Places of Enchantment: Meeting God in landscapes

There is a great and honourable tradition of finding God in landscapes. Many who have given up on church appreciate the spiritual benefits they gain from climbing a mountain or walking in nature. But how and why do we encounter God in land, forest, river, mountain, desert, garden, sea and sky? That is what Graham Usher explores in this captivating volume which takes us from the giant Redwoods of the Californian Sierra Nevada to the jagged New York skyline; from the wilds of the ancient Scottish Highlands to the rolling pastures of English Shropshire. Drawing on material from biblical and church history traditions - as well as scientific research and contemporary art - he seeks to ascertain how such encounters support our Christian pilgrimage and challenge our assumptions.

Canon Graham Usher is the Rector of Hexham in Northumberland. He has worked overseas as well as in a range of parishes, including a highly deprived ward in the centre of post-industrial Middlesbrough. Prior to ordination he was an ecologist and now serves as a Secretary of State appointee on the Northumberland National Park Authority and Chairman of the North-East regional advisory committee of the Forestry Commission.