Cease and Desist

'Cease and desist' demand from Mark Brewer

2008-07-22T11:26:00.003+01:00

This morning I was sent a ‘cease and desist’ demand from Mark Brewer relating to the posts I have made about the former SPCK bookshops. The demand says ‘Confidential - not to be redistributed or posted’, so I am not posting the text.

The demand says that if I do not remove all SSG-related material by noon today, July 22, 2008, an injunction will be sought against me and legal action taken for damages for libel.

I have therefore removed all of the SPCK/SSG posts on this blog, as, although I believe I have not done anything wrong I do not have the money to face a legal battle. The removal of these posts is in no way an admission of guilt.

To say I am not happy about the decision I have been forced to take here is an understatement. I feel as if I have let many people down who have relied on this site over the last year or more.

I am not allowing comments on this post, though I can be contacted as usual. I cannot of course stop you writing about this elsewhere.

My silence

2008-07-08T01:06:00.000+01:00

I’ve been aware that this has been a sad week for many readers of the Cartoon Blog. Many of those visiting have been mourning the death of Steve Jeynes, the Worcester bookseller, who, judging from the comments posted on this site was loved by many. In the circumstances the usual nonsense that I write on this site has not seemed appropriate, hence my silence.

The memorial service for Steve Jeynes took place yesterday. The Worcester News has a report: Tributes paid to exceptional man. Doug Chaplain was there and has written about it. See also on the SPCK/SSG blog: Steve Jeynes: A Life Remembered.

This will be one of the last former-SPCK-related posts that I expect to do until September as I am away doing one thing and another. I have one more bookshop-related thing that I need to post about which has arisen as a result of a comment (not yet visible) on this site on Sunday morning. I will hopefully do that post today (Tuesday) or tomorrow (Wednesday).

The place to go for former-SPCK-related posts for the next month or two is SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info. [Aside to Phil: hopefully you will post Plans Coming Together for New Christian Bookshop in Cardiff on the SSG/SPCK site when the time is right - a post well worth sharing.]

I hope to post a bit more on this blog this week, including an announcement about my new book and plans for Lambeth.

Memorial service for Steve Jeynes

2008-07-03T19:57:00.000+01:00

The memorial service for Steve Jeynes is now to be held at Worcester Cathedral at 3.30pm on Monday 7th July, followed by refreshments at Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

There is a news item in the Worcester News today, and another in the Worcester Standard. Update: Also Worcester News: Hundreds expected to bookseller’s memorial

Many tributes have been left in the comments of my previous post and on other sites linked from there.

Image: the former SPCK shop in Worcester

SPCK / SSG: Tragic news from Worcester

2008-06-27T17:53:00.000+01:00

There is some tragic news from the Worcester Diocese. This note was sent out today to clergy within the Diocese by the Communications department:

I am very sorry to tell you that Steve Jeynes, has been found dead, apparently having taken his own life. Many of you will know him from his work at the SSGT (ex-SPCK) shop in Worcester, from where he was made redundant two weeks ago.

Please hold (the) family in your prayers, together with the many friends whose lives have been enriched through Steve’s loving generosity in serving the Lord.

Details of the funeral arrangements will be made available in due course.

Doug Chaplain has posted here: In Worcester the SSG / SPCK saga turns to tragedy

Please remember Steve’s family, friends and all affected in your prayers.

Update: A service of Thanksgiving for Steve’s life will take place on Monday 7 July 2008 at 3:30 pm at ~~All Saints’ Church, Deansway, Worcester~~. The Thanksgiving Service has been moved from All Saints’ Church to the Cathedral at 3.30pm on Monday 7th July followed by refreshments at Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

Further tributes have been posted here and here.

SSG: Bankruptcy papers received, employees not paid

2008-06-25T15:05:00.000+01:00

Bankruptcy papers received
Some people in the UK have been receiving papers relating to the SSG ‘bankruptcy’ from the US Bankruptcy Court of the District of Southern District of Texas. There will apparently be a ‘meeting of creditors’ on 22 July in Houston.

Having done a quick search I notice that there was, on 18 June a ’status conference’ for St Stephen the Great LLC in the bankruptcy court (this can be found on a cached Google page saved here). Information on the chapter 11 bankruptcy process can be found via this page: Chapter 11 - Bankruptcy Basics

All of this must be seen in the light of Usdaw’s statement yesterday, now available on the Usdaw website:

Usdaw firmly believes that the bankruptcy proceedings in the US have no effect in the UK, because this is a UK company with entirely UK-based assets and activities.

Also, from John Hannett, the General Secretary of Usdaw:

These loyal staff are being given misleading information about these US bankruptcy proceedings and the effects this may have on their rights to take legal action in the UK. Our fear is that the Brewers’ actions may be an attempt to move assets away from the business and out of the reach of our members with legitimate claims.

“We will carry on as before with the claims against the Brewers who are accumulating wealth whilst riding roughshod over hard working employees. We will continue to assist all our members affected by this messy situation and work to rectify it as soon as possible.”

Employees not paid
On a related note some (all?) of the people who work or worked in the shops have not been paid today (the 25th) as they would usually be. See for instance these blog comments. [Update: some employees have now been paid]

Telegraph blog post
Christopher Howse (who wrote Saturday’s comment piece) has written on his Telegraph blog about the Orthodox church in Poole: Orthodox Exodus. As others have pointed out this isn’t new information, but I thought I’d post the link anyway.

Usdaw press release about the former SPCK shops

2008-06-24T08:13:00.000+01:00

Usdaw fights for mistreated bookshop workers
Shopworkers’ union, Usdaw, has submitted 15 employment tribunal claims against the Brewers, US-based brothers who have taken over a chain of UK bookshops and were seeking to impose a new contract on staff, drastically reducing their contractual rights. The Union has over 50 members at the bookshops and is expecting that the number of employment tribunal claims will rise.

The Brewer brothers were gifted the St. Stephen the Great Christian bookshops in 2006 by SPCK. The chain includes 23 bookshops, many of which are historic buildings in prime retail positions.

Following the change of ownership, a new contract was drawn up increasing the working week from 37.5 to 40 hours with no additional pay, turning all part-time staff into casual staff with no guaranteed hours every week and taking away all rights to company sick pay.

Now, virtually all Usdaw members have been dismissed with no notice, some by email, and have received little or no information about what this means for their rights and their pay.

The Brewer brothers have now filed St. Stephen the Great for bankruptcy in the US. Usdaw firmly believes that the bankruptcy proceedings in the US have no effect in the UK, because this is a UK company with entirely UK-based assets and activities. Staff have been told that they can apply for jobs with ENC Management Company, which is also owned by the Brewers, but that they no longer have jobs with St. Stephen the Great.

Usdaw is also aware that the Charity Commission has been alerted to these actions because of its role in regulating the activities of the linked charity, St. Stephen the Great Charitable Trust.

John Hannett, Usdaw General Secretary, stated:

“It is clear that staff, many of whom have been long standing loyal workers, have been mistreated and many are understandably very upset and concerned. We are very concerned at a new company (ENC Management Company) being set up in these circumstances, while our members are losing their jobs. These loyal staff are being given misleading information about these US bankruptcy proceedings and the effects this may have on their rights to take legal action in the UK. Our fear is that the Brewers’ actions may be an attempt to move assets away from the business and out of the reach of our members with legitimate claims.

“We will carry on as before with the claims against the Brewers who are accumulating wealth whilst riding roughshod over hard working employees. We will continue to assist all our members affected by this messy situation and work to rectify it as soon as possible.”

Ends

St. Stephen the Great shops at which Usdaw members are affected:

§ Cambridge
§ Carlisle
§ Chester
§ Exeter
§ Lincoln
§ Newcastle
§ Norwich
§ Sheffield
§ Worcester
§ York

Usdaw is the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers

Update: This press release is now available via the Usdaw website: Usdaw fights for mistreated bookshop workers

Former SPCK bookshops in the Telegraph

2008-06-21T09:57:00.001+01:00

Christopher Howse: The bare and desolate SPCK bookshops

Today's former SPCK bookshop news

2008-06-20T08:18:00.000+01:00

From the Chester Chronicle: Christian bookshop sacks staff by e-mail

From the Eastern Daily Press: Christian bookshop stripped of stock

From the comments below:

The article in the Eastern Daily Press concerning the Norwich shop mentions three potential future tenants.
One of the bids is from the Norwich Christian Resource Centre, a new Community Interest Company with six directors from various denominations, all with a wealth of business experience.
They are giving their time and talents free of charge and are all passionate to re-establish the centre that had become such an integral part of the community of Norfolk and beyond, as quoted in the article.
The company would run as a non-profit making business and strive to return the centre to it’s original ethos, offering the widest breadth of stock, knowledgable staff, a high level of customer service and the ‘best capuccino in town’.
Prayers for this venture very welcome.

Also, from the comments yesterday, this by ‘concerned dad’:

My daughter applied for holiday work via an agency in Newcastle and took up a job in the Newcastle shop - we were completely unaware of the situation. She is expected to work completely on her own for 6 hours a day several days a week, somebody else does the other days - both are temps, no permanent staff, no training or guidance. She has creditors and people chasing book orders ringing up but no information to be able to respond to them. She is employed and paid by the agency (that is the theory anyway, will be interesting to find out what happens on payday!) If we had known about the situation we would not have got into this, but the agency were not very forthcoming with details about the shop until it was virtually too late…. So Newcastle is open - after a fashion, but far from satisfactory situation.

Update (lunchtime) Phil Groom has posted: SPCK/SSG News Archives. (I’ll try to say something about the blog idea later or over the weekend.)

Website updates

2008-06-19T17:43:00.000+01:00

The SPCKonline website is now the same as the Third Space books website. Details of most shops have been updated. Some, like Salisbury (above - thanks to ezlxq), are on very limited hours and appear to be relying on voluntary labour. I’m aware that I need to keep updating the shop roundup page - updates appreciated.

The entry for the Norwich shop says ‘You are not authorised to view this resource’. That is probably because there is no resource to view - I am informed that a removal firm packed up all the books, fixtures and fittings and was taking them to the Chichester shop today.

Meanwhile the St Stephen the Great LLC website has been updated today “Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 June 2008 )“, but there is still no mention of the ‘bankruptcy’.

I have updated the Church Times blog with a list of news reports and letters about the former SPCK shops.

Melanie, the former manager of the SPCKonline site has written an interesting comment on Phil’s bookshop blog.

