John Bell & Wild Goose Resource Group
From a black Jesus to a great lake of beer; the Highland clearances to Protestant iconoclasm; the pandemic to paedophilia … just a sample of the wide-ranging issues covered in this collection of short broadcast pieces and longer festival seminars. And through them all – faith, hope, life and love.
Meditations & Reflections
A book of reflections, meditations and prayers for Advent and Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter, Ascension and Pentecost arising out of conversations about faith, love, doubt and hope.
Issues & Inspirations
A guide to a pilgrimage route in one of the most majestic landscapes in the UK, that of the Lake District. Also provides an historical backdrop to the region and St Kentigern, who is also known as St Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow.
Books
David Osborne tells the story of his long pilgrimage on foot from the middle of England to the island of Iona, and how he reflected along the way on the qualities we need to develop in ourselves for the journey we face into the future as we contend with climate change, pollution and diminishing resources.
In 2004, the Iona Community became concerned that many of those who could bear witness to its early days were by then in their 70s or 80s. As a result, they commissioned an oral history project, so that their testimonies would not be lost. This book is based on the recordings of their stories.
Books
The second volume of John Bell's collected scripts from BBC Radio 4's 'Thought for the Day' on a diverse selection of topics. Also includes three longer pieces by John.
Books
A moving and insightful reflection by a Christian minister on his grassroots engagement with Islam - from inner-city parish ministry in Leeds to the streets of Karbala at a time of rising Islamophobia and the 'War on Terror'.
Explores facets of the personal life, relationships and ministry of Jesus which are seldom the stuff of preaching or conversation, but which are all rooted in the Gospels and are necessary if we are to be freed from the passive stereotypes which still dominate thinking about Christ.
Books
Scripts from John Bell's broadcasts on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day, representing the prickly interface between faith and politics from the perspective of a Christian believer.
Advent & Christmas
Short, structured readings for each day of Advent, not advocating a 'cosy' view of Christmas but rather urging us to use this season to address some of the most important issues of our time.
Books
An accessible, popular account of the 7th-century life of Adomnán of Iona, from his boyhood in Donegal to his death as Abbot of Iona, with an emphasis on the contemporary significance of his Law of Innocents - a revolutionary law which in its own day was as significant as the Geneva Conventions or the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
In this second collection of sermons and addresses, John L. Bell proves that he is not one to shy away from the challenges provided by biblical stories. Likewise he proves startlingly adept at articulating the often uncomfortable questions the Bible poses for contemporary life. Paul, Job, Jeremiah, Elijah and Zachariah are among the biblical characters the author examines.
Spirituality is not a permanent high, a continual blissed out state. To experience the heights, one has also to know the depths. In this book based on speeches and sermons delivered in marquees, cathedrals and local churches, John Bell deals with issues as diverse as private devotion and public debt.
Books
This collection of daily readings is designed to help us reconnect with the energies of God and to centre our lives upon things that ultimately matter.
LGBTQ+
When Jacqueline Ley's 23-year-old son told her that he was gay, she was shocked and hurt. Her fundamentalist Christian background told her that homosexuality was sinful and that her son had placed himself beyond the pale. But she underwent a remarkable transformation of attitude