Search results for: 'quick the'

13 Feb 2019

Struggling to find space? Follow Jesus into the desert.

The desert is a vast and beautiful. The colours of the sky and the sand and the piercing blue against the reds and the yellow, are intense. A few years ago, on an 8 days retreat in the Egyptian desert, three days of which were solitary and fasting, I was struck by the space and sheer beauty of the desert. It was a struggle to get away, with four ...

authise authise
12 Aug 2019

Mark Oakley on Greenbelt Festival and the Poet George Herbert

We catch up with Mark Oakley to find out more about his appearance at Greenbelt Festival. We also hear about his admiration for two great poets, one of which he reflects upon in his upcoming book, My Sour-Sweet ...

authise authise
4 Oct 2019

What can we learn from our animal friends? Meet Danny, the Irish Setter

All over the world, everywhere, humans and animals form great bonds that give them both another kind of gift of life. This is one of the reasons why Joan Chittister wrote the book, Two Dogs and a Parrot. For World Animal Day we're sharing an extract from the book where we meet Danny, the unruly Irish ...

Emma Collins
10 Jun 2020

What is Resilience? And Why Now is the Time to Practise It

Several years ago when Meg Warner began writing the drafts for Joseph: A Story of Resilience Brexit was only a 'pipe dream'. Later, in the editing stages Brexit had become the greatest challenge to have struck the UK for many decades. In March 2020, the book entered the final stages of publishing and the coronavirus pandemic had threatened to ...

Emma Collins
15 Sept 2020

From the quiet science lab to the macho police college

'Leaving the quiet, sterile environment of science research for the macho, militaristic culture of Hendon was a massive culture shock. You could smell the testosterone in the air the moment you passed through the gates into the campus'. In this extract from Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop, Leroy Logan tells us about his first night at Hendon Police ...

11 Nov 2018

Reflections on the end of the Great War

On Remembrance Sunday, Alan Billings shares his ...

Laura Barry
13 Jan 2026

UK Bible Sales Are Up 134% Since 2019

Discover why more people, especially younger readers, are returning to the Bible and how Scripture continues to speak into everyday ...

Emma Collins
14 Apr 2020

Mindful Walking

With many of you going out for daily exercise, how many times would you say that you were mindful of your surroundings? Graham User writes that he has two approaches to walking, one that focuses on the amount of steps and time it takes him, and the other to pay attention to his surroundings such as patterns in the sky, birdsong or sounds of ...

9 Jul 2018

5 Questions for Paul Hattaway

On 19 July, we will publish Guizhou by Paul Hattaway, the second in a series of books about the exponential growth of Christianity in China. Here, we caught up with him about writing and his plans for the ...

28 Aug 2018

How was your journey?

Sean Stillman's memoir God's Biker will be published on 20 September. Here, he chats with us about a different way to frame travel ...

6 Sept 2018

National Read A Book Day

6 September is National Read A Book Day. Richard Harries, author of Haunted by Christ, blogs for us about the importance of reading and the effect that literature can have on our perspective, how we see ourselves and the ...

24 Sept 2018

I thought there would be cake too!

Tim Gough is the author of Rebooted, which looks to the Bible to reframe how youth ministry works for our generation. We gave him a copy of I Thought There Would Be Cake, our book club read for this month, and he had lots to ...

3 Oct 2018

Restricted Diet? Mindfulness Lends a Helping Hand

Catherine G Lucas is the author of four books on the holistic approach to mental health. Her latest in the Sheldon Press Mindful Way series is out now: Life Crisis: the Mindful Way. In her writing, Catherine draws on both her personal and professional experience, as a mindfulness trainer. Her one-day retreat on Kindfulness & Nutrition: ...

8 Nov 2018

World Quality Day: what makes a good business?

SPCK Fundraising Assistant Catriona Brickel reflects on the values of SPCK as a company. On World Quality Day, she considers the core beliefs and principles of a good ...

27 Nov 2018

Ruth Clemence's Top 5 SPCK Reads of 2018

Blogger and book reviewer Ruth Clemence has read many of our books over the last year. We’ve asked her to pick her ...

15 Dec 2018

Stories and salad bars: catching up with Paul Kerensa

Paul Kerensa is a busy comedian and author. We caught up with him about his plans for ...

authise authise
26 Mar 2019

Terry Waite on prison reform and rehabilitation - part 2

Terry Waite is an Anglican humanitarian and author. In the 1980s, he worked as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s special envoy, travelling to the Middle East and negotiating the release of hostages, when he himself was taken as a hostage. Since his release from captivity he has worked extensively with prisoners and is a supporter of SPCK’s ...

authise authise
16 Aug 2019

Why do jokes go wrong?