Norwich / York

2008-06-18T11:28:00.001+01:00

Norwich

Network Norwich has the following: Norwich Christian bookshop closes its doors

Meanwhile, from the comments section of this blog:

In 2003 I was taken to a city centre deconsecrated church by Stephen Platten, then Dean of Norwich. We both thought how splendid it would be to relocate the SPCK Bookshop, it’s decrepid premises huddling in a side street, to this magnificent medieval building.
In January of the next year Bishop Graham James officially blessed the vision along with representatives from virtually every denomination.
After many trials and tribulations and delays of several months, the centre opened on 13 July 2004. I had been privileged to help plan the layout and the concept.
Over 180 people attended the rededictation of the church to it’s new use in on a Friday morning in October 2004!
Within 3 years the loyal team had doubled the turnover of the previous shop and provided access to thousands of visitors from the Christian faith or none, to be offered an exceptionally broad range of product, a place to meet and be refreshed in the cafe.
We held events on a monthly basis. Highlights included: a lecture by Bishop Tom Wright attended by 350 plus, an Advent evening with Ronald Blythe during which three Salvation Army bandsmen managed to ascend the spiral staircase complete with trombone and play from the balcony, debates between bishops and humanists; Professor Brian Thorne and Ian Gibson MP and a Fawlty Towers evening!
This morning I visited the centre with my two sons, on the last day of trading. It was in fact open after 11-00.
To describe it as semi-vandalised would not be overstating the sight of half-empty boxes relocated from the London shop several weeks ago still blocking the porch and what is left of the stock lurching across the shelves.
Visiting the church on a regular basis over the past months I have been moved from frustration, to anger, to sadness, to disbelief as to how such a thiving resource could be laid to seed.
Today is a very sad day for the ex-staff, all but one of whom have yet to find new employment and the Christian community, who are voicing that ‘their’ centre has been lost - a high compliment indeed.
I count myself blessed to have been offered an alternative position within the Christian retail environment and have thus stayed in touch with so many of my customers who had become friends.
However, it’s never over until the Canary sings as we say in Narwich, so please keep praying for an unlikely resurrection in the not too distant future.
‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’

York

‘Richard and Gill’ on Flickr have a recent picture of the former SPCK shop in York.

Meanwhile, I found this blog post written in Chinese on June 16. It sounds as if it is by someone working in the York shop. Google translated it as follows:

I should be very fortunate, at least in this area to work, to York the second week, it began a career Part-time job. However, this is not so much a subjective initiative, I found, than to use a blind cat encountered more aptly described as dead mice. At that time, purely in the City Centre Luancuan, Okay, I admit that, in fact, I had lost. The results of the accidents that have been in SPCK work.

This is one in the entire United Kingdom has 28 Chain stores of the Christian Bookshop, a harmonious working atmosphere, have fixed the breakfast 11am and 3pm the afternoon tea time and all the break are paid. However, however, however, but, boom is not long, SPCK be acquired. A U.S. company called SSG took over the bookstore this. British indeed are born of hatred of Americans, the shop all the old staff have left, but Fortunately, the Manager of new people is pretty good. I want to go to the SSG, also by the nature of the work before the development of a simple cashier to accountant, gradually began to contact the bank’s work. Sense of accomplishment that is not an ordinary Youranersheng ah.

Boom is not really long, SSG recently went bankrupt, another bookstore was an American company take over. David and Olga have left, I left the bookstore on the people. Optimistic, I am now boss hey. Pessimistic, I really do not know Bookstore will close on this, I have on unemployment.

SPCK in the UK with my life is inseparable from, I Baijia all have come from the capital where wages. However, it also sacrificed a lot with my family Dear Amanda travel out of time. Switzerland, Rome, Prague, Barcelona, Fuluolunsa I have no time to. My dear SPCK, you can see in my youth to take all the copies to you, will not be so quick to close OK. You, and so I kept enough money to the United States, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Arctic Circle, and so I kept enough money to buy Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Prada to the temporary close it, but I travel back and so on, then opened the door for ah

This might or might not mean that the York shop is open.

Charity Commission to investigate SSG

2008-06-13T08:20:00.001+01:00

News reports

From today’s Church Times: Ex-SPCK shops ‘bankruptcy’
The Bookseller says that the Charity Commission is to investigate SSG: St Stephen the Great files for bankruptcy
~~I think the Church of England Newspaper will have a report~~ (Just opened my online copy - nothing there as far as I can see. I thought there might be as I was telephoned.)

Closures and openings

We think that the shops that have closed since the bankruptcy announcement are:
Birmingham, Canterbury, Chester, Exeter, Newcastle, Norwich (closing on June 14) Worcester, York. These may be temporary or permanent.
Salisbury is now open again.
I’m still attempting to maintain a complete list here.

New map

On the Third Space books site (Is Third Space books bankrupt or not? Not sure.) a new map of the SSG shops appeared on June 7. Bristol, Carlisle, Lincoln and London have been taken off. Cardiff remains. ‘Leichester’ (not on the old map) has been added.

Former SPCK bookshop closures

2008-06-11T18:11:00.001+01:00

I have been attempting to update my SPCK bookshop roundup page. Please take a look and tell me whether I am being accurate.

In the last few days I have been told that the following shops have been closed, but some of these closures might be temporary:

Chester (Local news report: Christian bookshop closes in Chester city centre)
Exeter (Notice on door says it is due to reopen - photo above)
Newcastle
~~Salisbury~~ Now open again
Worcester
York

Who are the 'ENC Management Company'?

2008-06-10T21:00:00.002+01:00

I was interested to find out about the 'ENC Management company', the company operating most of the former SPCK bookshops. I looked them up on the Companies House website, along with the new companies for the Durham Cathedral and Chichester shops. The name given on the Companies House site is the 'ENC SHOP MANAGEMENT CO.'

Here are the company 'appointments':
ENC SHOP MANAGEMENT CO.
Company Number: FC028292
SECRETARY: BREWER, SANDRA K
DIRECTOR: BREWER, J MARK
DIRECTOR: BREWER, PHILIP W

DURHAM CATHEDERAL SHOP MANAGEMENT CO.
Company Number: FC028290
SECRETARY: BREWER, SANDRA K
DIRECTOR: BREWER, J MARK
DIRECTOR: BREWER, PHILIP W

CHICHESTER SHOP MANAGEMENT CO.
Company Number: FC028291
SECRETARY: BREWER, SANDRA K
DIRECTOR: BREWER, J MARK
DIRECTOR: BREWER, PHILIP W

For comparison, the 'bankrupt' Saint Stephen the Great:
SAINT STEPHEN THE GREAT
Company Number: 06110519
DIRECTOR: BREWER, JOHN MARK
DIRECTOR: BREWER, KAREN ELLEN
DIRECTOR: BREWER, SANDRA KAY

It is, quite blatantly the same people.

Dyfrig made some really useful extra points on my site before it died mid-morning. Here are some of them:
The company that's filed for bankruptcy in the US is SSG-LLC. The first thing to note is that companies go bankrupt in America; in the UK, individuals go bankrupt, companies go into liquidation. The Chapter 11 filing protects the American company in America and under any contracts with people or bodies outside America which are expressed to be under American law. So only if an SPCK worker's contract is expressed to be with SSG-LLC will that person be affected by the change in employment.

In order to trade in England & Wales, an organisation must either be a limited company (this includes charities that are limited by guarantee) or a limited liability partnership (it could be an unlimited partnership, but this is unlikely). Overseas companies therefore normally create a company in England & Wales. Saint Stephen the Great is a registered company in Poole. As at today, June 10th, it is neither in adminstration nor liquidation.
Just because SSG-LLC is in bankruptcy in the US doesn't mean that SSG Ltd in Poole is subject to the same protection, because it's a separate legal entity from SSG-LLC.

Also:
On the whole St Stephen the Great Ltd / SSG-LLC issue, there is indeed only one company with that name registered in England & Wales, and that company is NOT in administration according to Companies House. Something called SSG LLC may have applied for Chapter 11 in the States, but I'm not clear how that can apply to an Englishregistered company. (ENC is actually registered with an "FC" number, which means it's a foreign company - perhaps ENC has been registered in England and THEN gone into Chapter 11 in the States?).

The Trust's website purports that there is a company called Saint Stephen the Great LLC, but that is incorrect, as companies is England & Wales cannot have that suffix - they must carry "Ltd" (or "Cyf"). The Trust may hold itself out as "SSG LLC" but that is not its identity and the legally registered company is Saint Stephen the Great Ltd, a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.

Former SPCK bookshop tribunal adjourned

2008-06-09T16:01:00.002+01:00

The first former SPCK bookshop employment tribunal case was due to take place today at the Sheffield Employment Tribunal. The case, Alison Speddings vs Mark Brewer, was adjourned. I understand that this was because of the 'bankruptcy' situation. Neither of the Brewers were in attendance.

I spoke to Alison on the phone a short time ago. She thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

Former SPCK shops: is SSG's 'bankruptcy' legitimate?

2008-06-09T11:28:00.001+01:00

The fallout from SSG's 'bankruptcy' continues. Phil Groom asks whether their bankruptcy claim is legitimate.

A commenter on Phil Groom's site says that the new company ENC Management 'consists of the Brewer brothers and one of their wives'. Also 'the two independent shops have been told to deposit takings in a new bank account in the name of Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust'.

Phil asks whether 'filing for bankruptcy in the USA can, in any case, apply to SSG as a UK registered charity'. A good question.

If I have the date right Alison Speddings' tribunal case begins today in Sheffield. All best wishes to you Alison.

The Chester shop is closed (above). I am also told that the Newcastle shop is closed. Please update me as to the status of any others.

If you can help get the word out about this then please do. The world needs to hear.

[Thanks to Peter for the photo]

SSG files for bankruptcy

2008-06-06T09:34:00.002+01:00

[Post updated Friday lunchtime]

SSG (St Stephen the Great), owners of the former SPCK chain of bookshops have filed for bankruptcy.

The following e-mail was sent to most if not all of the former SPCK shops by Mark Brewer:

SSG (St Stephen the Great - limited liability company) has been terminated as the trading company to operate the bookshops formerly known as SPCK Bookshops.

Additionally, SSG-LLC has been placed into reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

SSG-LLC is not authorized to employ any person or incur any debt. With immediate effect, SSG-LLC payroll, redundancy and other such obligations will only be payable through the bankruptcy court. SSG-LLC employees of record as of 4 June 2008 will receive further notification directly from the bankruptcy court about how to submit a claim.

The bookshops will now be operated by ENC Management Company. Former employees of SSG-LLC are invited to apply for a position with ENC Management Company. If you wish to apply, please reply to this email so indicating.

The following message is being returned when e-mail is sent to the spckonline 'vendor accounts' address:

SSG (St Stephen the Great), the charitable trading company conducting business at the former SPCK Bookshops, has filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in Houston, Texas.

The case number is 08-33689-H1 11.

This case is recorded in England and accordingly, all adverse actions and all actions in either the U.S. or the U.K. purporting to affect the property or rights or liabilities of SSG are prohibited in
accordance with the automatic stay provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Similarly, efforts to collect an alleged debt from SSG are subject to the automatic stay provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Saint Stephen the Great LLC

I have been told that a number of suppliers are owed significant sums of money.

