Dr Rowan Williams  Hodder 2002  81pp  GBP 3.99

The author was close by when the terrorist struck New York and the World Trade Center fell. In this short, but characteristically inspiring meditation, he takes his personal experience of the horror as the starting point for some broader reflections on the feelings of powerlessness which prompted the attacks, and the appropriate Christian response to this rage: understanding where the rage of the powerless comes from is as necessary as air and water in a world that isn't to tear itself apart.

If we are to avoid the trap of violence we have to recognise power for what it is and isn't: as what is given us for the setting free of each other, not as the satisfying of our passion for control. There are no easy answers but this little meditation gives hope that risk and reconciliation are a new and living way to avoid the relentless spiral downward to more and worse agression.

Kraybill, Donald & Linda Gehman Peachey (Ed)  Herald Press 2002  212pp GBP 8.50

These collected essays, articles, sermons, interviews, and letters reflect the heartthrob of Christian leaders and thinkers as they struggle with profound questions of faith and seek to be people of peace in a world of terror. As seeds of faith and hope, their reflections provide excellent resources for individuals and study groups searching for meaning and hope in the midst of terror. Questions to ponder, lists of resources, and a short leader’s guide make this useful for Christian education classes.