nature of the faith is threatened by the individualism and consumerism which defines our society. ‘Te greatest mission challenge facing the Church in the UK is the growing majority of the population who have not been involved in local church [sic], even as children.’ Tere is therefore a self- evident need for a new generation of missionaries to spread the ancient faith to future generations, and ‘missionaries are willing to pay the price of cultural comfort, by entering and owning the world of those they are trying to reach.’ Since the great missionaries of the past have counted among their number a disproportionately high percentage of professed religious, it makes sense to turn to monasticism as a way of doing ‘cross-cultural mission.’ So far so good. But where this book to


fails convince is in persuading


the reader that the so-called ‘new monasticism’ is either recognisably new or recognizably monastic. Meeting in pubs and parks, ministering in ‘rough and unsafe places where the majority of local inhabitants are never-churched,’ and having a rule of life which is ‘not intended as a list of rules so much as a holistic and healthy framework for living’ are all


things which faithful


members of the Church have done down the centuries, on both sides of the cloister walls. Tis is not to deny that this book presents an important wake-up call: nobody can doubt that the Church of England is failing in its mission to the people of this land, despite pockets of excellence across the ecclesiological and liturgical sectra. Te problem with this book is that it is so full of jargon that it is difficult for those who do not share the language to engage fully with its message – which ironically, is exactly the charge which the Fresh Expressions movement levels against traditional forms of the Church. ‘Tere are now groups around the world who use this language with the aim of promoting relational mission and evangelism centred on the importance of being community,’ we read in the chapter on New Monasticism as a model. I am sure that this is terribly important; I am just not sure what


THIS IS the latest in a series of occasional papers published by the Anglo-Catholic History Society. It tells the story of five Leeds churches, all at one time or another and in one way or


another influenced


by Anglo-Catholicism, which were built during the long nineteenth century and which have since closed down. Only one, St Margaret’s, Cardigan Road, can still be visited, as it is now part of the Leeds Leſt Bank Project. Te


author explains in the


introduction that the book was inspired in part by Michael Yelton’s Empty Tabernacles: Twelve Lost Churches of London, and by Yelton’s hope that others would write studies of similar churches before they are forgoten completely. Savage writes, ‘Such local studies are


it means. Again, to quote from the interesting chapter on the Order of Mission, ‘Covenant and kingdom are at the very heart of the life of Te Order of Mission. We seek to walk in our identity as covenant children of God, in covenant with each other, seeking the breaking through and advancement of


the kingdom in the


relationships and contexts that we find ourselves in.’ Te difficulty here is that this sentiment is either applicable to all faithful Christians; or it is entirely meaningless. Te same


conundrum applies to this book as a whole, important as it undoubtedly is. Te aſterword is entitled, ‘Is God Shaping a New Monasticism?’ I very much hope that he is; but this book fails to convince me how he is doing it.


Janet Backman


MISSION ACCOMPLISHED Five Lost Churches of Leeds


Stephen Savage Anglo-Catholic History Society, 146pp, pbk Available at £12 + £1.59 postage from ACHS, Mr GB Skelly, 24 Cloudesley Square, London N1 0HN. Free postage to members of ACHS 978 0955071496


important as they can provide valuable case studies of developments taking place more widely.’ In this he is not only correct, but also highlights one of the joys of his own book. National events are played out in a local context here in a number of ways, but two stand out: the first is the Church’s ongoing struggle to keep up with shiſting populations as the industrial revolution and then the changes of the twentieth century led to successive demographic shiſts; the second is the way in which national events


(such as the Public


Worship Regulation Act) and figures in the Tracarian movement weave in and out of the stories of these Leeds churches. One such is Dr Pusey, who sent one man to be a curate in Leeds despite (or perhaps because!?) of the man being denounced by his Vicar as a ‘liar and swindler’ in a leter to the Bishop of Oxford. Tis is another way in which


this book is a fine example of local history: lively portraits of fascinating characers frequently appear and prevent the text from becoming simply a worthy narrative of events. To give just two examples, there is the Vicar who staged his own death before moving to Australia as a self-professed ‘Poultry expert,’ and the Sunday School superintendent who was also Tetley’s head brewer! Te book is


handsomely illustrated with black and white photos of the churches and places described. A map would have been helpful for those with only a limited knowledge of Leeds; and as with former volumes in this series, the text is not justified. But these are very minor quibbles


with what is a fine book and a valuable contribution to the corpus of Anglo- Catholic local history. A visitor to Christ Church,


Meadow Lane, wrote in his diary in 1925: ‘Many confessions made and regular communions, vocations to the priesthood, to Kelham, to nurses’ work overseas. Beneath it all a burning zeal


for conversion, expressed in no


sentimental or extravagant way, but as the stern demand of Christ upon individuals leading to a high standard


April 2011 ■ newdirections ■ 25


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