New companies have been set up to run the shops. The Durham Shop is now 'Durham Cathedral Shop Management Co', Chichester is 'Chichester Shop Management Co' (both can be found on the Companies House website). An e-mail from Phil Brewer to one of the shops said that the shops are now run by 'ENC management company'.

Phil Groom sent me this via the comments on my backup site (Thanks Phil):

Anne, one of my respondents, says:

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is often considered a "milder" form of bankruptcy than other filing methods that are available. It generally signals that a business wants protection from its creditors while re-organizing itself, working out payment methods, and so forth. It also often means that the people operating the business intend for it to continue to exist. More severe forms involve the shutting down of a business and the liquidation of its remaining assets to pay off creditors.'

(Thanks to Phelim for the tip about the 'vendor accounts' e-mail.)

Former SPCK shops - now run by 'ENC Management Company'?

2008-06-05T23:00:00.000+01:00

More confusion from SSG, the owners of the former SPCK shops. Phil Groom posted details yesterday.

The shops are now apparently now run by a new company called ‘ENC management company’. Staff in the Chester shop shop were e-mailed to inform them that they had to apply for their own jobs, but this might now have been reversed. Keep an eye on Phil’s blog.

Former SPCK shop latest

2008-06-04T11:12:00.000+01:00

I’m hearing that there have been some developments in the former SPCK shops saga - feel free to use the comments to this post to discuss them if you know more than I do.

In the meantime this is a report that appears on the front page June edition of the ‘Outlook’ Canterbury Diocesan newspaper - a link to a a larger version of the text is here.

Phil Groom has posted about various former SPCK/SSG-related articles in Christian Marketplace here.

Christian bookshops

2008-05-20T10:16:00.001+01:00

Christian Marketplace has an article on the former SPCK/ SSG bookshops that I don't think I've linked to: Robust response from Brewer re SSG Bookshops turmoil

The blogger at Long withdrawing roar is shocked by a visit to a former SPCK shop: Flee from the wrath to come

Phil Groom addresses the 'Why shouldn't I buy my books from Amazon?' question: Christian Bookshops, who needs them?

Former SPCK shops must remain Christian bookshops

2008-05-15T20:23:00.001+01:00

From last week's Church Times: Bookshops withdrawn from sale. An extract, talking about the reasons that the four shops that were to have been auctioned this week were withdrawn from the sale:

There are thought to be two reasons for the halt. One is that the transfer of ownership to SSG has not been completed. The other is that the Brewer brothers, who run SSG, have been reminded of a seven-year restrictive covenant that accompanied the transfer of all the freeholds from SPCK in October 2006. This states that the shops can be used only as Christian multi-denominational bookshops. The covenant would apply to any prospective purchaser.

As an aside, the Church Times feature from a week or two back about Thomas Bray, the founder of SPCK is online here: Leaven in the Anglican lump

People have written in the comments about a number of the SSG / former SPCK shops: It is rumoured that Lincoln might reopen and that Carlisle might close again.

It was great to see so many people at the gathering on Wednesday. From my point of view it was great to meet some of the faces behind the names, and I know others found it useful for a variety of reasons. Phil Groom has written about the gathering, as has Phelim McIntyre in the comments below.

I might go back to the CRE tomorrow, this time to do some drawing. It depends whether I get all of my work done this evening.

Former SPCK shops: Church Times letters / Shops withdrawn from auction

2008-05-07T10:04:00.001+01:00

Church Times Letters

This week's Church Times has several letters that relate to my news item from last week's paper, 'Former SPCK shops to be auctioned'. An extract from the letter from Mrs Margery Roberts about the Westminster premises (click through for the whole thing):

This bookshop is leased by the Society of the Faith to the SPCK. Some months ago, we were asked to consider an assignment of that lease to St Stephen the Great (SSG). We made considerable efforts to obtain appropriate and satisfactory information about SSG's finances and management structure, but, in the end, our trustees had to consider the proposed assignment without any reassuring material. They turned down the application, and the SPCK then decided to surrender the lease on the break date provided for in the lease, which happens to be this May.

Mrs Roberts says that my report 'may have been misleading', but I'm not quite sure what she means by this. I said in the report that "The Westminster bookshop at Faith House was closed on 11 April", but I didn't go into any further detail apart from a sentence or two about the rare books side of things.

Shops are withdrawn from auction

The four shops due to be auctioned by Colliers CRE in London on 13 May have been withdrawn from the auction (Thomas mentioned this in the comments last week). I understand that the shops have been withdrawn because there are covenants in the deeds which restrict the use of the buildings in some way. The shops, in Bradford, Canterbury, Exeter, and York are apparently still for sale.

Church Times report on former SPCK shops

2008-04-24T23:17:00.001+01:00

Church Times: Former SPCK shops to be auctioned

Update: Guide prices for the four shops for sale have now been posted on the Colliers CRE site.

14 North Parade Bradford Guide Price: £150,000
7 St Peter's Street Canterbury Guide Price: £520,000
1-2 Catherine Street, Cathedral Yard Exeter Guide Price: £500,000
28 Goodramgate York Guide Price: £320,000

St Pauls to open shop in York

2008-04-23T14:40:00.002+01:00

PRESS RELEASE - for immediate release.

ST PAULS is delighted to announce they are to open a shop in York.

The shop at 5 King's Square, in the heart of the shopping centre of York, is a short walk from York Minster and the Shrine of St Margaret Clitherow on the famous Shambles.

Covering 2,000+ square feet, it will stock a full range of books, devotional articles, church furnishings, vestments, Christian cards, gifts, audio/visual material etc..

It will also contain a second-hand religious book department - itself a new venture for ST PAULS.

The shop will open in September and will be a valuable addition to their shops in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Hinsley Hall and Athlone (Ireland).

This will make ST PAULS the largest chain of Catholic bookshops in the country.

Stephen Moseling, Operations Co-ordinator for ST PAULS said:
"At this time of change and uncertainty within the Christian publishing and retail trades, with shops from various denominations closing, it is very exciting for us at ST PAULS to be opening a shop in York. Over the past 18 months many Christian publishers have expressed concerns about the future of Christian retail, but with the opening of our shop in York my hope is that we can reassure them, and the public, that ST PAULS is determined to keep a Christian presence on the High Street. As in all our shops, we will be at the service of Christians of all denominations and we ask for their support and prayers at this exciting time."

ST PAULS is an activity of the Society of St Paul, a worldwide religious congregation of priests and brothers whose apostolate is to proclaim the Gospel through the various means of communication. See www.stpauls.it

Further information may be obtained from Stephen Moseling at the above address or via email stephen (at) stpauls.org.uk

Links:
St Pauls UK
SocietÃ San Paolo

Former SPCK staff gathering

2008-04-23T10:46:00.000+01:00

A gathering of former SPCK bookshop staff is being organised. It will be at 2 pm on Wednesday 14th May at The Bear public house, 71 High Street, Esher, London, Surrey, KT10 9RQ. This is a 5 to 10 minute walk from Sandown Park where the Christian Resources Exhibition will be taking place. Publishers reps are welcome to come and say hello. Some members of the press have been invited, but there is no compulsion to speak to them.

Phelim McIntyre, a regular contributor to the comments here, is organising it and I believe still has some free CRE tickets. You can e-mail him on phelimmcintyre (at) hotmail.com - I'm sure he will respond to questions left in the comments as well.

I'm planning to be there. As an aside - please note that the telephone number that I have posted on this site is no longer working. The answerphone still works, but I can't get the messages. It isn't anything to do with the fact I have lost the phone or anything embarrassing like that.

SSG sells four shops

2008-04-21T10:01:00.003+01:00

Bradford, Canterbury, Exeter and York to close

Four SPCK shop buildings owned by St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust are up for sale:

Bradford
Canterbury
Exeter
York

These were gifted to SSG by SPCK on 31 October 2006 along with fixtures and fittings and stock. The net book value given to the properties in the 2007 SPCK Annual Report was £1.665 million.

The shops will be sold at auction in London by Colliers CRE on 13th May 2008.

I have been told that SSG also hold the freehold to the Truro shop, but I need clarification on that point. If so it will be the only shop building still owned by SSG if and when the sales of the other properties go through.

The other shops are all rented or, in the case of 6 shops, owned by SPCK but subject to a 7 year
covenant. Details of the status of the various shops can be found here.

News reports:
• The Bookseller: SSG to sell four shops

Cardiff
On a happier note - there are plans to open a new shop in place of the former SPCK in Cardiff. Details here.

London
I can confirm that the London shop at Faith House, Tufton Street, Westminster closed on 11th April 2008. This post on the subject has been updated with pictures.

To find all of the SPCK/SSG posts on this site see the Save the SPCK category.

Former SPCK shop roundup

2008-04-19T20:23:00.004+01:00

I thought it would be useful to have a definitive list of the SSG (former SPCK) shops and their current status along with information about who owns the building (as that will be the most important factor influencing the likely future for each shop).

This is the situation as I understand it on 19th June 2008. Please note that there are likely to be some errors here for a few days as the situation is continually changing. The details I have put here are no doubt incomplete - it would take a long time to tell the whole story for each shop but I have tried to explain the situation concisely. If you can help by improving or correcting what I've written it would be much appreciated.

In north to south order (more or less):

Newcastle
Building owned by SPCK, but subject to 7 year covenant(1). The shop closed in early June 2008 when SSG LLC declared itself bankrupt and told staff they needed to reapply for their jobs with ENC Management Co. As of 19 June the shop was open, staffed by temporary agency staff.

Carlisle
The building was rented. The shop closed on 31st March 2008 was reopened with new staff. I understand that the shop is now closed and that the building has reverted to the landlord (the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral).

Durham
Durham Cathedral bookshop. There was controversy in October / November 2007 when the manager was sacked following negotiations about the possible transfer of the shop. The cathedral authorities allowed this to occur without public comment. A new company has now been set up to run this shop. The shop is currently open.

York
Shop building owned by SSG (gifted by SPCK, October 2006)(2). The shop building was to be sold but it was later withdrawn from the sale. The shop closed in early June 2008 when SSG LLC declared itself bankrupt and told staff they needed to reapply for their jobs with ENC Management Co. It is possible that the shop is now open, staffed by temporary agency staff.

Bradford
Shop building owned by SSG (gifted by SPCK, October 2006)(2). The shop is currently open. The shop building was to be sold but it was later withdrawn from the sale.

Sheffield
Shop building rented. The staff were sacked on February 5th and the shop closed following an exchange of press releases between SSG and the Cathedral authorities, but it has now reopened with new staff. The shop is currently closed. It is not known whether this is temporary or permanent.

Lincoln
The building is rented. The staff were sacked on February 5th and the shop closed. The shop was reopened, but closed again on Friday March 14th. The property is being advertised as available to rent (property Reference: CP7383). The shop is closed.

