Books by Mark Townsend

One city, two religions. Three centuries. Four people; a brother, an orphan, refugee and a traitor separated by time and circumstance, and one dark secret that links them all.

In June 2007 Rev. Mark Townsend resigned from his ministry as a priest after his decision to share his story of brokenness and failure with the hierarchy. This book is the irreverent and whimsical, yet honest and gut-wrenching, story of his struggle to hold on to a faith within a world that seemed to be against him. It is a story that brings hope to all those who feel the established Western religious path has lost sight of compassion, grace and the one who could easily have been called ';Friend of Failures.' As the author gradually digs himself out of the consequential gutter the reader will discover that all such failures can be redeemed and may even produce glittering nuggets of gold. More importantly, the reader will begin to see that his or her own failure can also lead to real moments of magic - so long as it is not repressed but accepted. A major underlying theme of the whole diary is the notion that real magic does exist, and that the magical traditions such as Druidry can be a major blessing for those who crave for something more.

The Path of The Blue Raven is the story of a struggling man who all his life has wrestled with questions, searched for meaning and discovered it in unexpected places. Although representing the beginning of a new adventure in one man's life, this book is not just his story for it also offers a beautiful and breath-taking collection of real-life stories of others who walked a similar path and have found great healing and blessing through nature based spirituality. To many cultures, the raven was and is a symbol of initiation into a new path. In sharing his own journey, the author introduces readers to a world of like-minded people who have stepped off the mainstream path onto the path of personal magic. As the ex-Catholic monk Thomas Moore says, 'The soul has an absolute, unforgiving need for regular excursions into enchantment. It requires them like the body needs food and the mind needs thought.' This book offers pilgrims (of any path) a way back to the rich and deep inner magic of childhood dreams.

Failure, rather than success, is at the heart of the life of Jesus and his message. He came to liberate us from the "gospel of success". It is not in "climbing the ladder of perfection" that we meet God, but in falling from it. And it is then that we discover the most beautiful spiritual gold.