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WELCOME
From your editor…
COUNCIL OF
REFERENCE
David Bracewell – Zoe Ministry
(zoeministry.co.uk); author; and previously
Rector of Saint Saviour’s Church, Guildford.
Spring is a time of new
beginnings in the natural world.
Kate Bruce – Director of the Centre for
Communication and Preaching, Deputy
Warden and Tutor in Homiletics, St John’s
College, Durham University.
Charlie Cleverly – Rector of St Aldate’s,
Oxford, one of the UK’s leading Anglican
churches and part of the New Wine
network, author of several books, most
recently Epiphanies of the Ordinary.
Malcolm Duncan – Chair of the Spring
Harvest Planning Group, Senior Minister
of Gold Hill Baptist Church, Founder and
Director of Church and Community.
Andy Frost – Director of Share Jesus
International.
I
t never fails to amaze me that,
against all the odds, what look like
dead twigs and barren mud start to
show signs of growth and vitality.
The seasonal cycles, the beauty of new
foliage, and the miracle of a whole new
generation of creatures all point to a
God who takes delight in his creation.
I wonder what place you think the
creation care has in the life of a
Christian? Perhaps you fall within the
group that Will and Pip CampbellClause mention in their article (page
9), who consider it to be ‘insidious,
irrelevant or incidental’. Or perhaps
you agree with Dave Bookless, who
says caring for the planet is deeply
biblical and flows from the heart of
God (see page 29). As preachers, we
have enormous influence and therefore
the responsibility to think carefully
about whether what we are teaching
reflects ‘the mind of Christ’, who is the
one in whom and for whom all things
were created (Colossians 1:16,17).
I firmly believe that for a Christian,
environmentalism isn’t a matter of
responding to horrific statistics of
destruction and degradation; it is
simply reflecting the concerns of the
God we worship. I’d love to hear what
you think, and whether the articles in
this issue of Preach have brought new
LWPT8462 - Preach Magazine - Issue 2 v2.indd 4
understanding or simply clarified the
views you already held.
The theme of our summer issue is
‘Preaching and the Holy Spirit’ and we
have some great features lined up. Lots
to look forward to!
THE SEASONAL CYCLES, THE
BEAUTY OF NEW FOLIAGE,
AND THE MIRACLE OF A
WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF
CREATURES ALL POINT TO A
GOD WHO TAKES DELIGHT IN
HIS CREATION
Ruth Gee – President of Methodist
Conference 2013/14 and Methodist minister.
Richard Littledale – Baptist minister,
author and broadcaster.
Mark Meynell – Associate Director,
Langham Partnership International;
author and cultural commentator.
Ruth Valerio – Academic; activist;
author. Churches and Theology Director,
A Rocha UK.
Preach resources, available in print
and online, are provided by LWPT.
Editor
Jo Swinney
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Jo Swinney
Editor
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2015. All rights reserved. Permission is granted for
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09/01/2015 14:35:55