LONDON - 23 October 2007 - 160 words
Book: Dancing on the Edge - Chaplaincy, Church and Higher Education
Dancing on the Edge, by Peter McGrail
& John Sullivan, takes as a starting point the investigation
and report commissioned by the Catholic Conference of Chaplains
in Higher Education in England and Wales. The methodological approach
of the report permitted the key issues to surface quickly and
directly.
These issues were taken up and discussed further at an international
ecumenical colloquium at St. Deiniol's Library, North Wales, in
May 2006. The essays are based upon the papers presented at the
Colloquium. They open up debates about the nature, purpose, position,
practical functioning and long-term effectiveness of higher education
chaplaincy so that discussion of this ministry is informed by
ecumenical and international dialogue. These essays bring out
the multi-faceted and complex interaction, in university chaplaincy,
between historical legacy, human chemistry, institutional politics,
management structures, internal and external communication networks,
social factors, theological perspectives, denominational sensitivities,
individual gifts, gender issues and surrounding ecclesial structures.
The book offers a realistic assessment of many of the challenges
facing chaplains in Higher Education, as well as evidencing a
committed engagement and sense of hope. Chaplains will find here
mapped out crucial features of their work environment. Senior
managers in Higher Education will find themselves surprised, challenged
and comforted in different proportions as they see their institutions
described from the chaplains' perspective. Members and office-holders
in the Church, too, should experience both discomfort and encouragement
as they ponder the Report and the essays contained in this book.
"These essays not only spur us
on to think again about the role of the chaplaincy but may even
cause us to reconsider the role of modern universities, especially
for those among us who treasure their Christian foundations."
from the Preface by Professor
Gerald Pillay, Vice-Chancellor & Rector, Liverpool Hope University
Dancing on the
Edge - Chaplaincy, Church and Higher Education is published by
Matthew James Publishing Ltd,
19 Wellington Close, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 2EE www.matthew-james.co.uk
ISBN 978 1898366 88 1 Price £10.95
© Independent Catholic
News 2007
Contact Independent
Catholic News tel/fax:
+44 (0)20 7267 3616 or email
Chaplain • Latest news • Archive • Listings • Pictures •