4 mins
REVIEWS
TWICE RESCUED CHILD
Written by: Thomas Graumann with Trician Goyer
Published by: SPCK
Price: £13.99
This is the story of Thomas Graumann, who as an eight-year-old boy became part of the Kindertransport from his native Czechoslovakia, led by Nicholas Winton.
He boarded a train for England in August 1939 with his mother reassuring him that when Hitler left he could return home, but it was the last time he saw his mother and most of his Jewish family.
Graumann found himself in the village of Connel Bridge, near Oban and a year later committed himself to Christ as he listened to a local evangelist. Scripture Union and Christian camps played a key part in forming his faith through his teenage years and he felt called to be a missionary at the age of 15. He trained as a nurse and studied languages in Singapore before a posting to the Philippines where he met his future wife, Caroline, a missionary from the US. Following marriage, they moved to the USA and raised a family, but found their dreams of further missionary work derailed by ill health and lack of finance.
However, the fall of the Iron Curtain and Communism brought the return of family property to her family and a new-found freedom for Thomas to return to the land of his birth and speak of his two rescues – the inspiration for the title.
In September 2009 Thomas and 21 other Kindertransport survivors retraced their journey on the 70th anniversary of the original ‘Winton train’.
His story is moving: one of profound loss, but also one of deep gratitude for the seeds of a faith sowed in Scotland which took him away from his surviving family who searched for him with
plans for America and Australia, but instead led him on a new journey which ultimately brought him back to his roots.
JOCK’S JOURNEY
Memoir of a minister and makar Written by: Jock Stein
Illustrated by Margaret E Stein
Published by: Handsel Press
Price: £10.00
The Rev Jock Stein is a well-known figure within the Church of Scotland and in his eighth decade after many years of preparing the memoirs of other ministers for publication, has finally pulled together the story of his own life and ministry.
The work is a little different from a traditional memoir as it is interspersed with poetry, inspired by the many people and places where Jock and his wife, Margaret and family have served, from studies in Edinburgh, to Crieff and married life, via Kenya, the Cairngorms, Dundee (where Ricky Ross served as his pastoral assistant for a year) to Carberry Tower in East Lothian, Hungary, Cumbernauld and Kincardine, before settling in Haddington, East Lothian and retiring for a third time after a further period of service in the county.
The book also offers insights into the Handsel Press, a publishing house led for some time by Jock and offers publications aimed at a Church of Scotland audience.
The book offers insights into Scottish culture and a snapshot of the changing Church of Scotland over the last 50 years and mentions many well-known figures from former Moderator of the General Assembly to more contemporary names, who have all touched Jock’s ministry and provided poetic inspiration.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
A Commentary
Written by: Nicky Gumbel
Published by: Hodder & Stoughton
Price: £25
As you might expect from a bible commentary, this is a weighty tome, running to more than 700 pages.
Written by the pioneer of the Alpha course – (a series of sessions exploring Christianity) – Gumbel is also vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton in Kensington in London. The book is designed to be used every day and help readers explore the Bible and better understand Scriptures over 365 days.
For anyone seeking to explore the Bible every day, this offers a useful guide, with a theme for every day and Gumbel’s own writing on Proverbs, Psalms and sections of both the Old and New Testaments.
This hardback will be particularly useful for anyone who has already engaged in an Alpha course and is interested in engaging in further study each day.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Working with the Architect Essential for any developing Christian
Written by: Neil O’Boyle
Published by: SPCK
Price: £8.99
Written by the National Director of British Youth for Christ, this book is not unsurprisingly aimed at teenagers and young adults and seeks to encourage them to be the best they can be.
An analogy of constructing a house is used to illustrate how young people can open their lives to Christ and build up and allow the light to shine into the nooks and crannies to allow them to become the people they were destined to be.
VICAR
Written by: Alan Bartlett
Published by: SPCK
Price: £9.99
Whilst written from an Anglican perspective (Bartlett is an Anglican priest and now working as a CMD (Continuing Ministeral Development) officer in Durham) those involved in both ordained and nonstipendiary ministry in the Church of Scotland will find many parallels with some of the writing and sentiments express in this book.
The book aims to celebrate traditional ordained pastoral ministry and affirm the role but amid a time of great change and challenge – and the challenges faced by the Church of England are similar to those faced by the Church of Scotland – also asks key questions about making decisions about the ministry of the future and its evolution. The book also asks how the need for an institutional church can be satisfied in every parish.
The book is divided into three parts: the first part offers the theological foundations for a parochial ministry; the second part explores the role of ministry and the third the qualities of those who minister.
The work will be of interest to anyone involved in ministry and seeking to imagine how it might be shaped in future amid cultural and social change.
Lynne McNeil
This article appears in the February 2020 Issue of Life and Work
If you would like to view other issues of Life and Work, you can see the full archive
here.