Living in Hope

By Catherine Fox

Living in Hope is the York Course written for Advent 2021 by Catherine Fox.

In this enlightening and absorbing four-session ecumenical course, Catherine Fox explores living in hope and dying well.

As with previous Advent York Courses, the standard study book is supported by an in-depth interview, covering all 4 sessions between Catherine Fox and Simon Stanley, available on CD, as a Digital Download or as a transcript in either paperback or eBook.

Session 1: Living well
Session 2: Dying well
Session 3: Hell-bent on destruction?
Session 4: Going to heaven?

This York Course is available in the following formats
Course Book (Paperback 9781909107298)
Course Book (eBook 9781909107588)
Audio Book of Interview to support Living in Hope York Course (CD 9781909107434)
Audio Book of Interview (Digital Download 9781909107571)
Transcript of interview to support Living in Hope York Course (Paperback 9781909107304)
Transcript of interview (eBook 9781909107595)
Book Pack (9781909107411 Featuring Paperback Course Book, Audio Book on CD and Paperback Transcript of Interview)
Large print (9781909107601)

• Language: English
• Publisher: SPCK
• Release date: Aug 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781909107588

Catherine Fox

Catherine Fox was educated at Durham and London Universities and has a degree in English and a PhD in Theology. She is the author of four adult novels, Angels and Men, The Benefits of Passion, Love for the Lost and Unseen Things Above, which explore the themes of the spiritual and the physical with insight and humour. In 2007, Yellow Jersey Press published Fight the Good Fight: From Vicar's Wife to Killing Machine in which Catherine relates her quest to achieve a black belt in Judo. Her first teen fantasy novel, WolfTide, came out in 2013. She teaches at Manchester Metropolitan University and lives in Liverpool, where her husband is dean of the cathedral.

Book preview

LIVING IN HOPE

An ecumenical course in 4 sessions for discussion groups

written by Catherine Fox

with accompanying audio and transcript

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS COURSE

SUGGESTIONS FOR GROUP LEADERS

We’re deliberately not prescriptive, and different leaders prefer to work in slightly different ways, but here are a few tried and trusted ideas …

1. THE ROOM Encourage people to sit within the main circle – so all feel equally involved.

2. HOSPITALITY Tea or coffee and biscuits on arrival and/or at the end of a meeting is always appreciated and encourages people to talk informally.

3. THE START If group members don’t know each other well, some kind of ‘icebreaker’ might be helpful. For example, you might invite people to share something about themselves and/or about their faith. Be careful to place a time limit on this exercise!

4. PREPARING THE GROUP Explain that there are no right or wrong answers, and that among friends it’s fine to say things that you’re not sure about – to express half-formed ideas. If individuals choose to say nothing, that’s all right too.

5. THE MATERIAL It helps if each group member has their own personal copy of this booklet. Encourage members to read each session before the meeting. There’s no need to consider all the questions. A lively exchange of views is what matters, so be selective. The quotation boxes in the margins are there to stimulate discussion and – just like the opinions expressed by the audio participants - don’t necessarily represent York Courses’ views or beliefs.

6. PREPARATION It’s not compulsory for members of your group to have a Bible, but you will want one. Ask in advance if you want anyone to lead prayers or read aloud, so they can prepare.

7. TIMING Aim to start on time and stick fairly closely to your stated finishing time.

8. USING THE AUDIO The track markers on the audio (and shown in the Transcript) will help you find your way around the recorded material very easily. For each of the sessions we recommend reading through the session in the course booklet, before listening together to the corresponding session on the audio material. Groups may like to choose a question to discuss straight after they have listened to a relevant track on the audio – but there are no hard and fast rules. Do whatever works best for your group!

9. THE TRANSCRIPT is a written record of the audio material with track markers for each new question and is invaluable as you prepare. Group members also benefit from having their own copy.

RUNNING A VIRTUAL HOUSE GROUP

Various software programmes allow virtual group meetings. Zoom is very popular and many people already have the software installed. The Group Leader should ‘host’ the meeting (and so would logically control the audio element too - although this could be ‘farmed out’ to a confident volunteer). 

SHARING AUDIO ON ZOOM

If you have the course CD:

Mute everyone else and play the CD as close to your computer microphone as possible.

If your computer has a CD player or you have the downloaded course audio on your computer:

At the bottom of the screen click on the ‘Share Screen’ icon, then at the top of the next screen click on ‘Advanced’, then click the option ‘Music or Computer Sound Only’. The first time you try to share audio you may be asked to ‘Install Zoom Audio Device’; follow the instructions to install. Play the audio track on your computer using your preferred media player and everyone will be able to hear it. To stop sharing audio, click ‘Stop Share’ at the top of the screen.

We suggest the Group Leader checks the audio