Product Description

Peter Owen-Jones puts the spotlight on the village church in this diary recalling a year as Rector of three parishes in rural Cambridgeshire. Far from a cosy rural idyll, what he describes is a grinding existence at the beck and call of his parishioners who often have conflicting expectations of the Church, depending on whether its traditional culture is crucial to them or entirely alien. This personal account touches on passions as diverse as environmental issues, how the church runs and promotes itself, what it means to experience God and the place of Christianity at the turn of the millennium. In it Peter Owen-Jones paints a revelatory picture of a church going through hell, unsure whether and in what form its resurrection might take place.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #326877 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 223 pages

About the Author
PETER OWEN JONES is Rector of three parishes near Cambridge. A former London advertising director, he is a member of the Churches Advertising Network, the group responsible for the church's advertising campaigns. He is also an environmental activist and a regular pundit on Talk TV. His first book, Bed of Nails, was widely praised as an entertaining and eye-opening account of life in theological college.

Customer Reviews

Awesome and inspirational, even for non-believers
The Church of England is lucky to have someone like Peter Owen-Jones on their side. His awesome belief, which drips from this diary, extends far beyond the confines of a staid lumbering establishment failing to find a relevance in the modern world. As an ex-copywriter in advertising, this man has done it all and now struggles to do it for others. He is completely human and not scared to show us his weaknesses and failings. His writing style is beautiful, original and funny. He gives us an insight into a world that, usually, no one is very honest about and it's fascinating. Owen-Jones' first book, Bed of Nails, is the diary of his shock first year at theological college and the horrendous adjustment from the oh-so very secular world of advertising to the nerdy, academic world of vicars and tea parties. You don't have to be a believer to find these accounts fascinating, humbling and inspirational.

A thought provoking account of a year in the life of a vicar
A deep look into the life and thoughts of a vicar in the Church of England in a year of his life - his joys and struggles with church and family life. The narrative is sometimes amusing and sometimes deeply moving. His opinions on the Church of England are thought provoking. His complete change from a high paid job to the ministry makes interesting reading. A great book for people who have friends ordained in the Church of England.

".... More Prozac, Vicar?"
I read this book before its predecessor, "Bed of Nails", and I heartily recommend that others read the books in that order as well as it acts as a salutory lesson to ordinands of any denomination about the need for a real sense of vocation before embarking on a career in Christian ministry.

This a well-written attempt to convey the demands of the priesthood and a lot of agnostics/athiests/non-christians could learn a lot about the hard facts of a spiritual vocation and it is never boring.

Owen Jones struggles with a demanding, some would say impossible, job that is underpaid and lonely that most of the general public believe is as exciting as a rich tea biscuit. Its real strength is to show the laity how demanding the priesthood is - half way though my theological studies I started to refer to lay people as "civillians", just be glad I didn't say "the enemy".

Don't get me wrong Owen Jones writes passionately about HIS beliefs and is very eloquent, if a little too fond of cod poetic prose,but there is little attempt to discuss the real needs of his congregations, just his own angst. Fundamentally Owen Jones lacks the spiritual nous and guile to write about anything bar the Anglican Communion's image problem.His background in the snake-oil merchant's trade of advertising leads to his solution - the (in)famous Che as Jesus poster: a crass attempt to give the messiah radical chic. Owen Jones has fun in depicting Anne Widdecombe as a villainess straight from central casting but actually this story reveals a lot about Owen Jones:- self-styled rebel and essentially a new age spiritual seeker. He has no clue nor real interest about priestly vocation, church history or tradition, theology or Anglican identity and therefore cannot study how others from history have dealt with his problems. His then wife isn't a believer therefore feels she cannot help so it is no suprise he has no clue about how to be a vicar since he is such an individualist. Owen Jones rants on about how out of touch the church is but isn't his real complaint that he isn't a highly paid executive anymore? He even praises the charming Gore Vidal who uses spurious theories to denounce Christians .....Owen Jones is a lost sheep, not a shepherd.

Throughout reading I continually asked myself: why doesn't he asking his diocese/ bishop for advice or support? My only possible conclusion is he is too worried his commitment to his vocation would be discussed due to his open contempt for the church. My 4 star rating reflects Owen Jones' eloquence and my sympathy for his plight - not his weak and confusing spiritual beliefs. I'm not an unthinking, credulous believer but I do appreciate that without certain pieces of supporting dogma Christian belief is untenable and all too often Jones seems to have lost his spiritual compass.

The shame is Peter comes across a personable chap but a shallow priest; a big sea, yes, but it needn't be a solo boat trip.