God Beyond Gender: Crafting inclusive liturgy by Mary Kells (Canterbury Press, £12.99 (Church Times SPECIAL PRICE OFFER £10.39); 978-1-78622-631-0).
“Anglican doctrine affirms that God is beyond gender, yet its official liturgy has struggled to reflect this core belief. While society has embraced more inclusive language and attitudes, the Church’s liturgical language has lagged behind. Recognising this, the Church of England recently established a Commission to explore gender-neutral language for God, though progress has yet to be reported. This practical and inspiring book offers a compelling alternative: enriching our imagery for God by incorporating images from female life alongside the traditional male ones—just as Jesus did in Luke 15, pairing the parable of the lost coin with the parable of the lost sheep. By expanding our metaphors for God to embrace both male and female experience, we deepen our understanding of the divine.”
The Wisdom Years - A Spirituality of Ageing: Reflection and ripening, harvest and homecoming by Margaret Silf (DLT, £14.99 (£13.49); 978-1-915412-76-8).
“It’s time to retire, time to downsize, time to slow down and exit stage left. Does this mean becoming invisible, putting on the slippers and settling down in the rocking chair? Or is it perhaps the time to embrace the most fulfilling challenge of all - to mature inwardly into our wisdom years? This book by best-selling spirituality writer Margaret Silf explores some of the invitations that await us in these wisdom years – the harder things, like learning the art of slowing down and letting go, increasingly aware of our own mortality – and the joyful surprises, as our perspective changes and we glimpse more clearly the possibilities that the longer view reveals and the unexpected gifts that winter brings. It invites you to discover, and celebrate, your own wisdom years.”
The Cambridge Companion to Christology, edited by Timothy J. Pawl and Michael L. Peterson (Cambridge University Press, £26.99 (£24.29); 978-1-009-30797-0).
“The idea that God became incarnate as a human is a doctrine at the core of historic Christianity. Defined by the Great Councils and Creeds of the Christian church, the study of this doctrine, christology, has been a focus of inquiry for two millennia. This Companion reflects the most recent paths of inquiry for our understanding of christology. Covering Biblical and other sources, it explores the reception of christology over the course of Christianity's history, from the early patristic ages to postmodernity, as well Jewish and Islamic treatments of the christological claims.”
Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.