Finding the Treasure: Good News from the Estates: Reflections from the Church of England Estates Theology Project

"With its compilation of stories and theological reflections, Finding the Treasure uncovers the positives that a local church fosters when it engages with its neighbourhood." - Ann Morisy, Community Theologian and author of the bestselling Beyond the Good Samaritan and Journeying Out The fruit of two years of 'deep listening' in five different estate neighbourhoods across England, Finding the Treasure brings together local ministers and academic theologians to attend to the voices of estates residents. What do they love about the place they're in? What brings them joy as well as grief? And what do hope and good news look like? Rooted in the real-life contexts of these local communities, rich in theological insights, and bold in the challenges it presents to the wider Church, Finding the Treasure offers inspiration and practical guidance for readers willing to engage in similar deep listening within their own communities. In areas and churches that have all too often been labelled 'needy', 'failing' and 'deprived', Finding the Treasure shines a spotlight on an abundance of wisdom and resourcefulness, faith, hope and love that can be found in our estate churches, neighbourhoods, and beyond.

About the Author :
Al Barrett (Author) The Revd Dr Al Barrett has been Rector of Hodge Hill Church, Birmingham, since 2010, where he has been engaged in a long-term journey of ‘growing loving community’ alongside his neighbours. He is the editor of Finding The Treasure: Good News from the Estates and co-author of Being Interrupted: Re-imagining the Church’s Mission from the Outside, In, and is engaged in ongoing practical theological research, writing and teaching, particularly through the lenses of race, class, gender and ecology.

Review :
The methodology displayed in this book provides a template for future theological reflection and commentary. It provides a lens through which to give value to often unnoticed and undervalued outcomes that flow when the church engages with seemingly unloved places. This is not a book for the theologically faint-hearted. It is deconstructive, wild, brave, and disturbing. It's the theological equivalent of a Big Dipper ride . . . This is an asset-based theology to challenge the deficit-based missiology that pervades much of the Church today. Buy this book, but don't leave it on the shelf: hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest. . . . a creative, interdisciplinary contextual missiology, which breaks new ground by incorporating a multidimensional analysis (race, class and gender) . . . an essential 'action book' for individual Christians and churches seeking to interrupt the long history of oppression(s) from, and in British churches.