The Meaning Is In The Waiting

This is the first in a series of books commissioned in consultation with John Sentamu. It can be described as "The Archbishop of York's Advent book". Its theme is overtly an Advent one, yet subsequent books will range over other biblical and seasonal topics.Paula Gooder provides a profoundly biblical guide to the season of Advent and we explore its central theme of waiting (something we are not good at in our modern culture) in the company of the biblical characters who feature prominently in the lectionary readings for the season: Abraham and Sarah who waited for a child, Isaiah and the prophets who waited for judgement and redemption, John the Baptist whose role was to wait in the wilderness until the prophecies he foretold were realised, Mary whose waiting began in pregnancy and continued as she stood at the foot of the cross. Arranged for daily reading, this offers an exquisite meditation on the spirituality of waiting - the active doing of nothing - as a way of enhancing our lives and bringing us closer to God.

Eight women tell their stories – using their own words – stories of the unseen fallout of the war on terror in Britain. These are stories of real women, from cultures as varied as Palestine, Senegal, Jordan, Libya, St John's Wood, and the English Midlands. They all came to the UK as refugees, or married refugees here. After 9/11 the world they loved here vanished almost overnight. One after another they were engulfed by isolation and private terror.

This wise and beautiful book draws on the experience of unchosen waiting – in sickness, in old age, and in the struggles and frustrations of everyday life – to explore the challenges of waiting and the skills it demands. A lifeline for anyone who finds themselves in a time of waiting, chosen or unchosen, or accompanying others through such times, it shows how the paradoxical gifts of patience point to the God who kindly waits for us. A book of grace, depth and beauty, destined to become a modern spiritual classic.

An advertising man searches for meaning in this “fascinating dissection of the media world we live in . . . A thought-provoking road-trip tale” (Chicago Tribune). Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize In his mid-thirties, Joe works as an advertising copywriter for a slick New York agency. But he feels disillusioned with his life, and finds himself experiencing dreams about a mysterious man, seeing him on the street, hearing his voice. Joe decides to listen. So he waits on his stoop, day and night, for instructions. A local reporter takes notice, and soon Joe has become a media sensation, the center of a storm. When the Man tells Joe to “go west,” he does. What follows is a compelling and visceral story about the struggle to find something more in life, told in two interwoven threads—Joe at the beginning of his journey in Manhattan, and at the end of it as he finds new purpose on a ranch in Montana under the endless sky. “A strangely engrossing, meticulously written allegory of the present moment.” —Douglas Coupland, author of Worst. Person. Ever.

In many societies all over the world, an increasing polarization between contrasting groups can be observed. Polarization arises when a fear born of difference turns into ‘us-versus-them’ thinking and rules out any form of compromise. This volume addresses polarizations within societies as well as within churches, and asks the question: given these dynamics, what may be the calling of the church? The authors offer new approaches to polarizing debates on topics such as racism, social justice, sexuality and gender, euthanasia, and ecology and agriculture in various contexts. They engage in profound theological and ecclesiological reflection, in particular from the Reformed tradition. Contributors to this volume are: Najib George Awad, Henk van den Belt, Nadine Bowers Du Toit, Jaeseung Cha, David Daniels, David Fergusson, Jan Jorrit Hasselaar, Jozef Hehanussa, Allan Janssen, Klaas-Willem de Jong, Viktória Kóczián, Philipp Pattberg, Louise Prideaux, Emanuel Gerrit Singgih, Peter-Ben Smit, Thandi Soko-de Jong, Wim van Vlastuin, Jan Dirk Wassenaar, Elizabeth Welch, Annemarieke van der Woude, and Heleen Zorgdrager.