with Travellers, but would be helpful for all Christians responding to the radical call of Christ to live simply and faithfully, and be among those on the margins of society. If you want an honest and deep insight into Traveller culture and thinking, in contrast to the shallow and negative stereotyping of most media coverage, this book is a huge gift.

Canon Jonathan Herbert is Chaplain to Gypsies Travellers and Showmen in the diocese of Salisbury, and author of Accompaniment, Community and Nature (JKP, 2020).

Gypsies and Jesus: A traveller theology
Steven Horne
DLT £19.99
(978-1-913657-94-9)
Church Times Bookshop £17.99