Beginnings and Endings (and what happens in between), by Maggi Dawn 

'If you are looking to countdown to Epiphany with daily readings and meditation, Maggi Dawn will be a wise and thoughtful companion on the way'

Beginnings and Endings (and what happens in between) 
By Maggi Dawn
BRF
ISBN 9781800395107
Reviewed by Stephen Copson

 
Christmas is coming… again. Plans will be made, dates ringed on the (electronic) calendar and adverts enticing us to buy all the things that make Christmas Christmassy. Except that for many their experience will not live up to the expectations.  

Maggi Dawn invites the reader on a journey through Advent to Epiphany, weaving together the good news, time for thought and personal insights. Endings and beginnings are characteristic of human beings. And for Christians, Christmas marks the start of a new era. While the Christ story deals with cosmic changes, she explores lives mostly lived in the in-between times, in the now and not-yet, where the experience of God can be rich and satisfying. 

Using the familiar pattern of daily Bible readings and comment, Maggi Dawn reflects on six areas of Biblical witness: gospels, patriarchs, prophets, angels, the holy family and the characters of the birth narratives. Through these sections, she examines the pattern of beginnings and endings, exploring the good news with helpful commentary on the everyday experience of women and men.

If you are looking to countdown to Epiphany with daily readings and meditation, Maggi Dawn will be a wise and thoughtful companion on the way. This is the second edition of a 2007 book, with some updating for changes in the use of language and cultural context. The author is currently an Episcopalian priest in the United States of America. She was principal of St Maryʼs College at the University of Durham, where she still teaches theology.
 

Stephen Copson is a Baptist minister in retirement living in Hertfordshire