Chester
Building owned by SPCK, but subject to 7 year covenant(1). The shop closed for a time in early June 2008 when SSG LLC declared itself bankrupt and told staff they needed to reapply for their jobs with ENC Management Co. There are reports that the shop is now open two days a week.

Norwich
The building is rented (?). The staff were sacked on February 5th and the shop closed. I am told that the cafe at the Norwich shop closed on 2 June and the shop itself closed on 14 June. The stock and fixtures and fittings have apparently been removed.

Leicester
This shop was said to be independent, but I don't know whether that is the case or the details of the arrangement. It has been renamed 'Christian Resources' and has a basic website here. The shop is currently open.

Birmingham
The status of this shop has changed several times in the last couple of months. I have heard reports that this shop closed in early June 2008. It is not known whether this closure is temporary or permanent.

Cambridge
The building is rented. The shop building was advertised to be let and closed in June 2008.

Worcester
Building owned by SPCK, but subject to 7 year covenant(1). The staff were sacked on 7th February and the shop was apparently being run by just the manager. The shop then closed in early June 2008 when SSG LLC declared itself bankrupt and told staff they needed to reapply for their jobs with ENC Management Co. It is not known whether this closure is temporary or permanent.

Hereford
Building owned by SPCK, but subject to 7 year covenant(1). It has been said in the comments on this site that this shop is closed, but I have no further information. Another report says that the shop is now semi-independent. Can anyone confirm this?

Cardiff
The shop was in the City Church United Reformed Church and SSG had the premises at a peppercorn rent. The shop closed permanently on 31st March 2008, but there are plans for something new - see this webpage. I am told that the Churches Together Bookshop in Cardiff looks set to open at the end of July 2008.

Bristol
The original building was sold by SPCK and was not part of the transfer to SSG. The building used by the shop for the last year had been rented. The shop was closed permanently towards the end of March 2008.

London
The building was rented. The shop was closed on Friday 11th April 2008.

Canterbury
Shop building owned by SSG (gifted by SPCK, October 2006)(2). This shop was to close, but was then reprieved. The shop building was to be sold but it was later withdrawn from the sale. The shop might have closed in early June 2008 - confirmation required. It is not known whether this closure is temporary or permanent.

Salisbury
Building owned by SPCK, but subject to 7 year covenant(1). As far as I know this shop remains open two days a week.

Winchester
Building owned by SPCK, but subject to 7 year covenant(1). The current manager rents the building from SSG but the shop is now independent in terms of stock etc. The shop is open.

Chichester
The building is an historic church owned by the Diocese of Chichester. SSG uses it rent free but are responsible for the upkeep of the fabric of the building. At one point a plan to turn it back into a church was mentioned by Mark Brewer. A new company has been set up to run this shop. The shop is open.

Exeter
Shop building owned by SSG (gifted by SPCK, October 2006)(2). The shop made the news in October 2007 when the entire staff resigned. The shop building was to be sold but it was later withdrawn from the sale. On 11th June 2008 the shop was reported as being closed but a notice says that this is a temporary state of affairs.

Truro
Shop building possibly owned by SSG (gifted by SPCK, October 2006)(2) or owned by SPCK and subject to a seven year covenant. I am told that this shop is now semi-independent. The shop is
open.

Notes:
(1) If certain conditions are met the ownership of these buildings transfers from SPCK to SSG after 7 years - I make that October 2013. From the 2007 SPCK Annual Report: "SPCK also agreed to grant leases to SSGCT, at peppercorn rents, on certain other freehold properties for a period of seven years, after which time they will be transferred to SSGCT if the SPCK Bookshops Group remains in operation on an agreed basis."
(2) Again, from the Annual Report: "In the event, it was decided by a unanimous vote at the trustees' meeting that the bookshops should be transferred to St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust. This charity undertook not only to take on all the staff and to try to keep all the shops open, but also to ensure that the stockholding carried a breadth of materials from a variety of Christian denominations, including those of differing views on contentious current debates. This transfer seemed significantly better than any achievable alternative, leaving the staff in place and the Society with the opportunity to re-group and begin to move towards a more sustainable financial future"

In case anyone is confused:
SSG: Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust run by Mark and Phil Brewer. Took over the running of the bookshops in October 2006. Also known as Third Space Books on some occasions.
SPCK: Anglican Missionary society founded in 1698. Former owners of the bookshop chain. SSG was allowed to trade under the SPCK name until October 2007.

Summary of ownership of the buildings:
If my maths and information are correct:
• 4 or 5 shop buildings were given to SSG.
• 6 or 7 shop buildings are still owned by SPCK, but subject to a 7 year covenant.
• The rest of the buildings are rented or (in one or two cases?) subject to a rent-free arrangement of some sort.

SSG / SPCK bookshop reports

2008-04-03T17:21:00.001+01:00

1. I have learned that the Cambridge SSG shop is to close and that the building is being let. I understand that the current rent, £54,000 per year, is the highest of all the shops. The shop has has 1496 sq feet of sales and storage space and is to be let on the remainder of a lease that will expire in 2012. The agent is Colliers CRE in Cambridge.

2. The Bookseller reports that USDAW is preparing 20 SSG tribunal cases.

3. Lincolnshire Echo report today - SSG "is looking for churches or similiar organisations which would donate space for a new branch in the city". I don't have the original article, but UTB has kindly posted some of it here.

4. Tomorrows Church Times mentions the Carlisle situation (thanks Thomas) Unfortunately the situation may have changed since it went to press.

Unholy row erupts over bookshop jobs

2008-04-02T12:41:00.003+01:00

Another article from the News & Star: Unholy row erupts over bookshop jobs. This relates to the Carlisle situation.

In its statement, SSG said that it took over the chain in October 2006 and is now operated in a highly competitive retail environment.

The company said SPCK had been desperate to rid itself to the entire chain. The chain was losing hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

Most of the shops have thrived under the management of two Texan brothers, Mark and Phil Brewer, who run SSG, said the statement, and the worst is now over. The charity continues to look for innovative ways to sell Christian books.

Has Winchester SPCK / SSG gone independent?

2008-03-29T12:25:00.001Z

An announcement in Winchester Diocesan circular for April 08 ('Ministry' - Resource Pack for Clergy & Readers) reads:

Winchester Christian Bookshop - I am pleased to advise that the former SPCK bookshop in Winchester has now become an independent concern operating under the name of 'Winchester Christian Bookshop'. The owner and manager is Mr Christoph Jacob, who worked in SPCK for some fourteen years, including a period in Winchester as Assistant Manager to William Cole. Mr Jacob is keen to operate his shop along the SPCK practices, but also to make some changes to improve on customer service and to reconnect with the community. He would be delighted to welcome clergy and lay people from the Diocese and discuss any specific requirements you may have. His telephone number is 01962 866617

+Michael Winton

Thanks to James for the tip.

Whether the shop is really independent or whether there is some sort of franchise deal going on remains to be seen. If anyone has info let us know.

I also remain confused about the status of certain other 'independent' shops - Leicester for instance. Are they essentially franchises?

In other news - the OrthodoxNet.com Blog has posted the SSG video (the one where they are
rescuing Britain's Christian heritage).

Bristol, Cardiff and Carlisle SSG / SPCK shops to close

2008-03-27T14:00:00.001Z

Several people have posted in the comment thread below about the closure of the Bristol and Cardiff SSG (former SPCK) bookshops.

This from Richard:

SPCK Bristol has closed for good. I walked past the shop this lunch time, went up to the door to read the sign and saw Mr Phil Brewer peering out at me. He waved heartily, I waved heartily and then I moved on. Rapidly. No point in having a conversation. Nothing really to say. Well, not that would be constructive. The shop was being packed up and that's an end to it all in Bristol.

The keys were left with Wesley Owen over the weekend and when Mr Brewer went to pick them up I gather he mentioned that there was no intention to open up in Bristol again. That may or may not be true.

What a sad end to nearly 200 years of Christian bookselling by SPCK in Bristol.

I am told that the Cardiff shop is to close on Monday. Cardiff was the only SSG shop in Wales.

Update (Thursday 27th 9.30am): The forthcoming closure of the Carlisle shop on Monday the 31st March has also been confirmed.

Update (Monday 31st): News and Star: Cathedral bookshop to close

Stand Firm comments on SPCK / SSG

2008-03-21T17:05:00.002Z

From the Stand Firm blog:

In more ways than one, it looks like a very good thing that the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG) have taken over the bookstores of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Stand Firm is one of the most read conservative Anglican blogs. I don't know whether Sarah Hey, the writer, has made this pronouncement having only read the Ruth Gledhill feature. I have asked her to clarify her remark.

Visitors from Stand Firm - you can read the whole of the SPCK bookshop saga in the 'Save the SPCK' category of this site.

As an aside I was quite pleased with one comment left on the site about me and my leaning:

"Mr Walker clearly leans to the left. Why should we trust anything he has to say about anything?"

A balanced approach if ever there was one.

Date for SPCK bookshop tribunal set

2008-03-19T10:29:00.001Z

A date has been set for the case of one of the former SPCK / SSG bookshop employees to be heard before an employment tribunal. The case, Alison Speddings vs Mark Brewer, will be heard at the Sheffield Employment Tribunal on Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th June 2008. Alison will be represented by USDAW, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.

I can't say a lot more except to say that Alison is entirely happy for this information to be made public. The tribunal is, as I understand it, open to the public.

Media enquiries - please get in touch.

Links:

• Employment Tribunal - Homepage
• Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers: Homepage

SSG / SPCK in The Times

2008-03-15T00:14:00.001Z

Feature by Ruth Gledhill in today's paper*: SPCK bookshop staff fear final chapter

*At least, I assume it is. I was told a few days ago that it should be, but it doesn't appear in the list of articles posted on the website. We'll find out in the morning.

Update (Saturday PM): The article is in the actual paper version of the paper - page 83 in the 'Register' section.

SSG / SPCK in the Lincolnshire Echo

2008-03-14T13:04:00.000Z

Front page on the Lincolnshire echo website: Texan brothers in city store takeover dispute.

Update (18th March): Follow up article - Christian bookshop staff 'sacked via e-mail'

Lincoln SSG (former SPCK) shop to close this week

2008-03-12T23:38:00.001Z

This photo (and the one below) were taken in Lincoln this afternoon.

SSG advertise in the Jobcentre as the 'SPCK bookshop'

2008-03-11T23:56:00.002Z

SSG are advertising themselves as the 'SPCK bookshop' in the Job centre in Lincoln, despite the fact that (according to the SPCK website) SPCK have forbidden them from using the name, and SSG have stated they will trade under the Saint Stephen the Great name.

