Part memoir, part reflection on vocation, Reverence charts the past and present life of an Anglican and female priest, one of the first women to be ordained in the Church of England in the 1990s. Magdalen Smith grew up in a clergy family, married a cleric, then became one herself. Working in many different contexts, cathedral, outer estate, city and countryside, she draws from a depth of experience in ministry and spirituality and reflects on how the church has changed over the years. Describing the often quirky and profound experiences of human life where all is infused with the holy, the book communicates a deep love of enabling others to discover a sense of the divine for themselves.

Reverence is a journey through one woman’s life, beginning in the 23-roomed vicarage where she grew up and ending in a place where her priestly calling is still believed to be relevant in a rapidly changing world. It takes familiar concepts of spirituality and through personal stories, reflections on art, culture and place, seeks to connect with the sense of vocation and an intuitive sense of the numinous that many people feel whether they describe themselves as religious or not.