Church of England

The book Practicing Life Together: A Common Rule for Christian Growth by Paul Gutacker is reviewed.

This article explores the place of spirituality in training and curacy. It investigates spirituality through the lenses of longing for God, journeying and community. The article acknowledges the liminal space of theological education and curacy and the need to cross thresholds in the pilgrimage of formation.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the theological concept of ‘ark’ as a useful metaphor for assessing the potential of cathedrals for effective mission and social action. The popular concept of ark as shelter and means of salvation is but one way of thinking about cathedrals, but the paradoxical and complex nature of what it means to be ‘ark’ for others in Scripture and tradition provides other ways of assessing and developing mission potential. These different ways of thinking about the cathedral will be set against stories obtained from talking to people seeking different forms of help from cathedrals, in order to show in what ways the cathedral was ‘ark’ for them and to test what the limits of that perspective might be. The paper concludes with some suggestions for strategic action within cathedrals to maximise this particular mission and social justice lens.

Journal Article Just Belief in Action: William Temple and the Formation of the Council of Christians and Jews Get access Steve Williams Steve Williams Bishop’s Advisor in Interfaith Relations and Incumbent of St Gabriel’s, Prestwich, Diocese of Manchester, United Kingdom E-mail: st.gab.prest@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Church and State, Volume 65, Issue 4, Winter 2023, Pages 434–438, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csad065 Published: 28 November 2023

ABSTRACT In my theological reflection, I explore a life-giving relational intimacy that was present during the day when my husband and I were married. Using a sociological understanding from Schweitzer’s model of adulthood, I begin to explore how relationships develop through a person’s many ‘strands’ (that is, the things that form us) intertwining with another person’s own strands. Using an ontological lens of univocity from Gilles Deleuze, I begin to process this relationality within the concept of becomings, that is, how different potentials and affects of different strands interact. Within this, I use Graham Ward’s conception of desire, in which ideas of relationality and love derive from a Trinitarian relating. This results in the ideas of becoming-intimate and becoming-reciprocal that show two different ways of relating. Using a hermeneutical triad of sign-belief-life, which is derived from a biblical exegesis of the story of the Wedding at Cana in John 2:1–11, I apply this tool to the socio-philosophical understandings of relationality – and idea that is unique to practical theology. The conclusion I come to is a model that shows a connection between intimacy, reciprocity and the fullness of life.

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An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.