Life & Work Magazine
Life & Work Magazine


21 mins

REVIEWS

THIS IS MY BODY

A Story of Sickness and Health

Written by: Jennie Hogan

Published by: Canterbury Press

Price: £12.99

Living with brain injury and illness is the central theme of this book.

The author, Jennie Hogan, is a university chaplain at Goodenough College in London and assistant priest at St George’s Bloomsbury.

The book is partly biographical, charting a happy childhood in Lancashire until struck down by blinding head pain and the discovery of abnormality and lifesaving brain surgery. It also charts the journey of coming to terms with the impact of brain injury and loss, followed by vivid and gripping accounts of recurring bouts of illness, resulting in further surgery.

Each section of the journey is rooted in theology with a focus on healing and living with uncertainity.

Then, despite recurring bouts of illness, there is a sense of a call and despite illness rearing its head – there is acceptance and peace.

For anyone struggling with illness and the uncertainty of life, this is a profound book with the simple message: ‘you are not alone’.

KEY WORDS OF POPE FRANCIS

Edited by: Cindy Wooden and Joshua J McElwee

Published by: Bloomsbury Continuum

Price: £10.99

Pope Francis has garnered respect from around the world since his appointment.

This book is not simply a collection of his thoughts or interpretations of speeches, nor an autobiography.

Rather this an anthology of 50 essays, written by contributors from around the world. Each was given a word which has become important in the ministry of Pope Francis.

Many of the contributors are leading lights in the Catholic Church, but there are contributions from other respected figures, including academics and writers and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who writes on the theme of ‘sheep’. The editors are respected figures within the global Catholic media network.

This work will appeal to anyone seeking insights into the values of the head of the Catholic Church and how he is regarded both inside and outside the Church.

INTERRUPTING SILENCE

God’s Command To Speak Out

Written by: Walter Brueggeman

Published by: Hodder

Price: £10.99

Taking a theme of silence, the author, a renowned Old Testament scholar, uses this to encourage readers to speak up in areas of injustice.

Drawing on selected bible stories from Old and New Testaments, including examples from Exodus, the Pslams, Mark and 1 Corinthians, which demonstrate the marginalised and oppressed speaking up and breaking an oppressive silence, Brueggemann, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgie, skilfully explains how remaining silent allows the powerful to retain control as he seeks to motivate readers to consider whether they personally need to end the silence and act for justice.

ORGANS IN SCOTLAND

A Revised List

Written by: David A Stewart and revised by Alan Buchan

Published by: The Edinburgh Society of Organists

Price: £8.50 (available from the Scottish Federation of Organists www.scotsorgan.org.uk) This book is a labour of love, carefully detailing the presence, history and existence of organs not just in every single church in Scotland, but where they were also used in places such as cinemas, schools and concert halls.

The comprehensive list is also a revision of some earlier work which ensures the history and importance of organ music in Scotland’s churches in particular is preserved and recorded and not lost with the passage of time, but also offers social insights into the place of organs and their use in wider society.

It also highlights the usage of organs and charts their rise in popularity. The work includes photographs of some of the more unusual or historic organs that are still in use in churches today.

Revised by Alan Buchan, a church organist and the husband of a Church of Scotland minister, the book has taken seven years to compile and update and has been funded entirely by the Edinburgh Society of Organists and the cover price also includes UK post and packing.

The book will be of interest to anyone fascinated by organs and their sound and history or particularly to anyone with a research interest in organ music and society.

Copies are also available from the author direct at alanbuchan@btinternet.com

Lynne McNeil

This article appears in the June 2018 Issue of Life and Work

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This article appears in the June 2018 Issue of Life and Work