Fresh Expressions of Church are most significant development in the Church of England. Parishes are the mainstay of the 'inherited church'. The authors demonstrate that the traditions of the parish church represent ways in which time, space, community are ordered in relation to God and the gospel.

"The Parish Clerk" by P. H. Ditchfield is a 1907 historical book that comments on the role parish clerks play in the church at the time of its writing. The book comments on the role of the church and its members in society as well as the structure and the role each element of a parish plays in the function of the clergy.

In 1770, the priest Nicolas Vernier was accused of neglecting church services, inappropriate behaviour in the confessional, financial improprieties, and affairs with the village schoolmistresses. In a contentious church court case, parishioners described all of their priest's wrongdoings, and in turn, he detailed many of theirs. Ultimately, Vernier finished his career as a cathedral canon in another diocese. Scandal in the Parish recounts Vernier's story and many similar eighteenth-century cases. In fascinating detail that reveals essential facets of rural religion during the Catholic Reformation period, Karen Carter considers French lay people's relationship with their parish curé, who governed and influenced so much of their religious practice. Although the priest's role as purveyor of God's grace through the sacraments was secure as long as he performed his duties appropriately, priests who were unable to navigate the pressures and high expectations put on them by their superiors and parishioners risked broken relationships, public disturbances of the peace, and even prosecution. These scandals, Carter demonstrates, tell us much about rural parish life, the processes of negotiation and accommodation between curés and their parishioners, and ongoing religious reforms and enforcement throughout the eighteenth century. An engaging venture into the world of the parish that highlights the centrality of the priest-parishioner relationship, Scandal in the Parish reveals the attitudes and practices of ordinary people who were active agents in their religious and spiritual lives.

George Garrett (1896-1966) was a Merchant Seaman, writer, playwright and radical activist. His autobiographical work Ten Years On The Parish, written in the late 1930s, is published here together with a series of letters between Garrett and New Writing editor John Lehmann, which reveal a unique insight into the relationship between a working-class writer and his editor.

This is a book about the parish, written from the heart of parish life. Its heart is an edited collection of Lutheran Forum articles, with other published work and new material adding dimension to some of the themes explored in these pages. This collection provides diverse soundings of parish life in the Gospel and suggests a Lutheran theology of the parish, but one that is accessible and relevant across the ecumenical diversity of the One Body of Christ. For pastors and lay readers, this book seeks to support the ministry of congregations, as well as inspiring and provoking dialogue in local parishes.

• Memoir of respected and nationally known founder of The Alban Institute • Reflections on changes in congregational development theory over 40 years Navigating the treacherous waters of congregational and cultural change can be daunting, but knowing that others have come safely through those waters before can make the journey less unsettling. As founder and president of The Alban Institute, Loren Mead helped hundreds of churches steer around the shoals and whirlpools. In this new book, he reflects on what he learned over five decades of ministry and leadership, and offers inspiration for a new generation of leaders seeking to create change.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.