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Hitting the pause button on hectic living

8 October 2005

As major chain stores line up to appeal for all-day opening on Sundays, a new resource published by Church House Publishing aims to re-inject the original meaning of the Sabbath – as a period of pause, reflection and decluttering – into overcrowded and busy lives.

Organised over five interactive 90-minute sessions, Life Balance is a step-by-step guide to exploring the concept of Sabbath in the twenty-first century and offers tips on ‘cutting across’ preconceived ideas about the need for creating space to think and reflect. The authors show how Sabbath principles of resting, thanksgiving, justice and generosity can be taken into the whole of life and applied through the week.

Out goes the image of the Sabbath as a day of putting your feet up. Gone too is a “shallow definition of rest and relaxation as an individualistic pursuit”. The authors also readily dispense with the idea of the Sabbath being about “religious observance with no social conscience”.

In its place, the book suggests, come drawing up lists of ‘favourite things’ to help celebrate the best things in life; and activities designed to highlight how much time we proportionately spend working, playing and resting. Other aspects of the course draw inspiration from watching clips from films as diverse as Amélie and Chariots of Fire. The book remains anchored to biblical study – and offers a broad yet incisive sweep of references to the concept of rest and the history of the Sabbath throughout both the Old and the New Testaments.

The book is ideal for Lent courses, cell or house groups requiring an imaginative, thoughtful resource that helps guide those taking part through activities and dialogues towards a new way of approaching ‘down time’, as a time for refocusing on, sharing, and enjoying the beauty of God’s gifts to humankind.  The authors, Sue Mayfield and Revd Robert Warren, pledge to help readers dig up the long-forgotten treasure of the Sabbath and have pedigrees that suggest they will be successful. Sue is a fiction writer with many years youth-work experience, while Robert was the Church of England’s National Officer for Evangelism between 1993 and 1998 and spent five years as a full-time member of the Springboard team.

The Bishop of Reading, The Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, commends the book: ‘Keeping the Sabbath holy is not just another commandment conveniently forgotten in the society that loves being busy; it is a gift of God in creation: a way of restoring balance to life… A free holy-day is guaranteed with every purchase!’

The book is supported by a separate minisite, www.chpublishing.co.uk/lifebalance, which contains extra resources for those leading groups through the course. Life Balance is published by Church House Publishing, priced only £3.99, and is available from all Christian bookshops and Church House Bookshop, 31 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BN, tel. 020-7898 1300, e mail bookshop@c-of-e.org.uk, or on the web at: www.chbookshop.co.uk (mail order available).