Here is the job description in question:

Job Title SALES ASSISTANT
LOS/18198
Location LINCOLN, LINCOLNSHIRE
Hours 15-35 HOURS PER WEEK, TUES TO SAT, BETWEEN 9AM AND 5PM
Wage £5.52 - £6 PER HOUR
Work Pattern Days , Weekends
Employer SPCK Bookshop
Pension No details held
Duration TEMPORARY ONLY

Description
Retail experience preferred. Full training will be given. Duties to include serving the public, cash handling, stock replenishment, general housekeeping of the store and any other related tasks as required. This is a temporary position for 6 months but could become permanent for the right candidate.

Please call at the store Wednesday, Thursday or Friday only for further information.

How to apply
You can go and see the employer about this job without telephoning beforehand. Ask for Ian Vollands at SPCK Bookshop, 30A Sincil Street, Lincoln, 30 Sincil Street, Lincoln, LN5 7ET.

To find the job go to 'search for a job' at the bottom of this page. Put in reference number LOS/18198 . I couldn't manage to make a direct link work I'm afraid.

Thanks to UTB for the tip.

Also:
New on the SSG website: pictures of the consecration of 'St Stephen the Great'.

SSG article in Christian Marketplace

2008-03-04T20:27:00.000Z

There is an article about the SSG (former SPCK) shops in the latest issue of CCP's 'Christian Marketplace' magazine. It is available online here: Christian Marketplace: Bleak month for SSG Staff and customers.

On Saturday I went into the Cambridge SSG shop for a look around. The photograph below shows the posters that were in the window:

Canterbury SPCK in the Diocesan Newsletter

2008-02-27T10:19:00.001Z

The March issue of 'Outlook', the Diocese of Canterbury newspaper, has the SPCK bookshop story as its main front page headline:

A couple of quotes:
Closure notices on SPCK's Bookshop in Canterbury have been taken down after Outlook contacted the Texas-based Chairman of the owners, the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust. However Canterbury Cathedral Shop is looking at ways to fill the gap should this be just a temporary reprieve.

In October 2007, against a background of disturbing allegations about the affairs of the ailing bookshop chain in the church and national press, both the Bishop and Simon Kington resigned from SSG citing 'conflicts of interest' and currently SPCK (with its lawyers) is "trying to work through the agreement with SSG". One of the issues could be the name. SPCK has insisted that SSG stop using their name for the bookshops, but few, if any, shop facias have changed! On its website SSG claimed in December to have "successfully re-energized their financial performance in order to make them self-supporting and hence, viable retail outlets for Christian bookselling".

The full newspaper can be downloaded here, but it is a large download (5.7mb) and was running quite slowly when I tried. In order to spare the diocesan servers I have put up a jpeg version of the front page containing the whole story here (jpeg, 345kb, will open in new window)

In related news
I have heard that the Sheffield SSG/SPCK shop reopened last week. Apologies for being behind with the news.

SSG / former SPCK bookshop developments

2008-02-22T09:06:00.002Z

Phone lines go down
The phone lines at the SSG / former SPCK bookshops went down yesterday lunchtime. At the time of writing (Friday 8.30am) phoning any of the bookshop numbers gives you three beeps followed by 'This number does not receive incoming calls'. There have also been reports that the PDQ machines which take credit card payments will be affected.

Bookseller article
There's an article in the Bookseller by Graeme Neill: Christian chain mulls franchising.

Cambridge reprieve?
I have heard that there is to be a reprieve for the Canterbury SSG / former SPCK bookshop. The closure notices in the windows have been taken down. I have no information on the details, whether it is temporary or permanent etc. More about this within the next few days.

Norwich
Another article on the Network Norwich site: Norwich SPCK closure goes on as union steps in. I notice that there is a comment from a bishop on this page, albeit a retired one. Bishop David Leake is the former bishop of Argentina. This is possibly (please correct me of I'm wrong) the first supportive public statement of any sort by any bishop about the plight of the former SPCK shops - lets hope it isn't the last.

Publisher makes statement
My own publisher SCM-Canterbury press has made this statement on its website.

SSG on BBC Look East

2008-02-18T21:05:00.001Z

A 2 minute news item about the Norwich and Cambridge SSG shops was broadcast on BBC Look East tonight. You can watch it via the latest stories page on the Look East site, or this should be a direct link. Several former SPCK staff speak in the piece as does Phil Brewer. The Norwich shop is reported as not opening today despite the sign on the door saying it would do.

A transcript for those who can't see the video:

The sign says it all. New staff are needed at both East Anglian shops. The Norwich branch was due to reopen today, but customers were met with the lights off. Jim Channell and four other staff were fired by e-mail after refusing to sign new contracts.

Jim Channell: That effectively puts all our part timers on zero hours, it means that overtime for all staff is completely unpaid, and it also means, I am absolutely certain, that we would not be able to do any event which wasn't Eastern Orthodox in style or content.

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was set up in 1698 by Anglican priest Thomas Bray. Two years ago all twenty three bookshops were sold to an Eastern Orthodox charity called St Stephen the Great. Run by two Texan brothers, they deny they've acted improperly and say they've operated within UK employment law.

Phil Brewer: When people say well it would be nice if we did this and it would be nice to do that, absolutely, it would be nice if everybody got up every day and didn't have to work and, you know, didn't have to worry about pay cheques etcetera, but the bottom line is is that there has to be fiscal constraints to all decisions.

Lucy Sparrow worked in the Cambridge shop for 19 years. She says the problems are more than just about staff contracts.

Lucy Sparrow: We weren't being allowed to order any stock, and so when it gets to Christmas, no general Christmas stock in the shop, no general Easter stock in the shop now. It gets down to that sort of level - you can't actually do your job.

It's not know when the Norwich branch will reopen. The staff complaints are now being investigated by the Shopworker's Union.

Louise Holmes, BBC Look East

Various technical asides: If anyone knows how to save a BBC Realplayer clip let me know. I have recorded it on my phone, but that will be rubbish. Also, if you try to watch the programme via "See the latest programme in full" you may not find it as it seemed only to be on the BBC Cambridgeshire version. I've learnt a lot about BBC Look East tonight.

Please excuse previous complex instructions, since deleted.

In related news:

• There was no sign of life at the Sheffield shop today from what I've heard. A sign on the
door promised it would reopen today, Monday the 18th of February.
• The Facebook group "A group for all those people who mourn the tragic demise of SPCK
Bookshops" is now up to 200 members. If you are on Facebook and would like to join or
invite some people who might feel the same way then please do.

Photos from the former SPCK shops

2008-02-17T12:28:00.001Z

In Cambridge the SSG (former SPCK) shop has been open for a couple of days with this sign in the window:

Note that the SPCK sign continues to be used

[Thanks to Jeremy for the photos]

Meanwhile in Sheffield Mark took a couple of photos (see his site for links to large versions of two pictures):

The shop is due to reopen on the 18th of February - ie this coming Monday. As you can see the Third Space Books site is now being advertised as the SSG site.

If anyone else has pictures of signs in windows please send them in.

USDAW letter about the former SPCK bookshops

2008-02-15T16:17:00.001Z

A letter from John Hannett, General Secretary of USDAW, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers was printed in the Church Times a week ago. The letter is now available on the Church Times website: Employment rights at SPCK bookshops.

Also in last week's Church Times: Ex-SPCK shops close branches and cut staff and hours.

From the Network Norwich website: Norwich SPCK sackings e-mail is revealed.

In Canterbury

2008-02-12T16:46:00.002Z

I was in Canterbury yesterday. I was there for a Lambeth Conference meeting with some of the people who are doing the organising. I had a chance to wander around the university campus where the conference will be held which was interesting and very pleasant on a warm February afternoon.

Later in the day I visited the former SPCK shop in the centre of the city. The shop wasn't open by the time I got there, but I took a couple of pictures:

It was a shame to see it with the 'closing down' notice - a sad end for the Anglican bookshop in the Anglican city. As you can see there is no mention of reopening 'after re-fitting and re-stocking' as per the statement of February the 4th. The website is still openly promoted as spckonline.com.

I'm not sure whether the big image hanging over the upstairs window is St Stephen the Great. Perhaps someone who has a copy of 'I spy Saints' could advise.

Whilst we are on the subject of the Canterbury shop - if anyone who has been involved in the situation is willing to speak to someone from the media please get in touch.

Former SPCK shops: further job losses

2008-02-11T10:02:00.001Z

Birmingham
As you may have seen from the comments sections the Birmingham shop is to close. The closure is permanent as far as I am aware. See the comments on this post for further details.

Exeter
This is last week's news, but I haven't yet posted it so I'm doing so now. Four staff from the Exeter shop were sacked last week. As I understand it one full time and one part time position remain.

Also:

Get together of former staff
Phelim McIntyre is organising a get-together of former staff on Wed 14th May at the Christian Resources Exhibition. I should be able to be there, all being well. If you're interested get in touch with Phelim, or contact me and I'll pass your details on.

[Apologies in advance for delay in comment moderation today and for e-mails not yet answered.]

Former SPCK shops: some glimmer of hope?

2008-02-08T16:45:00.001Z

In Norwich local Christians are mobilising themselves. See Network Norwich : Rescue plan for Norwich Christian literature. They are also 'concerned about the potential loss of Christian literature in Norwich'. [Flippant aside which should be ignored: If you see any please hand it in.]

In Lincoln Unicorn Tree Books, run by a former SPCK manager reports on recent events and asks for local support so that they can supply church supplies.

Elsewhere I'm aware that new ventures are being seriously considered. I can't say anything more at the moment, but as soon as plans can be made public, they will be.

Other news
The Church Times has an article and a letter from Mr John Hannett of USDAW, but they are subscriber-only at the moment I'm afraid.

Update:

Birmingham
Report from the comments section: A former manager from the Birmingham shop has set up a market stall in the Birmingham Indoor Market. It's called The Gift Centre and she mainly deals in cards, rosaries, sacred hearts, statues, candles, incense and children's books, and suchlike.

SPCK / SSG latest

2008-02-07T14:01:00.002Z

Worcester staff sacked
4 staff members at the Worcester SSG shop were sacked this afternoon.

Urgent request
Several media organisations are interested in the latest developments in the SSG / SPCK shop saga.

I'm in touch with the former Norwich staff, but it would be really useful to have some contacts who are willing to talk to the media at some of the other shops closed in the last week, in particular Sheffield. If you are willing to talk or can give me a contact please e-mail me dave at cartoonchurch.com or phone 07982 450593 (or my own personal numbers if you know them). Please indicate that you are willing for me to pass on your details - I won't pass on info without your permission. These are news organisations that you will have heard of.

Shops told to sell off stock
I'm just getting reports in that staff in the shops are today being told to:

1. Return as much stock as possible to the publishers suppliers for refunds
2. Put the remainder on sale at clearance prices
3. Approach local churches and offer them stock at a knockdown price

If anyone else can verify these reports please let me know.

