Alan Wilkinson – författare

The Community of the Resurrection, with its Mother House at Mirfield, has been perhaps the most influential and best-known of the Anglican religious communities. This is not only the centenary history, but the first history of the Community. Over the century CR has developed a distinctive type of spirituality and commitment within the Catholic Anglican tradition which has interacted with church and society. For all those who have been trained of influenced by CR or who have any association with it, this book will be essential reading. For others it will provide a fascinating picture of developments and changes within an important part of Anglicanism and a thought-provoking account of God's remarkable ways with men.

Until recently the British Labour movement seemed to have lost touch with its Christian roots. Many leading members of the Labour Party were confessedly secular. But the triumph of the New Right and the collapse of Communism forced the Left to redefine socialism. Church leaders also encouraged people to be critical of the prevailing ideology. Some discovered an alternative in the Christian Socialist tradition, which became much better known when Tony Blair and other noted figures described how their political beliefs derived from their Christian faith.This current resurgence of Christian Socialism makes a reassessment of its history particularly timely. In this book, an expanded version of the 1998 Scott Holland Lectures, Alan Wilkinson sketches the nineteenth-century background to the Christian Socialism of F.D. Maurice, analyses the new mutation promoted by Henry Scott Holland and Charles Gore, and shows how this influenced R.H. Tawny and William Temple. He describes how such different figures as Neville Figgis and George MacLeod explored the nature of community and why some Christian Socialists were attracted to Roman Catholic social teaching. He also discusses those who have found the main Christian Socialist tradition too tame, such as Alan Ecclestone, Donald Soper, and Kenneth Leech. The book concludes with a survey of Christian Socialist politicians.

Reflections for the Unfolding Year is a collection of addresses given by Alan Wilkinson. Roving over subjects from apartheid to Lent to the ever-evolving image of Mary, he offers a compassionate response to some of the most painful subjects of the last hundred years, as well as a thoughtful reflection on the sacraments of the Church of England, what they have meant to our ancestors and what they mean to us today. Delving into troubling questions about doubt, repentance and what it means when God appears to be silent in times of crisis, he draws on sources from all walks of life in order to express how Anglicans feel about fundamental issues such as grief, hope and grace, as well as, most potently, their longing for God. Alan Wilkinson relates stories about the Church - its bishops and its believers - with rueful good humour and thoughtfulness, leading the reader through more than half a century of his ministry in Portsmouth and elsewhere. His portrait of the Church of England showcases both the ordinary and the extraordinary; the prosaic and the poetic. Through his fluent pen, we come to understand more of the lives of the people in the Church, such as Desmond Tutu, William Temple and Bill Sargent, who have made it what it is today: catholic, reformed and liberal.

Reflections for the Unfolding Year is a collection of addresses given by Alan Wilkinson. Roving over subjects from apartheid to Lent to the ever-evolving image of Mary, he offers a compassionate response to some of the most painful subjects of the last hundred years, as well as a thoughtful reflection on the sacraments of the Church of England, what they have meant to our ancestors and what they mean to us today. Delving into troubling questions about doubt, repentance and what it means when God appears to be silent in times of crisis, he draws on sources from all walks of life in order to express how Anglicans feel about fundamental issues such as grief, hope and grace, as well as, most potently, their longing for God. Alan Wilkinson relates stories about the Church - its bishops and its believers - with rueful good humour and thoughtfulness, leading the reader through more than half a century of his ministry in Portsmouth and elsewhere. His portrait of the Church of England showcases both the ordinary and the extraordinary; the prosaic and the poetic. Through his fluent pen, we come to understand more of the lives of the people in the Church, such as Desmond Tutu, William Temple and Bill Sargent, who have made it what it is today: catholic, reformed and liberal.

A study of how the English churches approached the problems of dissent, conformity and pacifism during the period of the two world wars.Dissent or Conform examines how churches reacted to, and were affected by, the two world wars. Its underlying theme, however, is how the Church can be a creatively dissenting community, focusing on how easily the church can turn into a conforming community that only encourages the occurrence of uncreative dissenters, the ones who criticize the power without offering solutions which lead to a real change.Wilkinson opposes this trait of the church, especially given the impact that it has on society as a messenger of the gospel. To this end, the author depicts religious groups during three periods of time: English Nonconformity among the free churches before WWI, pacifists and pacifiers between the two wars and Christianity during WWII, focusing on how church history interacts with the developments in history and society.This book is of particular interest to social and church historians of the 20th century, and to all interested in the history and ethics of war and pacifism. It will also appeal to those interested in the interaction between church and society.

The classic account exploring the complex and multifacted role played by the Church of England in British society during World War One.The Church of England and the First World War (first published in 1978) explores in depth the role of the church during the tragic circumstances of the First World War using biographies, newspapers, magazines, letters, poetry and other sources in a balanced evaluation. The myth that the war was fought by 'lions led by donkeys' powerfully endures turning heroes into victims. Alan Wilkinson demonstrates the sheer horror, moral ambiguity, and the interaction between religion, the church and war with a scholarly, and yet poetic, hand. The author creates a vivid image of the church and society, includes views of the Free Churches and Roman Catholics, portrays the pastoral problems and challenges to faith presented by war, and the pressures for reform of church and society. The Church of England and the First World War is written with compelling compassion and great historical understanding, making the book hard to put down. This expert and classic study will grip the religious and secular alike, the general reader or the student.

A selection of addresses on the life of the Anglican Church, taking inspiration from its liturgical calendar, its people and the issues that it faces today.Reflections for the Unfolding Year is a collection of addresses given by Alan Wilkinson. Roving over subjects from apartheid to Lent to the ever-evolving image of Mary, he offers a compassionate response to some of the most painful subjects of the last hundred years, as well as a thoughtful reflection on the sacraments of the Church of England, what they have meant to our ancestors and what they mean to us today. Delving into troubling questions about doubt, repentance and what it means when God appears to be silent in times of crisis, he draws on sources from all walks of life in order to express how Anglicans feel about fundamental issues such as grief, hope and grace, as well as, most potently, their longing for God.Alan Wilkinson relates stories about the Church - its bishops and its believers - with rueful good humour and thoughtfulness, leading the reader through more than half a century of his ministry in Portsmouth and elsewhere. His portrait of the Church of England showcases both the ordinary and the extraordinary; the prosaic and the poetic. Through his fluent pen, we come to understand more of the lives of the people in the Church, such as Desmond Tutu, William Temple and Bill Sargent, who have made it what it is today: catholic, reformed and liberal.