A biographical study of the family environment of Nicholas Ferrer, whose ministry helped inspire the voluntarist tradition within the Church of England.
A portrait of Nicholas Ferrar and his family, to whom he dedicated his ministry, with a focus on his background and the education and experiences that shaped that ministry and the circumstances that brought them to Little Gidding. This book appeals for its detailed account of a family's life together as well as the spiritual aspirations that made their household a community. Later generations appealed to their example both for its mission and its method. Not only does Ransome describe the man and the family in a way that brings them alive but also encompasses both their strength and their human frailties and indicates their contemporary and future significance. The book is aimed at both an academic and general audience of readers interested in history, religion, education, and family relationships including the role of women.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Editorial Conventions
Note on Sources
Abbreviations
Introduction
Formative Years 'the time of his ingathering'
The New Household at Little Gidding 'United not only in Cohabitation but in Hartes'
Enlarging the Community The 'Web of Friendship'
Voluntarism and the Wider Mission 'A Light upon a Hill could not be hid'
Temperance and Tensions
'Frayltie & Fears'
Harmonies Royal 'Rarities in their Kind'
Nicholas Posthumous
Conclusion
Appendix: The Ferrar and Collet Families
Notes
Family Trees: Ferrars, Collets and Mapletofts
Bibliography
Index
