Many congratulations to Mr (Pete) Atkinson, (one of our Senior School Maths teachers) who has just published ‘The Rescue Mission,’ currently listed among Amazon’s top 10 bible commentaries.

The Rescue Mission’ is an imaginatively original and brilliantly executed piece of storytelling which presents the Bible as one continuous, page-turning narrative; it’s the Bible as we’ve never experienced it before!

Mr Atkinson says:

“Writing ‘The Rescue Mission: The Bible As We’ve Never Experienced It Before’ has been a labour of love over 15 years. I started writing the book after learning about how the Bible could be read as one, continuous sweeping story from Genesis to Revelation; from creation to the new creation, where every tear is wiped away. I recall thinking – very naively – ‘why doesn’t someone write it like that’ and then sitting down and typing about Genesis, with absolutely no idea of the enormity of the task I was taking on! 

As the project grew and grew it got under my skin until I reached the point that I couldn’t let it go. I studied piles of chunky – often dusty – Bible commentaries, making copious notes, piecing together storylines, seeking subversive twists and turns, and tracking the threads which weave from Old Testament to New. Simultaneously, I needed to hone a writing style; and the only way to do that was to practice, practice, practice. I discovered that a piece of writing is always improved by deleting; I think of it like chiselling away at a block of wood, removing words, sentences – and even whole paragraphs that took an entire day to write – until the true heart of the text is exposed. 

Another significant challenge was marrying my desire for brevity and readability with doing justice to the sheer scale and detail of the Biblical story. To this end, I developed 3 narrative voices: one zooms in, seeking to elicit the thoughts and emotions of the Biblical characters; another zooms out and considers the vision and viewpoint of the Godhead, the Trinity – or to use the language in the book, ‘The Community of Elohim’. Thirdly, a mysterious character discovers the unfolding Biblical accounts in an abandoned warehouse, enabling a modern day perspective and reaction. 

The Rescue Mission was first published in 2012, receiving reviews such as ‘imaginatively original’, ‘fascinating and enthralling’, ‘true masterpiece’ and ‘I couldn’t put it down’. Nevertheless, I became convinced that the book could be improved, and a heavily rewritten 2nd edition was released in April 2020. I would absolutely love for you to read it! “

The book is available at www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0244213623. You can listen to a sample chapter at https://youtu.be/oMBXiwMh2cs And find more information at www.facebook.com/rescuemissionbook 

 

We are living in extraordinary times. Who would have guessed a month or two ago how dramatically daily life would alter. Who could have imagined how narrow our horizons would suddenly become?

The unexpected disruption of life’s pattern is hard. Figuring out new ways to manage everything, including Learning at Home, is unquestionably demanding. And yet…

One of our goals at Heritage is to cultivate ‘the life of the mind’ or ‘an inner life’. It is a big idea. Seeing the goal of education in terms of obtaining qualifications, important as they are, is a shadow by comparison. Someone with a rich inner life possesses an imaginative capacity to go places, to discover delightful oases, to find inward re-creation and nourishment, to relish truth. Such a person also knows where to find the resources to live generously, even in a season of unusual pressure. 

We can learn lessons from grandparents. Our wisest elders find satisfaction in quieter, more local pursuits, in part out of necessity, but also due to regular investment in wholesome interests. Many of our elders have understood the point I’m trying to make: the inner life really does matter.  

In order to flourish, the mind, like the body, needs a healthy diet of good food. When we partake of a good meal of mind food, we are satisfied by it. If we take this seriously, we ought, for starters, to be attentive to our own needs, especially now. Hopefully this truth helps us to frame Learning at Home in the right way. Children too are hungry for knowledge and the curriculum is intended to be enjoyed, even to bring delight. 

Teachers are working hard to prepare hearty meals of stimulating activities and readings for the weeks ahead. The good news is that satisfying mind food is available to us in greater abundance than ever, although in this age of information saturation we also need to be discerning. The mind needs real food, not ‘twaddle’ as Charlotte Mason used to say. She described the best books as ‘living’ because they possess vitality, originality, and interesting ideas that grip you. Real things also feed the mind, so in addition to enjoying books, let’s try and be outdoors as much as possible and make time for activities such as baking, music and art or learning a new skill.

Of course, our primary concern in these anxious days is to support all those adversely affected by the coronavirus. At the same time, children happily remind us that life is irrepressible. Although it feels like our horizons have narrowed, it is not too much to hope we and our children can yet glimpse expansive new vistas in the weeks ahead.