Mark Brewer responds
Mark Brewer has commented on the recent shop closures:

SSG chairman Mark Brewer said: "This charity intends to carry on Christian bookselling in Norwich so long as we have the custom and support of the Christian community in the city.
"That support is particularly important at present in view of the challenging economic environment that virtually all High Street retailers are experiencing throughout the country."

Mr Brewer said the organization had not "sacked" the staff via email.

He said: "We have recently completed new contract consultations throughout the charity. Unfortunately, certain persons have chosen to terminate their employment rather than agree to the new contract. This is a matter of the employees' personal and individual choice; it is not the action of the charity."

Other links

• Phil Groom has posted 'Lies, Damned Lies and St Stephen the Great' at the UK Christian Bookshops site.
• This comment by Father Gregory Hallam of the Antiochian Orthodox Church gives an insight into the feelings of those in the Orthodox church in the UK.

This site

Apologies for the 500 errors that some of you got this morning and are perhaps continuing to get. It is a mystery to me but I'll add it to the 'to do' list.

SSG job franchises offered

2008-02-06T22:27:00.001Z

From Jobs 4 Christians:

Do You Want Your Own Business But Lack the Capital?

If you have a missionary spirit, the ability to work independently and an affinity for retail, why not join our growing family of Christian resource and bookshops?

We are Saint Stephen the Great LLC (Registered Charity #1119839). We can provide a fully stocked and well-located retail shop without the usual up-front investment. We have wonderful opportunities for this exciting work throughout the country.

If you feel you have the qualifications and commitment to be in business "for yourself," we invite you to submit your c.v. along with an indication of when and where you are available.

The ad was posted on the 23rd of January 2008.

Scroll down the 'Save the SPCK' category for details of all the latest events in the SSG / SPCK bookshop saga including the staff at three shops who were sacked by e-mail this week.

Third Space Books - the new name for SSG?

2008-02-06T21:27:00.003Z

A new website has appeared: Third Space Books (Update: site removed as of Thursday afternoon 7th February) (Further update: It's back again).

Is this to be the new identity for the SSG shops? Please note the question mark here and in the title to this post. I do not know the answer to the question.

The site lists the former SPCK bookshops along with 'SSG's Manningham Bookshop' and 'SSG's Poole Bookshop'. The 'About page' of Third Space Books continues to describe the chain as the SPCK Bookshops of Saint Stephen the Great LLC'. Both 'Winchester' and 'Worchester' are included.

Oddly the site is selling books through Amazon, rather than through their own SSG Online site (the former SPCK Online). It is Amazon USA, not Amazon UK.

This site raises many questions, the reason for its existence being the main one.

Meanwhile discussion of recent events continues elsewhere - on the Network Norwich site I linked to this morning (Pages 1 and 2), also here on the same site and on a revived thread at Ship of Fools.

The Facebook group and YouTube video page have also seen an update or two.

Once again, if you scroll down the 'Save the SPCK' category you'll find details of all the latest events in the SSG / SPCK bookshop saga including news of the staff at several shops who were sacked by e-mail in the last few days.

Please excuse the 5th post about SSG / SPCK in as many days, but it has been quite an extraordinary week and I feel that is important to make the information available. I haven't forgotten about all of the other topics in the world, I promise.

Further SPCK/SSG shop closures - staff sacked by email

2008-02-05T16:56:00.003Z

Things have been moving very fast over the past 24 hours. Here is the latest as I understand it.

Yesterday Mark Brewer sent the following to the bookshops and media contacts:

As we move into the second month of 2008, some of the SSG bookshops have experienced the same reduced footfall and sales as most every other bookseller and High Street retailer. In some of our locations for the good of the overall chain, we have taken the decision of cost-cutting.

On Friday, we therefore closed Canterbury and Cambridge and intend to reopen both after re-fitting and re-stocking these shops. We have other locations slated either for reduced operating hours, temporary closure or permanent closure.

Mark Brewer

Today the staff at the SSG (former SPCK) shops in Sheffield, Lincoln and Norwich were sacked by e-mail and the shops are closed. Signs outside say that the shops are closed for a refit or somesuch.

The shops in Bristol and Salisbury have been put on reduced opening hours.

This follows the recent closure of the Cambridge shop and the forthcoming closure of the
Canterbury shop (report).

Canon Dr Joanne Grenfell of Sheffield Cathedral has issued a statement in response to Mark Brewer's press release, posted here yesterday.

The Bookseller has a report: Christian chain closes branches to cut costs.

Update (6th February): More on the Norwich situation here.

"Church of England launches campaign against Orthodox charity"

2008-02-04T10:49:00.004Z

So claims Mark Brewer, owner of the SSG (former SPCK) chain of bookshops in the title of an email containing the following press release:

SAINT STEPHEN THE GREAT LLC A U.K. CHARITY (1119839)

For Immediate Release
Contact: J Mark Brewer
January 29, 2008 (01) 713-725-4788

DIOCESE OF SHEFFIELD TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS:
"NOT WELCOME HERE"

Whilst touting itself as "a place for all people," the Diocese of Sheffield of the Church of England has issued this message to Orthodox Christians: "Stay Away."

The Sheffield Diocese has been engaged in a campaign against Orthodox Christians and those who would "further Orthodox mission." The Diocese hopes to drive SSG out of business because SSG has an Orthodox "aim." In what can only be described as a mockery of Christian charity and ecumenicity, the Sheffield Dean and Chapter wrote SSG's trustees:

"Because of the stated aims of the St Stephen the Great Trust to further Orthodox mission, we feel unable to support the bookshops at the moment by purchasing goods ourselves, or by recommending to our visitors that they visit your shop in Sheffield."

In contrast, Churches Together in England which includes the Church of England is a visible sign of the Churches' commitment as they seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another, and proclaim the Gospel together by common witness and service. Its strength comes from people from different traditions finding new ways to work and worship together."
[http://www.churches-together.net]

The SSG "shop in Sheffield" is the Sheffield Cathedral Bookshop. It which was transferred to SSG, an Orthodox lay charity, in 2006.

According to Mark Brewer, SSG's chairman, Sheffield's hierarchy from the Bishop all the way down have rebuffed numerous attempts at dialogue.

"The Cathedral's letter came out of nowhere and was a complete and utter surprise. It was absolutely devastating to think that our charity's bookshop would be singled out because we are Orthodox Christians."

Nevertheless, 4 months have now passed, and the Diocese' boycott remains firmly in place with its position as intransigent as ever. Consequently, SSG is having to consider its options, including whether it can continue a viable trade in Christian books on the Cathedral close at 8 East Parade.

I've done my best to preserve the formatting - the original document can be downloaded here (pdf, 54kb)

Update (5th February) : Canon Dr Joanne Grenfell of Sheffield Cathedral has issued the following statement:
Sheffield Cathedral has had a fruitful relationship in the past with the adjacent bookshop [1], formerly owned by SPCK, and now under the management of the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust.

There have been reports in the church and national press about the management of the chain of bookshops, which the Dean and Chapter have followed with interest. Indeed, the Chapter has discussed various issues of concern relating to the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust, though, as with all Chapter discussions, these must remain confidential.

We do not feel able to make any further comment on the bookshop or the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust.

The ecumenical relations between Sheffield Cathedral and our Christian brothers and sisters across denominational boundaries are generally excellent, and we hope that this will continue to be so."

ENDS

[1] There is no Cathedral close, and the bookshop is not in premises owned by the
Cathedral.

Canterbury and Cambridge SSG / SPCK shops to close

2008-02-02T23:33:00.005Z

The latest news as I understand it:

The Cambridge shop is closed, with a note on the door saying it is 'closed for renovation' or somesuch, but insiders tell me it is probably permanent. The staff were spoken to on Friday and 'two were more or less dismissed. The third was offered a change of contract which was not tenable'. (Quote from a reliable source).

The Canterbury shop (picture: above right) is apparently closing on the 28th of February. (Update: I can now verify that this is the case.)

From a comment made on my last post by Pax Vobiscum:

Cambridge and Canterbury are closing at the end of the month, although Cambridge is already closed because, allegedly, of the way the staff have been treated. The usual details are all in the mix - a situation badly handled by a poor management style.

Meanwhile, several shops have been offered a very scary franchise deal. Some have said 'no', some have said 'yes', others are considering it or trying to negotiate better terms.

AND - the whole issue of new contracts is menacing again. But best not to discuss that while the staff are considering their response. All I can say is that a source close to me received a two page letter from USDAW last week regarding the new contracts and the attempts to implement them. It makes for very interesting reading.

I hope to have more later.

If you have first hand information about the situation please do let me know.

Former SPCK shops update

2008-02-01T01:49:00.003Z

Above: An SPCK sign outside the London St Stephen the Great shop. I don't know of any of the former SPCK shops which aren't still showing an SPCK sign somewhere - does anyone else?

I don't have a huge amount of news for you I'm afraid, but this is a roundup of some links discovered during January:

Sarah at Deep Thought laments empty shelves and comments on plans to pipe in music from a central source.

Parablepsis asks 'whether this neo-crusader mentality is either helpful or healthy'.

Phil Groom of the UK Christian Bookshops Directory documents an exchange of e-mails with Philip Brewer.

Paul Walker (no relation) asks whether Christian bookshops are in terminal decline.

St Cuthbert's Church, Bensham

2008-01-11T09:10:00.002Z

I wanted to make a correction to my 'Church Commissioners sell church to SSG for £100' post. The sale of the church to the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSGCT) has not yet gone ahead as I said it had. SSGCT have offered to take on the building for 'worship use in accordance with the rites and customs of the Orthodox Christian Church and as a Christian book and gift shop' and they have been asked to develop these proposals. The Church Commissioners will then publish a 'draft Scheme' under the Pastoral Measure 1983 setting out the details of these proposals which the public has four weeks to respond to. If objections are received the Commissioners' Redundant Churches Committee will consider them and decide whether the Scheme should proceed in the light of the issues raised. This page has more information about the process. If a 'draft Scheme' is published I will be sure to let you know.

Apologies for getting it wrong in my previous post. I contacted Jonathan Wallace, editor of the blog I linked to, who told me that the information in his post came from a journalist on the Evening Chronicle, the local paper. (No criticism of Jonathan is intended by the way - he was simply passing on what he'd been told.) The Evening Chronicle had apparently already published the story, but I've been unable to find that online to check out the details. I have discovered an earlier story 'Revamp hope for old church'. Anyway - sorry. I should have taken more time to look into the story.

On an utterly unrelated note I saw that Jonathan's latest post is about local opposition to plans for a big top on a large bit of grass. The 'NE1' organisation is part of 'Hope08' and they have a website about the big top plans here.

Hope 08, if you remember, is the large initiative set up to help Christians have an impact on their communities.

