REVIEWS
Unless otherwise stated all resources are available from your local Faith Mission Bookshop or online www.fmbookshops.com
Evensong – Hymns and Lullabies at the Close of Day Keith and Kristyn Getty NEW DAY DISTRIBUTORS
£10.99
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This latest album from the Gettys is a departure from songs that can easily be used in congregational singing and rather has a much more meditative tone. A project that initially began as a marker of Kristyn turning 40, this album brings together songs that they have written for, or sung with, their children, as part of family worship, at the end of the day. There are a number of voices and styles running throughout this album and the various contributors include Grammy award-winning country singer Vince Gill, Bluegrass singer-songwriter Sierra Hull and folk singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken – all bringing their individual styles to the album. Of course, there is still the traditional Irish current weaving through the songs that we have become used to from the Gettys, as well as contributions from their four young daughters. This is a beautiful, thoughtful album which brings together some wellknown spiritual songs and hymns, such as His Eye is on the Sparrow and Abide with Me, alongside original pieces, familiar Getty songs and some medleys drawing from the world of classical music. At a time when we may be spending a lot of time at home, this album could be a great tool to help us quiet our hearts and spend time in God’s presence alone or with our families. LI
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Herald Spring 2021
Reflections from the Road Jim Rea CEDRIC WILSON PUBLISHING
£12.95
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Some people have the gift of being able to see the hand of God in almost any situation in life. Jim Rea, broadcaster and former president of the Methodist Church, is one of those people. Following the success of his previous book, Stories from the Streets, he has produced a second collection of 67 short stories about people who have crossed his path, mostly during his ministry in Belfast and in rural Ulster. Some are well known – Gordon Wilson, John Hume, Gay Byrne; others are unknown local folk. Once when Jim was visiting a parishioner in hospital, the woman in the next bed interrupted and asked if he was the Jim Rea that broadcast on the radio. Then she said, “Yer great, I never miss ye”. He felt rather proud of himself, but as he left she said to him, “Ye sound better than you look” – a lesson in humility! Jim tells the story that on a wet winter evening he came on a man lying on a Belfast street. Blood was gushing from a serious head wound. Stooped beside him was a young woman. She was wearing an elegant evening dress. Jim remarked, “You are getting your dress ruined”. She replied, “It doesn’t matter, I am a nurse at the City Hospital”. Her plans abandoned, all that mattered to her was the welfare of that man. Many of the stories tell of such quiet compassion. The profits from the book are to support three homeless charities in Ulster and the book can be obtained from booksellers or directly from Jim Rea at wjimrea@gmail.com JC
Down with this Sort of Thing Dr Fraser Hosford PRAXIS PRESS
£8.89 (Amazon)
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This is a very different book. A title quoting Father Ted would not be the norm for a serious treatise on faith in modern Ireland. While just 99 pages long, it is packed full of introspection, theological insights, personal and community challenges, but above all hope and optimism. The book begins with the parable of the prodigal son and its three main characters provide a mirror to Irish church life. Other parables are discussed, and his extensive research is evident in numerous quotes and references. These thought-provoking insights set a sound scriptural base for the book. The author talks about the Eighth Amendment Referendum and goes on to place the good news in the various elements of modern Irish culture. He discusses faith, obedience, freedom, and salvation in the context of post-religious, post-authority, liberal, expressive, progressive and sceptical Irish culture. He concludes by quoting scriptural references to support the view that the good news needs to be made relevant to the particular people, place and time. He suggests that each generation must “listen to its own culture and reflect afresh on the Scriptures for itself”, and asks, “What is the good news for 21st century Ireland?” While this book is written with the culture of the Republic of Ireland in mind, the principles outlined are universally applicable. WH