Abstract
Leslie J. Francis and Mandy Robbins (eds),
Rural Life and Rural Church: Theological and Empirical Perspectives
, Equinox: Sheffield, 2012; 368 pp.: 9781845539849, £19.99 (pbk)
Rural Life and Rural Church draws together a collection of articles published in the journal Rural Theology over the past decade since it was founded by the Rural Theology Association in 2002. The emphasis is on ‘listening’ to rural churches and communities through empirical research and reflecting theologically on the findings.
In reviewing the essays the editors identified emerging themes and patterns which suggested a structure by which they might helpfully be ordered and presented. So, for example, the reader is encouraged to view rural life and the rural church from the perspectives of the Bible, ordinary theology, sociology and history, and to listen to visitors, the community, churchgoers and church leaders.
How does ‘rural’ figure in the pages of Scripture? What can we learn from reflecting on the contributions in a church's visitors’ book or on the prayer cards? How do people belong to rural church and society, and is rural Anglicanism a single entity or is it multi-faceted? These are questions rooted in reality and experience for which context – rural life and rural church – is paramount.
The grass-roots feel continues as one is encouraged to ‘listen’ to pilgrims, visitors and tourists; to churches’ engagement with their communities; to the ‘type’ of person more likely to be involved in rural church life and to the practice of church leaders. Any criticism of theology being somehow disconnected from everyday life finds no foundation here. Critical reflection on praxis is taken almost to its mundane limits in these pages as the essay writers drill down into the rural landscape.
For many who are engaged in rural life and rural church it is a common experience to encounter those from outside their context who do not recognize the distinctiveness of the countryside and the challenges it faces. This is just as true inside the church as it is outside. A key tool in highlighting this distinctiveness is hard evidence. Anecdotal evidence has its place but stories will be more powerful when supported empirically and Rural Life and Rural Church provides substantial evidence of the peculiar joys and challenges of the context it explores.
The theological reflection on this evidence then offers helpful insights and pointers for both lay and ordained rural church practitioners, for initial and continuing ministerial education, and for all who are committed to the well-being of church and community in the countryside. The concluding section, considering satisfaction and stress in rural ministry, draws attention to issues which can arise when the challenges facing rural churches and communities are ignored or not taken seriously enough.
This wealthy resource of serious research and careful theological reflection affirms the rural church and can serve to inform and inspire not just those familiar with this context but many who suspect they have underestimated the distinctiveness, challenges and treasures of rural life and rural church.