Mark Brewer asks for website changes

2008-01-03T02:29:00.002Z

Mark Brewer of the St Stephen the Great Trust has written to Phil Groom of the UK Christian Bookshops Directory asking that some information be removed from his website. From the UK Christian Bookshops Directory News page:

Dear Sir,

I write to request that you kindly remove the following from your website which I was most shocked and disappointed to read when perusing it today:

"Unfortunately the shops have suffered under their new management to the point where many staff have felt unable to work under the new regime and have left. Some shops have apparently closed down; of those remaining, opening times, stock availability and levels of customer service are in a state of flux and may not be as expected: prospective customers would therefore be wise to phone ahead before visiting.

Previous shop descriptions have been removed and SSG have been invited to provide up to date details; they have not yet responded: information about the shops shown here may or may not be valid. Updates on the situation will be posted in UKCBD News Section as and when information becomes available."

This information is completely wrong. I totally disagree that the shops have not suffered under Saint Stephen the Great. Whether or not you feel otherwise, the facts are strongly to the contrary: the Truro shop and all the 22 other shops SSG acquired in 2006 have continued to be in operation and their trading is thriving - especially considering negative comments such as on this webpage!

Another fact: had SSG not agreed to take them over on November 1, 2006, Truro and the other 22 shops formerly owned by SPCK would have "suffered" closure by the end of 2006.

I am unaware of being contacted to "provide up to date details." I can assure you that the Truro shop is open and is going to remain open including after December 24 when our manager puts in his last day of service. The hours of operation are not in flux, as he can attest (he is after all the manager).

So, please do remove these two unhelpful and incorrect comments.

Thank you.

J. Mark Brewer
Chairman and CEO
Saint Stephen the Great LLC
(Message dated 17th December 2007)

Also: My recent story about the church sold to SSG for £100 requires some more investigation. It appears that the St Cuthberts Gateshead church situation may not be as it first appeared. More when I know it.

Church Commissioners sell church to SSG for £100

2007-12-19T11:58:00.002Z

According to this Gateshead Lib Dem blog the Church Commissioners sold a church to the St Stephen The Great Charitable Trust in November for £100:

The landmark St Cuthberts Church on Bensham Bank has been sold by the Church Commissioners to the American based St Stephen The Great Charitable Trust. The historic landmark has been sold for £100, reflecting the state of the building which is suffering from structural problems and vandalism. The building needs considerable investment to bring it back into use.

The nineteenth century church was designed by the famous Victorian North East architect John Dobson.

The Church Commissioners were keen to see the building continue to be used as a church. Work on restoring the building is expected to take a year.

The sale of the church has been welcomed by local Liberal Democrat campaigners Susan Craig and Peter Andras.

Does this sound familiar? An Anglican institution is desperate to hand over their asset(s) to someone. Things don't go smoothly with the first possible recipient, but then SSG are there in the right place at the right time and get given it for free.
The £100 price tag is not really the issue. Such an amount might be entirely appropriate given the hundreds of thousands that will need to be spent on the church. What really surprises me is that the Church Commissioners have decided SSG are suitable recipients at all given:

1. The ongoing legal cases between SPCK and SSG as well as between SSG and some former employees. SPCK gave away millions of pounds-worth of assets to SSG and got their fingers badly burnt and yet the Church Commissioners appear to be doing exactly the same thing. [If you are unfamiliar with the SSG / SPCK bookshops story see all the posts in the Save the SPCK category on this blog.]
2. The dubious aims of the Saint Stephen the Great Trust. SSG have said they are aiming to restore 47 redundant churches, one for each of the 47 battles St Stephen the great fought against the Muslims (statement now removed from their website, though I have the text recorded here). In their video SSG make it fairly clear that they see acquiring churches in Muslim areas as one of their aims. I just can't see how giving a church to such an organisation can fit within the requirements for new uses for redundant churches, namely that they should be 'sensitive to the setting and history of each building'.

It could of course be the case that the Church Commissioners are unaware of the whole SPCK/SSG situation, but this seems unlikely. It is true that this sale took place before the release of the St Stephen the Great video and the Radio 4 Sunday programme, but a lot of information about SSG was available online before that time. Surely you'd do a quick Google search before giving a church building to someone.

Here's some background reading:
• This April 2007 video by the same Lib Dem councillor shows the church before it was sold (Warning - contains local ploughing and footbridge news and also some in-depth photocopying footage)
• Extremist Sect Sets Up Church - No, not SSG. This is a report relating to a previous controversy, when the The Society of St Pius X were due to take on the church.
• BBC NEWS | England | Tyne | Historic church's future secured - A BBC report on St Cuthberts from 2005.
• Listed Church For Sale - The Gateshead Council site listing the church as being for sale again in February this year

The page about St Cuthberts (now deleted) on the Church of England site said:

This is a rare opportunity to acquire a landmark building, in a commanding position overlooking the River Tyne. The property is being sold with the benefit of a development brief produced by Gateshead Council supporting the conversion of this Grade II Listed Church to a range of commercial and residential uses. All parties are keen to see the property sold and sensitively converted to secure the future of this landmark building. Built in 1845 to the designs of John Dobson and extended by the addition of an aisle in 1874, the church stands in a large churchyard that has been used for burials. It comprises tower, nave, chancel, vestries, aisle and west gallery. The building has suffered from subsidence due to former mining works in the area and is in need of substantial stabilisation and other restoration costs. Guidance on these likely costs is available from the agents. Offers are invited by 28 July 2007, with detailed evidence of feasibility within three months of submission of offer.

SPCK/SSG bookshops on the Radio 4 Sunday programme

2007-12-16T07:20:00.003Z

[Welcome to anyone who has found this blog from the Radio 4 programme. The posts on the SPCK / SSG story can be found in the 'Save the SPCK' category]

You can now listen to the programme again here: Radio 4: Sunday programme. The SPCK item is 25 minutes and 15 seconds in.

In summary, the programme contained the following:

• Introduction to the bookshops and the crisis
• Me talking about my surprise at statements found on the original SSG website
• Sections of text from the SSG video
• Gregory Hallam talking about Orthodoxy and Islam
• Mark Brewer
• Aude Pasquier, speaking form a publishers perspective
• Mike Ford vistits the Chester shop and comments on what is and isn't on display
• Richard Greatrex, former Bristol manager
• Christina, another former manager
• Jane Mcgarry (?) USDAW
• Interview with Phil Brewer

Some of text from the programme transcribed via hefty use of the pause button (see 'Editor's note' below):

Presenter: A little over a year ago a small charity called St Stephen the Great took over the running of Britain's most famous religious bookshop chain, SPCK. The chain was said to be on the verge of financial ruin and the staff were worried about their jobs. At the time of the takeover SPCK's 23 bookshops employed a staff of 200, but since then the staff have left in droves complaining about the style of the new management, as well as changes to their contracts and working conditions. Publishers say new books aren't appearing on the shelves. St Stephen the Great (SSG) now a limited company is run by the Brewer family in Texas who describe themselves as lay Orthodox Christians whose aim is to spread the Orthodox message by acquiring redundant Anglican churches. Mike Ford has this special report.

Mike Ford: Set in the normally genteel world of religious bookselling the saga might well have come straight from the pages of a novel by Barbara Pym. SPCK was traditionally one of the most respected chains in the business. Some of its shops had been trading since the early 1800s stocking a broad selection of theological books and supplying churches with communion wine wafers and candles. But in more recent times the chain had faced desperate financial problems and had difficulty securing a buyer. So when the Brewer brothers from Texas agreed to take over it seemed like manna from heaven.

Dave Walker: I think when SPCK wanted to get rid of the shops they wanted a solution that would involve as few redundancies as possible and I think they saw St Stephen the Great as being the best option in the circumstances.

Mike Ford: Dave Walker is a cartoonist for the Church Times who has been following the story on his blog.

Dave Walker: I was very surprised when I went onto the SSG website that some of the statements that were on the site at the time didn't strike me as being particularly compatable with the more open minded stance of the SPCK shops.

Audio from SSG video: I'm Mark Brewer, chairman of the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust. Who was St Stephen the Great? He was a man who lived in the fifteenth century who fought some 47 battles against the Muslim Turks who were invading Eastern Europe at that time.

Mike Ford: Mark Brewer and his brother Philip describe themselves as lay orthodox Christians. They named their charity after a Saint who built a church after each of his 47 battles against the Muslims. The brothers want to follow in that spirit by acquiring 47 redundant churches from the church of England and turning them over to Orthodox use. Posters in their shops use the slogan 'Buy a book - Save a church'.

Audio from SSG video: The second major project of the Trust is a lovely old Victorian church in the city of Bradford. Known as Saint Mary Magdalene, the abandoned building would most likely have become an Islamic centre as it is only two blocks from what is already the second largest mosque in Europe. Now, thanks to (fades)

Mike Ford: Many Orthodox Christians have been alarmed by this video. Father Gregory Hallam, an Orthodox priest in Manchester thinks it could suggest that the Orthodox church has a confrontational attitude towards Islam.

Father Gregory Hallam: I belong to a church in the Middle East that has lived alongside Islam for over 1400 years, and some of Mr Brewers statements about Islam strike us as being very un-Orthodox in the sense of not being consistent really with our whole approach to interfaith relations. We in the Orthodox church regard all religions as being an indication of God's graciousness to mankind.

Mike Ford: The staff at SPCK became increasingly unhappy about the changes the Brewers were making. They related to the range of stock, the way it was ordered and the working conditions. The new management style didn't go down well either. The staff voted with their feet. More than two thirds of managers have left along with scores of others. In Exeter the entire team walked out. But the chairman of SSG, Mark Brewer, said the new measures had to be taken.

Mark Brewer: We came into the bookshops a year and a month ago facing mounting losses on the trading operations and set about the very difficult and sometimes unpopular task of trying to make the shops profitable enough to at least pay their own way while continuing to spread the word of God through the printed material as well as of course church requisites and some religious articles of one kind and another.

Mike Ford: It was understood from the start that the shops would continue to sell a range of materials, but according to staff in some shops the stock is narrower and they aren't receiving supplies. Aude Pasquier, sales and marketing director for a London publishing house says the changes are posing serious challenges to religious publishers.

Aude Pasquier: Basically I think the range of books is not being carried any longer. Potential customers can't find the range of books that they used to be able to find in the SPCK bookshops. Writers have been coming to us asking why - how come I cannot find my books on the shelves of the SPCK bookshops. For publishers it means that we have lost 23 shops in 23 different locations where we had clearly a good customer base and we have to be able to reach those customers by some other means from now on.

