Making Money Serve Grace

Written by: Justin Welby (Archbishop of Canterbury) Published by: Bloomsbury

Price: £9.99

For the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2017 Lent book, he has chosen to write his own book on a subject close to his heart: money.

Drawing on his deep experience in the world of finance (he served as Group Treasurer of an oil company prior to ordination and subsequently chaired an NHS Trust and also served on the

Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards following the 2008 financial crisis) he has used money and materialism for his first full-length volume, which has been designed to be used for study – either individually or as a group during Lent.

Divided into six chapters for study – one for each week of the Lenten journey – the book encourages a rethink of attitudes to money with an emphasis on placing Christ at he heart of lives, rather than allowing Mammon to unduly shape or influence actions.This is a thoughtful, encouraging and at times provocative study that seeks to address the tensions and issues of living in the 21st century world, written in popular everyday language and not clouded by impenetrable financial acronymns.

The book is endorsed by Jean Vanier, founder of the worldwide L’Arche community, who describes it as ‘a beautiful and important book’ to accompany the Lenten journey. Offering a flavour of the book, he adds: ‘In this little book Archbishop Welby wisely dissects the defining characteristics of Mammon. They infiltrate our dayto-day lives with such subtle discretion that we may not even be aware of Mammon’s pervasive presence. If we are aware, then every day, in little ways, we can immediately begin this urgent process of dethroning Mammon, of making room for Jesus.’

This is a thoughtful and informed read which will cause western Christians to rethink their own attitudes alongside the Church of Scotland’s own report ‘A Right Relationship with Money’, which was presented to the General Assembly in 2012.