Being Interrupted: Reimagining the Church’s Mission from the Outside, In

by Al Barrett, Ruth Harley, Anthony Reddie (Forward)

Beginning with a ‘Street Nativity Play’ that didn’t end as planned, and finishing with an open-ended conversation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, "Being Interrupted" locates an institutionally-anxious Church of England within the wider contexts of divisions of race and class in ‘the ruins of empire’, alongside ongoing gender inequalities, the marginalization of children, and catastrophic ecological breakdown. In the midst of this bleak picture, Al Barrett and Ruth Harley open a door to a creative disruption of the status quo, ‘from the outside, in’: the in-breaking of the wild reality of the ‘Kin-dom’ of God. Through careful and unsettling readings in Mark’s gospel, alongside stories from a multicultural outer estate in east Birmingham, they paint a vivid picture of an 'alternative economy' for the Church's life and mission, which begins with transformative encounters with neighbours and strangers at the edges of our churches, our neighbourhoods and our imaginations, and offers new possibilities for repentance and resurrection.

262 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2020

Reviews

[Errol Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not Anglican although I have been attending an Anglican church. A lot of the material applies regardless of denomination and challenging but when they talk of liturgy and eucharist, it is irrelevant to me. My faith is not built around a weekly refilling for the next week. My faith is a daily walk starting each day with reflective input and communion with my God. The day is a walk with God although at times I want to cry where is he?

The real disruption is how I see those around me. I have tended to see myself as ministering to them but Al and Ruth are challenging us to see things as a two way ministering.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so very, very glad I read this book. It’s spectacular. I don’t think it will be everyone’s cup of tea. Yet, I think it should be. It provides thoughtful reflections by on the ground theologians in the UK. They write from the parish. They write with insight and fearlessness (as well as fear) about trying things in new ways, looking at the mission of the church from the perspective of “the outside, in.” It is beautifully done. The closing conversation in the wake of the pandemic is wonderful and sums up the whole thing in brilliant and terrific ways.

[Rob Eastwood Dewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a difficult book. Challenging, deeply inspiring but also often just beyond my grasp. Al Barrett and Ruth Harley confronted me with my privilege (and they're not the first to do that), while also reminding me of the importance of interruptions; in Jesus' ministry and in our experience and expression of the church. It is others who we need to allow to help shape who we are. For those of us who think we know what we are doing or for whom knowing what we are doing is our aspiration this is deeply challenging but also truth of the highest order. It needs a re-read I am sure.