The Churches in Europe as Witnesses to Healing

This collection of articles, speeches and sermons traces the current and future of European churches in mission on a continent caught up in rapid social change and institutional reordering. The author reflects on the meaning of healing and reconciliation within specific contexts from Northern Ireland to Serbia and, more generally, among the many religiously and culturally pluralist and post-modern societies found across the breadth of Europe. He challenges the churches with this recurring question: Are we still of any use? This is the thread running throughout. His answer is a definite 'yes' -- provided the churches really live in the world as it is and renew their hope in the gospel itself. Biblical commentary, church traditions, personal experiences and illustrations drawn from everyday life combine to offer insights into Europe's need for healing and reconciliation, the relationship between particular identity and universal community, churches' potential to act as peace-makers in Europe and the wider world, and contemporary prospects for Christian unity.