The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt. Rev. Justin Welby, has opened the call for nominations for the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize through an announcement in the Church Times.
The competition was launched in 2005 by Lord Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, and is held every two to three years. The award commemorates Lord Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 to 1974, who worked to increase theological understanding among both the Christian and non-Christian population. The prize is administered by the publisher SPCK, and is sponsored by the Lambeth Trust.
The purpose of the Michael Ramsey Prize is to celebrate and encourage both the writing and reading of theology, with a special focus on emerging theological authors. The hope is that publicity surrounding the award, and especially the shortlist, will prompt people to include theological works among their reading.
The present Archbishop offered a personal note at the foot of the Times article.
This will be my first occasion to preside over a process that, thanks to my immediate predecessor, Archbishop Rowan, has now become well-established as a prize for recognising the best theological writing in the service of the Church…
Along with a team to help with short-listing, as well as a panel of judges who will make the final call, I am particularly eager to see books that will help the Church to grow in the areas of my three ministry priorities: of prayer and religious life; of reconciliation; and of evangelism and witness. We are especially keen for nominations from new authors, as well as books written or published in the global South.
If you have read a book which meets these criteria, published between 2012 and 2014, and you could recommend enthusiastically, I warmly encourage you to make a nomination.
Read more at the Anglican Communion News Service, the Church Times, and find the online nomination form here.
Have you read any good books lately?
Posted by Rosalind Hughes