Ideal gifts for Father’s Day
“The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass: Adrian Plass and the Church Weekend” By Adrian Plass Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Price £14.99 Adrian Plass is back with another instalment of the Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass: Adrian Plass and the Church Weekend. The series continues with the somewhat bemused Anglican, now aged 62-and-three-quarters, reluctantly agreeing to run a church weekend. Your father will find himself laughing out loud as he reads about Anne’s allocation to a bunk with a schizophrenic recovery group and Adrian’s conversation about birdlife leading to a harassment claim. The book is equal parts heart-warming as humorous and shows God’s love for the mixed-bag of people in a church. “Ready, Steady, Grow: Equipping Today’s Gospel Churches” By Ray Evans Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press Price: £10.99 Perhaps you’ve heard your father grumbling of late about the dwindling size of his local church. Ease his concern and spur him into action with Ray Evans’ new book. Mr Evans examines the realistic challenges facing congregation growth from confusion, numbers, complexity and complaints. But he strays from a methodological and simplistic answer in favour of employing biblical insights and common-sense. He says: “Many have learned how to lead what they have, but they don’t know how to take it forward. You don’t see the glass ceilings until you crash into them, and the splinters bring pain everywhere.” “Faith on the Streets: Christians in Action Through the Street Pastors Movement” By Les Isaac and Rosalind Davies Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Price: £13.99 Fathers interested in social change, taking Christianity into their own community or the Good Samaritan story will form a connection with this book. The Street Pastors initiative, founded by Mr Isaac in 2003, has put 11,000 trained volunteers on night-time high streets in 280 towns in eight countries. Volunteers have handed out 100,000 pairs of flip-flops, defused tensions and helped people home safely. It happens to the best of us. A month ahead of Father’s Day you make a mental note to look for a gift. But then life gets busy and before you know it it’s the big day and you have nothing to give. Before you pull out your hair, have a look at our last-minute gift guide. If you can’t get hold of them in time, an IOU is better than nothing! Faith on the Streets goes into the history and experiences of these modern-day Good Samaritans. Books are always a good option, but sometimes if your father isn’t the reading type we have provided additional gift ideas to get your old man.
To mix up gifts for a bookish father, consider getting him a Tree of Life bookend hand-carved from sheesham wood in India. The wooden leaves can hold up his books and create some order amongst a cluttered bookshelf. The pieces are 17.5cm high and wide and 9cm deep. The bookends come from Asha Handicrafts, which sells the work of thousands of artisans and producer groups throughout India. This particular piece is available on traidcraftshop.co.uk for £30.00 under Men’s Gifts. http://bit.ly/1pdgQHC
Sometimes the best gifts aren’t the physical ones. Instead of buying a tie or gadget for your father, consider the gift of charity. Present Aid allows people to donate something as simple as blankets and bed linen all as necessary as a mobile doctor to people living in poverty in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Gifts vary in prices from a £7 emergency kit to a £230 bamboo shelter. You can get the gift in his name or give him a gift card so he can decide what to donate. Visit Present Aid online and look for Father’s Day under gifts for occasion for more options. http://bit.ly/1pntZQH “50 Great Myths About Religions” By John Morreall and Tamara Sonn Publisher: Wiley Blackwell Price: £16.99 For fathers who prefer to sit down and enjoy a nice academic book, look no further than 50 Great Myths About Religion written by professors John Morreall and Tamara Sonn from William and Mary University in the US. The book explores the origins and spread of 50 religious myths as well as discussing why they myths can be questioned. The authors examine myths from Christianity, Judaism and Islam as well as Western and Eastern religions, such as voodoo and atheism. “The True Herod” By Geza Vermes Publisher: Bloomsbury Price: £20.00 or online at Bloomsbury for £18.00 Fathers who are history buffs but still enjoy a little controversy will take to The True Herod, written by Geza Vermes and published posthumously by Bloomsbury. Mr Vermes challenges the villainous portrayal of Herod and looks into his role as a political leader and man of culture. The book also examines Herod’s legacy of extensive building works, including the Temple in Jerusalem and Masada. For those with fathers who are visually inclined, have no fear for photos are intermixed with Mr Vermes’s lively prose.