Volume 11.1

Many of us will be familiar with the liturgical refrain: ‘Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation; through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.’ They are words which invite us to consider the connection between daily work and the Eucharist. This is precisely what David Jensen does in his insightful and sometimes surprising article, ‘Fed and Hungry at Christ’s Table’.
David has kindly adapted material from his recently published book, Responsive Labor, which we will review in a future issue. It is one of several new books on theology and work currently appearing, an encouraging development. David McIlroy reviews another of them, Darrell Cosden’s the Heavenly Good of Earthly Work, which argues that the work we do on earth has eternal significance.
Some readers say that the reviews in FiBQ are the bits they value most, and 11:1 offers a rich harvest in this respect. James Allcock writes a lively appreciation of God at Work, by Ken Costa, well known in investment banking and Alpha International circles. Stephen Copp commends IEA’s recently published collection of essays on Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy, a strong warning against turning to the state as a solution to our problems.
Many readers will resonate with Mark Lovatt’s article, an admirably honest account of how he eventually discerned God’s guidance in a disappointing and difficult episode at work. As an extraordinarily wet summer succeeds a very hot one and we wonder what is happening to the weather, Paul Pearce and Dave Hampton provide a valuable summary in showing how climate change issues an imperative for Christians in business, a challenge that should not be ducked. Richard Higginson reports on April’s Christian consultants’ conference at Ridley Hall and outlines plans for the future, encouraging readers who work as consultants to participate. Peter Heslam offers his customary two pages of wisdom, this time on the role of humility in the exercise of wisdom.
Finally, we ask readers to pay careful attention to Clive Wright’s letter on page 31. Clive explains the current situation of Faith in Business Quarterly, outlines our current thinking, and invites you, our readers, to play a part in determining our future. We look forward to a lively response.