Nourishing Connections: Collected Poems

By Graham Kings

Beloved theologian and bishop Graham Kings has been writing poetry for thirty-five years, with many of his poems used in retreats and preaching throughout the Anglican Communion. This collection brings together Graham's poems on a range of devotional subjects.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Canterbury Press Norwich
• Release date: Sep 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781786222794

Graham Kings

Graham Kings taught theology in Kenya and Cambridge before being Bishop of Sherborne and Mission Theologian in the Anglican Communion. He has written extensively on the theology of mission and was awarded the Cross of St Augustine for services to the Anglican Communion. He serves as Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Ely. grahamkings.org

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Nourishing Connections

Poems

Graham Kings

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© Graham Kings 2020

All royalties from this book go to St Andrew’s College, Kabare, Kenya

First published in 2020 by Canterbury Press Norwich

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Canterbury Press is an imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd (a registered charity)

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Canterbury Press.

The Author has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this Work

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

978 1 786 22277 0

Typeset by Regent Typesetting

Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd

Contents

Preface

List of illustrations

SEASONS

Christmas

The Gospel of the Song

Matter of Great Moment

The Ultimate Became Intimate

A Cord

The Nativity

Epiphany: Magi Momentum

Farcical Journey

Through Centuries

Feigning Faith

Offerings Presented

We Refugees

Terror Unleashed

Perennial Problem

Holy Week and Easter

Gethsemane and the Trinity

The Hostage Deal

Hooked

Easter Prayer

Finished in the New Creation

Pentecost

The Image of Her Father

Pentecost Prose Poem

Holy Spirit: Remembrancer

PEOPLE

Turning Point: Augustine

Beyond Imagining: Mandela

Prophet: Bishop Muge

Thanksgiving: Bishop John V. Taylor

A Prior Meeting: Anselm

Visit of Holiness: Rowan

Three Popes

Karol Wojtyla: Polish Pope

Joseph Ratzinger: European Pope

Jorge Bergoglio: Latin American Pope

PLACES

Gallery into Oratory

Jesus Goes Underground

Pillar in Poets’ Corner

Is Jesus the Son of Allah?

Meandering in South Sudan

BIBLE

First Written Gospel

Six Poems on Luke

Profit and Loss

Revolutionary Love

Combines or Labourers?

The Resistance Movement

The Cost of Living

The Point of the Nails

ART

Tender Attention

Women in the Bible

Sarah

Miriam

Ruth

Esther

Magdalene

Lydia

Priscilla

PRAYER

Prayer Stool

The Pause

Prayer and God

The Foolishness of God

The Kingdom of God

The Strangeness of God

The Maturity of God

Boat Prayer

By the Waters of Delivery

Litanies

Bible Litany

Likeness Litany

Pentecost Litany

Trinity Litany

Acknowledgements and Notes

For Ali

Preface

Many of these poems emanate from meditation on passages of the Bible, which have nourished me over the years, and from connections across the world, especially in the Anglican Communion.

Commentators in the early and