Over the summer I read Eugene Peterson's The Pastor, his memoir of being a pastor for thirty years. Peterson always writes well and this doesn't disappoint as expected. The book is a must-read alongside Marilynne Robinson's fictional account of John Ames in Gilead for any soon to be, new and probably even old, pastor. Just over three years ago I was ordained as a Baptist minister and Peterson's account of pastoral life, especially after his first three years in a church, feels timely. Like him, I have found that being part of a 'company of pastors' is vital to this life.
Over the last three days, I've read Paul Vallely's Pope Francis: Untying the Knots, which gives an account of the life the new Pope, from Jesuit Priest, to Bishop and Archbishop and now to Pope. The book addresses some of the controversy around Jorge Mario Bergoglio earlier priestly life and argues that a new man emerged, chastened by mistakes, but equipped in terms of character and vision to offer hope for the Roman Catholic church and also for Christianity in a wider sense.
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