Bonhoeffer for the Church: An introduction by Matthew D. Kirkpatrick (Fortress Press, £33.99 (£30.59); 978-1-5064-9782-2).

“Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of the most widely read Christian writers of the twentieth century. Although his work has been influential among academics, his widest readership has always been the church. Each Sunday, Bonhoeffer’s writings are referenced in sermons and study groups around the world. And yet no systematic introduction to Bonhoeffer exists for this audience. In Bonhoeffer for the Church, Matthew Kirkpatrick corrects this omission. Structured around topics such as preaching, worship, sacraments, prayer, pastoral care, confession, evangelism, and apologetics, Bonhoeffer for the Church offers an accessible but comprehensive introduction to Bonhoeffer’s life and thought for those in ministry or interested in understanding their life in community better.”


On This Holy Island: A modern pilgrimage across Britain by Oliver Smith (Bloomsbury, £20 (£18); 978-1-3994-0903-2). Reviewed here

“Acclaimed travel writer Oliver Smith sets out to radically reframe our idea of ‘pilgrimage’ in Britain by retracing sacred travel made across time, from murmurs of ritual journeys in the depths of Ice Age to new pilgrimages of the 21st century.” 


Touching Cloth: Confessions and communions of a young priest by Fergus Butler-Gallie (Penguin, £10.99 (£9.89); 978-1-5291-7611-7). New in paperback. Reviewed here

“Fergus Butler-Gallie reveals what it's like to become a priest in the twenty-first century. . . Behind the daily scrapes is an all-too-human love letter to the Church of England, and the amazing variety of people who manage to keep it going, providing a listening ear, company and community at a time when so many people desperately need it, as well as a reflection on what it means to follow a spiritual path amid the chaos of the modern world.”


Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.