The Poet’s Gospel.
A Lent study for these unorthodox and strange times.
Bob Fyffe, General Secretary of CTBI, comments:
This year’s Lent programme is somewhat different from previous years. It is the outcome of a partnership which is rooted in fulfilling an elderly gentleman’s dream.
John Alan Davis visited his wife every day as she lived with dementia. As Alan explains “during this period, and after Pat died in 2014, I turned to the only place of comfort I knew: my faith. The task brought the life of Jesus and the relevance of his message closer to me. It became, as much as anything else, a way of staunching the wound of a personal tragedy.”
It is here that we can recognise the relevance of a Lent program. This gospel version, written in verse, is the outcome of a deep engagement with God in Christ. To listen to the sound files of this gospel being read out loud is to be taken onto a journey with someone who has clearly walked and experienced all of life’s contours. When I first heard Alan reciting his Poets Gospel I was immediately moved and realised that this journey could bring some healing to so many other people.
CTBI has partnered with Alan and his family to produce The Poets Gospel, and is making the sound files available along with a hardcopy book and an e-book in order to engage with this journey.
We have also produced a Poet’s Gospel introduction for chosen sections which will be of help either for personal study or for small group interaction. Each week can be read as a stand-alone unit whilst listening to the sound file as an introduction or, if you prefer, on a personal basis to read through the whole publication and listen to the sound files. This alone will make a fascinating Lenten pilgrimage.
Some may find this approach somewhat unorthodox, but I believe in these unorthodox and strange times this gospel version, written as poetry, speaks to a situation, and is spoken in the style that many will feel able to engage with. We hope that however you use it, in Lent or across a longer time, this resource will bring you some comfort and reassurance.
Resources
Lent booklet
The Poet’s Gospel – introduction to chosen sections (PDF, 8.8MB)
The Poet’s Gospel – Hardcopy Book
Buy from Church House Bookshop
(Profits from sales go to Alzheimer’s Society)
E-book
Buy from Amazon
(Profits from sales go to Alzheimer’s Society)
Sound files
- Week 1: Part A – History
- Week 2: Part F – Non-Conformity
Download: Part F – Non-Conformity
- Week 3: Part J – Recruitment
Download – Part J: Recruitment
- Week 4: Part M – Whom to Love
Download: Part M – Whom to Love
- Week 5: Part Q – Lazarus Lives
Download: Part Q – Lazarus Lives
- Week 6: Holy Week
- Part R: Prophesy
- Part S: Arrest
- Part T: Trial
- Part U: Sentence
- Part V: Crucifixion and Resurrection
- Part W: Final Instructions
The Poet’s Gospel website
The whole of The Poet’s Gospel (text and sound) is available on The Poet’s Gospel website.
(Please note that it is not possible to download from the website).
