Face to Face: Meeting Christ in Friend and Stranger

Pastors, priests, and pastoral caregivers often accompany people who are struggling to negotiate experiences of sickness, bereavement or anxiety. There are no easy answers in such situations, no formulaic remedies, and no slick theological explanations. The process of being present, listening, and responding is demanding. It can require skills and wisdom beyond the ministers' own experience. Often, caregivers feel they receive as much or more than they give to the care seekers in such encounters.

In Face to Face, Samuel Wells reflects theologically and pastorally on twenty such encounters in care giving that were both hugely challenging and hugely instructive for him. The result is a book of profound practical wisdom and understanding that will inform and enrich pastoral ministry for all who read it. An extended introduction on the nature and practice of pastoral ministry provides the foundation for the telling of these memorable and moving accounts.

Samuel Wells is a priest in The Church of England and vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. He served as dean of Duke University Chapel and research professor of Christian ethics at Duke Divinity School, Durham, N.C., from 2005 to 2012. In addition to his ministry at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, he is a visiting Professor of Christian Ethics at King’s College London. In 2018, Wells was installed as Honorary Canon Theologian of Guildford Cathedral. He has written numerous books and articles on Christian social ethics.