Steps Along Hope Street: My Life in Cricket, the Church and the Inner City
Author(s): David Sheppard (Author)
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date: 17 Oct. 2002
Edition: First Edition
Language: English
Print length: 356 pages
ISBN-10: 0340861169
ISBN-13: 9780340861165
Book Description
There is no doubt that among Anglican Bishops, David Sheppard’s particular blend of interests ensures that his reputation as a leading Bishop will be a lasting one. Many will remember him first and foremost as a former English cricket captain, peculiar in his combination of dedicated cleric and outstanding sportsman. Others will recall his ecumenical strengths and his partnership with the Roman Catholic Archbishop, Derek Worlock, when they were both incumbents in Liverpool. But perhaps his most unique quality, which has made him such a strong personality in the Church, is his concern for the poor and disadvantaged and his refusal to collude with Westminster politics. David Sheppard has always believed that speaking out for the poor is a central part of his ministry, and 20 years on Merseyside only served to reinforce that fundamental commitment. From early days at the Mayflower in Canning Town, London, to Woolwich and later to Liverpool this is the story of a man struggling creatively with his world and his God. In many ways, it is a lonely, restless life as for any pioneering individual who refuses to be labelled or to adopt easy options. Uncomfortable with theological stereotypes, uneasy with Westminster’s policies, always concerned to cut through “comfortable Britain”, this is the life of a remarkable man and an account of the Church and politics in the second half of the 20th century.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon Review
Steps Along Hope Street relates the life of David Sheppard, famous for being the keen sportsman who gave up a career in international cricket to become a vicar. He went on to pioneer the Church of England’s social work in the inner city and wound up as the Bishop of Liverpool. Sheppard’s book also reflects on the enormous changes within the Church of England in the last 50 years.
Sheppard recounts his middle-class childhood and his privileged education at Sherborne and Cambridge. At Sherborne he found cricket and at Cambridge he found God. He soon became a keen member of the Christian Union and Evangelical camps for public school boys. Sheppard relates his second conversion to the needs of inner city Britain as he worked for 20 years in London before going on to Liverpool. At Liverpool he teamed up with the Catholic archbishop Derek Warlock. By this time Sheppard had undergone a third conversion–to a fervent commitment to ecumenism and the church’s responsibility to the urban poor.
It is easy to see both of these ideals as hopelessly naïve; indeed, Sheppard’s own writing style comes across as somewhat naïve and innocent. But Sheppard’s book shows that Liverpool, with its inner city blight and history of sectarian rivalry, was precisely the place for such idealism to be pursued. At the heart of Liverpool, Hope Street links the city’s two cathedrals. The book, like Sheppard himself, is not a heavyweight, but it shows that lasting good can still be accomplished by people who pursue their beliefs with passion and simplicity. —Dwight Longenecker
Review
As former England cricket captain he fought apartheid, as Bishop of Liverpool he challenged Westminster. This is the autobiography of the dauntless Right Revd Lord Sheppard.
About the Author
David Sheppard was born in 1929, read theology at Cambridge, and was ordaind in 1955. He played cricket for England and was Captain in the 1950’s. He was Warden and Chaplain of the Mayflower Centre. Canning Town, Bishop of Woolwich (1969-75) and Anglican Bishop of Liverpool until his retirement in 1997. He is married to Grace, has a daughter, Jenny and two grandsons.
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