It may have been an established tried-and-tested joke but for one reason or another it wasn't well received, and it's now obvious that people haven't found it funny. Why does this happen? In this extract from The Sacred Art of Joking James Cary talks us through the many reasons why jokes can sometimes ...

authise authise
6 Sept 2019

SPCK works to improve adult literacy

Did you know 1 in 6 adults in England have very poor literacy skills? Rebecca Law, Project Manager of SPCK's Diffusion Books tells us about the work that the project does to help prisoners, ex-offenders and homeless people improve their reading skills so they can find work and build a more hopeful future for ...

authise authise
24 Sept 2019

An Introduction to Twice-Rescued Child

Nearly 80 years after the Second World War the horror and sorrow still grips our hearts. There are countless stories of the families torn apart, yet so many individual lives, individual stories, are lost in the pages of time. Twice-Rescued Child follows the real-life story of Thomas Graumann, who at 8 years old excitedly boarded a ...

Emma Collins
9 Oct 2019

Black History Month and Extraordinary Saints

Black History Month allows us to take time to consider the individuals who have been relegated not just to the side-lines of history but forgotten through the ages. Sharon Prentis, Intercultural Mission Enabler and Dean of BAME Affairs for the Church of England in Birmingham tells us that whilst there has been a marked improvement in acknowledging ...

Emma Collins
18 Jun 2020

Mental Health and Wellbeing during a Time of Uncertainty

In this time of uncertainty, it is even more important to pay attention to our mental health and wellbeing, checking our blind spots and being honest with ourselves and others. It is this honesty that make Rob Merchant’s Broken By Fear, Anchored In Hope such an important book for this season. Here, Rachael Bell and Simon Ponsonby ...

Emma Collins
23 Jul 2020

Lesson 90: Be Nice

Tola Doll Fisher reflects on Ephesians 4.31, and how it can be used to remind us to not engage in behaviour that can negatively impact another's mental health. This extract from her book Still Standing is Lesson 90: Be ...

Emma Collins
5 Nov 2020

Who doesn’t like making top-ten lists?

In this extract from We are Satellites by Martin Saunders, we learn how lists of favourite films, books, music or games all have one thing in common, and that is: the creative arts. With creative arts having the same common root of human creativity, where does that creativity come ...

Emma Collins
10 Nov 2020

5 Beautiful Books for Children

With the festive season fast approaching we are delighted to share with you these 5 beautiful books for children. With wonderfully illustrated covers and pages, each one these books will delight young readers as they open them on Christmas day and treasure them ...

Emma Collins
23 Dec 2020

How to keep yourself busy this Christmas

If you're facing Christmas alone, or need some inspiration for keeping busy this Christmas we hope that this list of activities will help to put your mind at ...

Emma Collins
13 Apr 2021

Remembering Answered Prayers

Why is it important to remember our answered prayers? How might remembering these prayers help us in a pandemic? Find out in this Q&A with Richard Gamble, author of ...

Emma Collins
21 Sept 2021

Fake News and Clickbait

How many times have you clicked on an online article, only to find it has no relevance to the title it was given? In this extract from Communicate for Change, Genelle Aldred explores the rise of clickbait, and the effect that negative stories can have on our opinions of groups of ...

Laura Barry
2 Apr 2023

Celebrate International Children's Book Week

Celebrate International Children's Book Week with 20% OFF the Adventuring Girls series. ...

Laura Barry
6 Apr 2023

Amy Scott Robinson Discusses her Adventuring Girls series

Amy Scott Robinson, author of the Adventuring Girls series, discusses traditional fairytales, fierce heroines, and what she hoped to achieve with her Adventuring Girls series. ...

Laura Barry
7 Mar 2024

Share Your Love of Reading this World Book Day!

Share your love of reading this World Book Day! With over half of children saying they don't enjoying reading, it's more important than ever to support children in learning how to love reading. We've compiled some of our bestselling children's books we know children and young readers will ...

Laura Barry
15 Sept 2025

Witney Book Launch: Rachael Newham & Rachel Bearn Share Their Inspiring New Books

Join SPCK authors Rachael Newham and Rachel Bearn in Witney on 27th September for an evening of inspiration, faith, and the launch of their new books Beloved is Where We Begin and A Year to Slow ...