Tim Heaton - The Long Road to Heaven: A Lent Course Based on the Film The Way

A pilgrimage in good company whilst reading the Scriptures prayerfully will be familiar to many groups of Christians in Lent. In this course about salvation, we are also invited to watch a film as attentively as we might look at a painting. Characters who are not knowingly on a journey to find God are found by God in a life-changing encounter. They are what salvation looks like in this imaginative, creative and enjoyable Lent course that will lead us to new life at Easter.

The Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury

Kierkegaard quipped that God did not become man to make small talk. He would have enjoyed Tim Heatons The Long Road to Heaven, which skilfully and accessibly introduces big talk on several levels. It proves a bracing mix of Bible study and wide-ranging theological insight, all rooted in reflection on the film The Way and nicely seasoned with Bonhoeffers Prayers for Fellow-Prisoners. Substantial reflection on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela prompts a moving pilgrimage from ones personal Good Friday through to Easter Day, the quintessence of a salvation which proves challenging, affirming and surprising.

The Rt Revd David Wilbourne, Assistant Bishop of Llandaff

On the pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela we meet Tom and a small group of misfits, each broken and looking for meaning in their lives. At the same time, travelling with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem we meet on the way people transformed by the encounter. A wonderful treasure trove of nuggets drawn from a rich heritage of Christian wisdom through the centuries nourishes us as we explore the many facets of salvation. Over five sessions we are challenged to see salvation lived out in the stories of others and to reflect how Gods salvation is woven into our own lives.

The Rt Revd John Wraw, Bishop of Bradwell

Tim Heatons intriguing new Lent Course takes the theme of pilgrimage, winding word and prayer around the pictures of the film The Way. In the film, four pilgrims join their different lives as they walk to Santiago de Compostela. St Paul wrote, in Philippians, that he was pressing on in order to know Christ and the power of his resurrection: pressing on because he had not already reached the goal. In our Lenten pilgrimage we seek to know more of Christ Jesus, as he already knows us. This course will help us all. And when you have finished the course perhaps you may be inspired to put on your walking boots, lock the front door, and set off for Santiago yourself.

The Rt Revd Dr Edward Condry, Bishop of Ramsbury

Salvation is all about journeying or, as it is often named, pilgrimage. Using the brilliant film The Way, Tim Heaton helps us understand that finding heaven is as much about the journey as it is about the arriving. Through careful interweaving of Jesus journey to the cross with the journeys of the characters in the film, the course reminds us that we are all somewhere on a journey and on that journey we have the possibility, through the grace of God, of finding salvation. This is an outstanding and exciting course that I strongly recommend. It is extremely well constructed, imaginatively presented and well written, and goes right to the heart of what it means to be a Christian disciple.

The Venerable Paul Taylor, Archdeacon of Sherborne

Pilgrimage defines both the form and content of this Lent Course: it is designed to move us on in every way, in mind, spirit and body. It does so very effectively, by imaginatively weaving together a film about a journey and Christian understandings of the journey of salvation. The course draws on wide-ranging and serious theological resources, but also retains a sufficiently light touch to keep the pilgrim moving whenever the going might seem tough. The material is thoughtful and engaging, the format attractive, and the overall experience for participants should be very stimulating.

The Revd Canon Professor Vernon White, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey and Visiting Professor in Theology at Kings College, London

First published by Circle Books, 2013
Circle Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Laurel House, Station Approach,
Alresford, Hants, SO24 9JH, UK
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
www.circle-books.com

For distributor details and how to order please visit the Ordering section on our website.

Text copyright: Tim Heaton 2013

ISBN: 978 1 78279 274 1

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Tim Heaton as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

Cover image of Martin Sheen copyright David Alexanian/The Way Productions LLC. Reproduced with permission.

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

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The Naturalist and the Christ: A Lent Course Based on the Film
Creation
(Circle Books, 2011)

A remarkable piece of work
Church Times

A fantastic Lent resource
The Good BookStall

A stimulating and enjoyable read
Newslink, the Diocese of Durham

Utterly contemporary engaging and accessible
The Coracle, the Diocese of Truro

An extremely fruitful way into areas which most Christians barely grasp
The Sarum Link, the Diocese of Salisbury

A reassuringly familiar Lenten journey
Crux, the Diocese of Manchester

This is a course for twenty-first century Christians and I commend it warmly
The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely

Carefully researched, elegantly written and well-presented
The Rt Revd Dr Graham Kings, Bishop of Sherborne

Exciting and challenging
The Rt Revd Tim Thornton, Bishop of Truro

Thorough and thought-provoking
The Venerable Stephen Waine, Archdeacon of Dorset

An impressive piece of work entirely readable
The Revd Canon Edward Probert, Chancellor of Salisbury Cathedral

A valuable resource to us in the world as it is full of pain and suffering not the world as we would like it to be
The Revd Sally Bedborough, Hospice Chaplain

A comprehensive and thoroughly excellent resource
Karenza Passmore, Director of the North East Religious Learning
Resources Centre

For Arabella

My companion on the road