Rhythms of Faith: A devotional Pilgrimage Through The Church Year (Rider Books which is part of Penguin Random House, London 2025. 370pp: £16.99) by Claude Atcho, an American Anglican minister, is a simple, accessible introduction for those unfamiliar with the church calendar. Each of the weekly reflections begin with four readings from the Old and New Testament. After a prayer, the author reflects upon the Scriptures. At the end of each chapter there are three questions for reflection and discussion.
Reflected in Nature: Finding God in the created world (BRF, Abingdon 2025. 185pp: £14.99) by Claire Daniel offers forty Bible-themed reflections inspired by the natural world and is accompanied by beautifully coloured illustrations by Jamie Poole, helps us to reflect on God every day, in every season of the year.
Beginnings and Endings (and what happens in between): daily Bible readings from Advent to Epiphany (BRF, Abingdon, first published in 2007, and now reissued in 2025. 173pp: £9.99) by Maggi Dawn, an Episcopalian priest and theologian, contains a relatively lengthy Scripture reading for each day of Advent and Epiphany, followed by a two or three pages of reflection. At a time when most people celebrate Christmas without understanding ‘the reason for the season’, this is a helpful book.
Attentive to God: Being aware of God’s presence (BRF Abingdon, 2025. 157pp: £9.99) by Tony Horsfall, a retreat leader and author of several books, is divided into six parts. Part 1 looks at Jacob and the problem of inattentiveness; Part 2 looks at Moses and the importance of turning aside; Part 3 looks at Jeremiah and the gift of seeing; Part 4 looks at Samuel and the posture of listening; Part 5 Mary looks Mary and the response of obedience; and Part 6 looks at Cleopas and the moment of recognition. This book is well worth buying.
To Hell’s Mouth and Back: Pilgrimage, suffering and hope (BRF Abingdon, 2025. 160pp: £9.99) by Trystan Owain Hughes, currently director of ministry development in the Church in Wales, has 6 chapters on the various experiences of pilgrimage, ranging from adversity and suffering to arriving at hope, which lies at the foundation of all our journeys Each chapter ends with four things to upon which to reflect together with a prayer. I appreciated the many thought-provoking quotations.
With Dickens at Christmas: Fifty-three Christian reflections for this festive time of year (DLT, London 2025.120pp hardback: £14.99) compiled by Stephen Poxon, is an unusual book. Every reflection begins with a Scripture verse followed by a relatively long quote from Charles Dickens, who reinvented the Christmas season; followed by a helpful prayer by Stephen Poxon, and ends with an extract from a Christmas carol.
An A-Z of Parenting for Faith: Bitesize Wisdom from the Podcast (BRF, Abingdon, 2025.22pp: £12.99) edited by Lucy Rycroft, Becky and Anna Hawken, covers a wide number of issues, ranging from arguments; bedtime, sleep and nightmares; death of a child of parent; eating disorders and self-harm; pornography; racial equality; and sibling rivalry. This book is a ‘must’ for all parents.
Worship and the Mystery of God: the Anglican Divines and the reality of divine presence (Sacristy Press, Durham 2025. 279pp: £25) by John Shepherd, Emeritus Dean of Perth, Western Australia, explores how Anglican worship evolved from embodying the divine presence to emphasising remembering and rationalist. The author reclaims a vision of worship as a transformative encounter with God, where music, ceremony, and beauty are embellishments but essential expressions of divine mystery.
The Wisdom Years: A Spirituality of Ageing: Reflection and Ripening, Harvest and Homecoming (DLT, London 2025. 160pp: £14) by Margaret Self, is a helpful book for those of us who have retired. As she rightly says, “Simply living longer doesn’t automatically bestow wisdom. It merely provides experience.” Wisdom comes when we reflect upon our experience. As Socrates is reputed to have said, “an unexamined life is not worth living”. It is in this context that the author seeks to help readers to reflect upon their experience.
The Narrow Path: how the subversive way of Jesus satisfies our souls (Hodder Faith, London 2025. 187pp hardback: £15) by Rich Villodas, the lead pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York, is an exposition for preachers of Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. It seeks to reintroduce “the counterintuitive wonder of Jesus’ timeless wisdom for this age”. However, although it is a lively read, it cannot claim to be always expounding the words of Jesus.
Pope Leo XIV: Inside the conclave and the dawn of a new papacy (Hodder & Stoughton, London 2025: 154pp hardback: £14.97) by Christopher White, an associate director and senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, is an authoritative account of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV and examines the potential impact of his leadership on Catholicism’s governance, doctrine, and engagement with pressing global issues.
The following Grove booklets (Cambridge 2025) are all 28 pages long and cost £3.95. ‘Draw near with faith’: invitations to Holy Communion (Worship 264) by Andrew Atherstone, Professor of Modern Anglicanism at Oxford, on the basis of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer deals with issues such as How broad is the invitation? What are the implications and demands? Is it ever right for someone to be refused? How do we know we are ready? Scattered Blessing: Genesis 11-12 and Old Testament Perspectives on Mission (Mission & Evangelism 151) by Richard S Briggs, Principal of Lindisfarne College of Theology, explores the significance of Genesis 11 and then offers a provocative and well-informed reading of chapter 12. Giving Thanks! There’s more to it than we think (Spirituality 174) by Sue Thomson, a former children’s minister and currently is the educational resources manager for the Scottish Bible Society, offers a number of helpful ideas to help develop individual and corporate practice of giving thanks. Generosity in Action: giving as part of faithful discipleship (Discipleship 18) by Dr Katy Adams who researches community-based care at Sheffield University, contends that, through using our resources to show practical love to others, we can share in building God’s kingdom here on earth. The Loneliness Epidemic: the journey from Loneliness to connectedness (Youth 80, 2025) by Lizzie Ashley, who is the leaders of a school’s work charity, explores the reason for this loneliness and what Jesus can offer as a solution. Finding a Bible for the Twenty-first Century (Biblical 117) by David Dewey, a retired Baptist minister, offers a brief overview of the development of English translations – with one exception it is a helpful booklet. The exception is that he states that the NIV Bible is the best for Evangelicals. But this is not true, for it is biased. The best English Bible is the New Revised Standard Version, which is used by every Protestant scholar.