By taking a closer look at the “stones” that impeded Jesus’s last week, we are challenged to identify the obstructions to our spiritual lives. When Jesus descends the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem to the acclamation of the crowd, he announces “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” In TheStones of the Last Week, Bonnie B. Thurston reflects on the Passion narratives in Luke 19-24, and explores the many references to stones, both literal and spiritual, that impeded Jesus’s last week with a view to their significance for our own journey to the fullness of life that resurrection offers. The Stones of the Last Week reflects on the impediments to Easter, challenging us to consider our own “stones,”—the difficulties, hindrances, and obstructions in our spiritual lives—from the perspective of talking stones, stones of destruction, impermanent stones, stones that measure distances, and the stone marking life and death. Turn to this enriching resource as Lent unfolds into Easter, or for personal reading and reflection throughout the year.

There are at least 48 identified prehistoric stone circles in Scotland. In truth, very little is known about the people who erected them, and ultimately about what the stone circles were for. Most stone circles are astronomically aligned, which has led to the modern debate about why the alignment was significant. The megaliths certainly represented an enormous co-operative effort, would at the very least have demonstrated power and wealth, and being set away from any dwellings probably served a ceremonial, or perhaps religious, purpose. Observations at the site of the stone circles, of solar, lunar, and stellar events, have already cast light on some of the questions about the construction and use of ancient megalithic observatories. In his capacity as manager of the Parks Department Astronomy Project, author Duncan Lunan designed and built the first astronomically aligned stone circle in Britain in over 3,000 years. 'The Stones and the Stars' examines the case for astronomical alignments of stone circles, and charts the development of a fascinating project with a strong scientific and historical background. The work was documented in detail by the artist and photographer Gavin Roberts, and this archive has been added to since - so an appropriate selection of illustrations will bring the project vividly to life.