Keeping Watch for Kingfishers: God Stories

In Keep Watching for Kingfishers, Jenny Wilson places the stories of scripture alongside stories found in the news, in poetry and in well-known novels such as Bleak House and Middlemarch, stories found in photography and the visual arts, together with snippets of insight gleaned from contemporary theologians like Walter Brueggemann and Rowan Williams. The sermons seek to explore the voice of God in these stories and hope to find some expression for our voice and that of other human beings in prayer. Jenny Wilson invites us to find our own life stories a​nd the stories of our time and place as belonging to the story of God.​

This book speaks as if in answer to the prayers offered up by all conscientious pastors of the flock ahead of undertaking the weighty privilege of preaching. The language is personal and warm; the style is theological and practical; the topics are scriptural and topical, addressing matters private and public; and relating the faith of Jesus Christ to the situations in which we all seek faithfully to live out our calling as sons and daughters of Christ.​

Christopher Stoltz (from the Foreword), Precentor, Westminster Abbey

She weaves her sources together deftly, darting in and out of theology and literature, as she hunts for God in the biblical readings that lie behind each sermon. … They speak to a congregation whose stories and level of faith commitment cannot be reliably known; so … draw initially on broad common ground, before turning to the personal. […]

An anthology to dip into and relish in small bites. […]

Wilson combines intelligence, warmth, and a love for God. She does so in an attractive way that belies the skill required to present complex thought simply and accessibly.

The Revd Penny Seabrook, Church Times

Jenny Wilson is Canon Precentor of St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide with responsibilities in liturgy, music and pastoral care.​