Archbishop Benson’s Humming Top

During Adrian Leak’s time as a parish priest, he wrote many monthly ‘letters’ for the local parish magazine. His inspiration was the wide and colourful experience of life as a country parson, and the wish to share his reflections with non-believers as well as believers.

Following the success of Adrian’s first collection, Nebuchadnezzar’s Marmalade Pot, his new book, Archbishop Benson’s Humming Top comprises sixty brief essays adapted from sermons as well as articles previously published in the Church Times.

“Archbishop Benson’s Humming Top propels us from Greek hats to gardens, via compassion fatigue and hunting parsons to the songbirds of Istanbul. Underpinning and uniting these wide-ranging reflections is the conviction that God is to be found in stillness and silence, and that we need to be able to listen if we are to hear the still, small voice. Adrian Leak has created a box of delights: quirky and thoughtful, with plenty of still centres, to be dipped into and savoured: nourishment for the soul, with no damage to the waistline.”– Caroline Chartres, Features Editor, Church Times