Exeter College alumnus Dr Andrew Thomas publishes Resounding Hope

Exeter College alumnus Dr Andrew Thomas (1997, PPE) has published a new book exploring the transformative role of music in church life and worship. Resounding Hope: Nurturing Hope in our Church Communities through Music offers a practical and accessible guide to how music can help congregations cultivate Christian hope, deepen faith, and strengthen community. 

Dr Thomas, who studied at Exeter College, draws on his experience as a church musician, educator, and theologian to examine how music can do far more than enrich worship. Through a combination of theological reflection and real parish experience, the book demonstrates how music can help worshippers sense God’s presence, imagine the new creation, and rediscover their identity in Christ. 

Published by Sacristy Press, Resounding Hope argues that even simple forms of music-making can have a profound impact on church communities. The book encourages clergy, musicians, worship teams, and smaller churches working with limited resources to recognise the roots of hope already present within their congregations and to use music as a means of fostering prayer, participation, reflection, and transformation. 

The publication has received praise from leading figures in church music and theology. Hugh Morris, Director of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), described it as “a book grounded in lived, personal experience” that reminds readers of “the anchoring role of church music” and “gives cause to hope anew in the value of church music as an endeavour.” 

Mark Earey, Tutor in Mission and Ministry at Ripon College Cuddesdon, praised the book as “readable, accessible and practical,” while the Rt Revd Dr John Inge, former Bishop of Worcester, commended its “imaginative insights derived from lived experience expressed in a highly accessible manner.” 

Resounding Hope: Nurturing Hope in our Church Communities through Music is available to purchase from Sacristy Press.