Books for Lent 2020 - Where the Lost Things Go.

A Lent course based on Mary Poppins Returns …

 

 

Overview:

Where The Lost Things Go is a ‘practically perfect’ Lent course for small group study – or for reading on one’s own – based on the popular film Mary Poppins Returns. Poet and minister Lucy Berry skilfully draws out some of the themes of the Oscar-nominated movie (which stars Emily Blunt, Ben Whishaw and Lin-Manuel Miranda) and shows how we can consider them more deeply alongside passages from the Bible.

The course is based around five weekly sessions, entitled:

• Were we dreaming? Belief and unbelief

• This can’t be happening! Loss, denial and acceptance

• The Banks children? Or the Bank’s children?

• Lost people, being found: Fogs and the wilderness

• Light! A seriously heavy symbol

Each session includes suggested clips from the film, as well as discussion questions, Bible readings and closing prayers. There are detailed notes, advice and additional questions for leaders to help them plan an enriching group study in which all group members can feel accepted and involved. And the book contains an additional section for those who wish to make a deeper study of Mary Poppins Returns’ songs.

Lucy Berry is a performance poet and a United Reformed Church Minister. She is a fifth-generation Londoner and part of a mixed-heritage family. Lucy was for four years Poet in Residence for Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show. She has worked in advertising, in HMP Holloway, and as an art therapist. Her work constantly explores what Bible stories are telling us about our successes, our denials and our terror of change. Both her poetry and her prose have an enjoyable sting in the tail.

Key selling points:

> A tough book in a flowery cover.
 

> Discerns surprisingly rigorous Lent challenges within the film’s story.

> Requires the self-examination of the reader’s beliefs around money in society.

> Examines the motives of the film’s narrative and critiques the wider ‘drivers’ of the Disney narrative.

> It prompts deep and prayerful reflection on our personal faith journeys and our often-conflicting societal journeys.

What was the inspiration for the book?

The conviction that all stories, (even ‘froth and bubble’ ones), contain faith lessons to be learned.

Who is the book intended for?

Where The Lost Things Go is intended for people who want an accessible way into thinking about Lent be they contemplative individuals pondering Lent, Lent Church groups, or Lent Bible Study groups.

Where can one get a copy?

All good bookstores and www.dltbooks.com for £6.99 - you can read a sample here.