In summary: I felt it gave a good summary of the situation. The nature of such programmes is that each person's contribution is reduced to one or two sentences, but I think a good number of points were made nevertheless. I'd have liked what was said on to have gone further - for example the various Anglican dioceses who have said nothing about the fate of their local SPCK shop escaped without mention - it wasn't for a lack of talking about it on my part. Phil Brewer's responses in the final interview will, I'm sure, be the topic of some debate. As Richard
has said in the comments below he misrepresented the reason that many of the staff left, avoided the Islamophobia issue and his comments about 'broadening the stock' are just not born out by reality.

Thanks to the BBC for running this story and for the producers for ensuring that such a wide variety of voices was heard. If you have comments on the programme then do of course post them below, but you can also comment on the Sunday programme website.

Other comments on the programme:
• Neil: Radio 4 again
• The Need to Maintain Critical Dialogue Between Religions: SPCK / SSG Bookshops | The Wardman Wire
• Madame Arcati: St Stephen's bookshops fight the Muslim heathen!
• Posters on the Ship of Fools bulletin board give their reactions
• Room515 | SPCK: The fight club continues

Other links not directly about the programme:
• A pro-SSG Anglican priest - de cura animarum: St. Stephen's Trust: Restoring Britain's Christian Heritage
[Editor's note (Sunday pm): I need to get on with work, so the transcript of the programme is incomplete. If anyone else wanted to do any more transcribing (from 31 minutes) that really would be marvellous - I know that you can listen to the programme but it would be good to have a written record.]

Update: a comment by Richard Greatrex has been added to the Sunday programme site:
Re: The takeover of the SPCK Bookshops by St Stephen the Great.Many of the points made by Phil Brewer need challenging. Go into your local SPCK/SSG Bookshop and look for any of the new titles published since August by the major Christian publishing houses in the UK - SPCK, DLT, Church House, Kevin Mayhew, etc. I doubt whether you will find more than 5%. The range has radically diminished and not got broader, as Phil Brewer said. In some cases even the range of Orthodox material is less than before the takeover. Phil Brewer states that many of the staff left because they couldn't cope with attempts to modernise business practice. But most of us welcomed this with opened arms, we were willing to work hard to remodel the shops in a more businesslike way. We left because we and our colleagues were treated in most unbusiness-like and unchristian ways.

The SPCK saga on Radio 4

2007-12-14T18:42:00.001Z

The Sunday programme on Radio 4 is due to feature the story of the former SPCK shops this Sunday, the 16th December 2007. The programme is from 7-8am, so ideal for those limbering up for church.

This is what I was talking about yesterday in a veiled sort of a way. I was asked not to say anything straight away, but since I've been out all day some of you have beaten me to it in the comments. Being a bit dazed and confused I can't remember when I am allowed to talk about it, but I think it might be about now.

I went into London today to the BBC studios to record an interview. My feeling was that it didn't go very well at all. Despite doing lots of revision yesterday I don't think that I'm good at talking on the radio as I panic and just say the first thing that comes into my head. (If I ever say I'm going to apply for the diplomatic corps please attempt to dissuade me on these grounds.) I've probably said all the wrong things in all the wrong ways because I'm not good at thinking on my feet. If it turns out to be really bad I may have to go into hiding and live the rest of my life under a nom de plume. I'll decide on Sunday.

A number of other people who read or comment on this blog are being or have been interviewed, but obviously I have no idea what they'll use or how long the piece will be. The programme will be available to listen to on the internet for, I think, a week after it is broadcast.

I'm glad that at last this story is being given some wider attention. I for one have been really very frustrated, angry even, that so few people with influence have wanted to talk about it. I may or may not have said something about that in my interview.

One upside to all this: it was quite exciting to go to Western House (next to Broadcasting House) where Radio 2 and Radio 6 music do their radio broadcasting. I used the toilets on the Radio 2 corridor. As it turned out I wasn't sitting alongside Terry, but rather in a little cubicle with a set of headphones and a microphone attached by some miraculous means to a studio in Manchester.

Update: Father Gregory, another possible contributor to the programme (I say possible because no-one knows what will be edited in or out) says some things about the Orthodox involvement here.

Former SPCK employees

2007-12-13T15:11:00.004Z

If there are any former SPCK employees who would be prepared to talk to a media organisation could you send me a quick e-mail with your phone number. If you can do it this afternoon (Thursday) that would be great.

Many thanks.

[Just to add - I'll probably remove this post before too long as it doesn't have any enduring interest. If you have a comment you might be better adding it to one of the previous SPCK posts]

Update (10.30pm): I've had a number of people contact me and have passed details on to the interested party (a major player in the media world - hopefully there will be more to say in the next few days). On this occasion I probably don't need anyone else to get in touch, but if you do it will still help me if there are future requests for people to speak to. Thanks again.

New St Stephen the Great website

2007-12-12T09:17:00.002Z

St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust, owners of the former SPCK bookshops have a new website.

I was interested to note the following sentence on one of the pages:

In the ensuing 3 years, the Trust has acquired redundant churches in Dorset, West Yorkshire, County Durham, Suffolk, Norfolk and West Sussex. It has succeeded in putting these into use as Orthodox Christian Churches or is in the process of doing so. At least three of these buildings were due to be knocked down while a fourth was to be turned over to a wholly secular use.

So, which are these redundant churches?

• Dorset: St. Osmunds, Parkstone, Poole (early 2005)
• West Yorkshire: Saint Mary Magdalene in Manningham, Bradford (May 2007)
• County Durham: St Cuthberts, Gateshead? (Is this the church in the video? The 1845 date fits and it looks like it. Gateshead isn't in County Durham though.)
• Suffolk ?
• Norfolk ?
• West Sussex ?

I have no idea about the Suffolk church. Any ideas? As for Norfolk and West Sussex - are these last two the SPCK shops in Norwich and Chichester? Does this mean that the Trust has plans to turn all of the former SPCK shops that are in church buildings back into churches?

The new website allows comments and Mark Brewer says 'Please feel free to contact me at your convenience', so perhaps someone would like to ask.

In other related news:
• The comment thread on the SSGCT video is still very active. Users SSGCT and warriort38 are continuing to respond to comments made.
• One poster commenting in support of the video is 'edolhausen'. I wonder if that poster is any relation to Ed Olhausen, Supply Chain Director of St Andrews Christian Bookshops.
• In the Guardian Stephen Bates has mentioned the former SPCK bookshops. The paragraph looks as if it is based on the Bookseller piece I linked to a week or so ago 'More resignations at SPCK'.

From the 2007 SPCK Annual Report: SPCK gave SSG £3.3 million of assets

2007-12-07T09:52:00.004Z

The SPCK Trustees report and accounts for the year ending 30th April 2007 (pdf document) is now online on the About SPCK page of the SPCK website. It might have been there for a while, but if so I hadn't taken the time to go through it with a fine toothpick.

Here are some extracts that relate to the transfer of the bookshops from SPCK to the St Stephen the Great Trust.

Under 'Notable events of 2006-07, page 6:

On 31 October 2006, all our Bookshops and their staff were transferred to St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust. The Society will retain six freeholds for a period of seven years, when (subject to agreed conditions) they will also be transferred. A further freehold, that of the Bristol shop, was offered for sale and has since been sold, with the shop moving into premises ten doors along the street.

Page 7:

SPCK Bookshops
Last year we noted that the trustees and senior management were considering ways in which SPCK's bookselling mission could be carried forward bearing in mind our financial resources. We noted that "some hard decisions are inevitable". In the event, it was decided by a unanimous vote at the trustees' meeting that the bookshops should be transferred to St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust. This charity undertook not only to take on all the staff and to try to keep all the shops open, but also to ensure that the stockholding carried a breadth of materials from a variety of Christian denominations, including those of differing views on contentious current debates.
This transfer seemed significantly better than any achievable alternative, leaving the staff in place and the Society with the opportunity to re-group and begin to move towards a more sustainable financial future

Under Note 7, page 20:

On 30 October 2006, SPCK entered into an agreement with St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSGCT), a registered charity no: 1109008, for the creation of a new Christian Resources Group including the SPCK Bookshops in operation at that date. Under the terms of the agreement and in furtherance of its charitable purposes, SPCK transferred its Bookshops activities to SSGCT on 31 October 2006 including the transfer of certain freehold and leasehold properties, fixtures and fittings and stock. SPCK also agreed to grant leases to SSGCT, at peppercorn rents, on certain other freehold properties for a period of seven years, after which time they will be transferred to SSGCT if the SPCK Bookshops Group remains in operation on an agreed basis. From the date of completion, SSGCT became responsible for the trading activities of all bookshops continuing to trade under the 'SPCK Bookshops' name, which is being used by SSGCT under an annually renewable licence.

The net book value of assets transferred by SPCK to SSGCT on 31 October 2006 is as follows:

2007

£'000
Freehold Properties 1,665
Stock 1,619
Fixtures and Fittings 97
______
Net book value of assets transferred on 31 October 2006 3,381
Impairment of freehold properties (see Note 9.) 2,512
______
Total reduction in net book value relating to the transfer of Bookshops 5,893

If I understand things correctly SPCK transferred a total of £5.893m of assets to SSG, £3.361m from October 2006, and £2.512m in 7 years time if certain (unknown to me) conditions are met. The fact that the SPCK name has not been relicenced might imply that the conditions haven't been met, but that is just speculation. (I've only put the £3.3m in the headline to this post owing to this uncertainty.)

The valuation of the freeholds seems very low to me, given that the Bristol shop was, according to note 20, worth £1.25m alone. From Note 20, page 25:

On 15 May 2007 the Society exchanged contracts for the sale of its freehold premises in Park Street, Bristol. The sale was completed on 13 June 2007 and the net proceeds of sale amounted to £1,250,000

But then I'm no property price expert.

I still don't understand why, as desperate as they were, the board chose to give the shops to SSG, a group who have expressed the following views over the last week:

"The second major project of the trust is a lovely old Victorian church in the city of Bradford. Known as Saint Mary Magdalene, the abandoned building would most likely have become an Islamic centre, as it's only two blocks from what is already the second largest mosque in Europe serving Bradford's population of nearly sixteen percent Muslim. Now, thanks to the diligent work of the Saint Stephen the Great trust the church will be repaired and consecrated into the Orthodox Christian community.

I'm Mark Brewer, Chairman of the Saint Stephen the Great charitable trust. Who was Saint Stephen the great? He was a man who lived in the fifteenth century who fought some forty seven battles against the Muslim Turks who were invading Eastern Europe at that time. During his lifetime, after every battle he commemorated a church, built a new church to the glory of God throughout eastern Romania. He restored churches that had been destroyed by the Ottoman Turks. He is therefore a very fitting patron saint for this trust. We want to aspire to do the very same thing that Saint Stephen did, we want to rescue restore and re-energise the churches of this great country to the glory of God and to the salvation of the people."

It is true that I was very pleased when I heard the news about the transfer on 21st October 2006. But it was only one day later when we looked at the views expressed on the SSG website that we realised that all was not going to be plain sailing.

In the absence of any statement to the contrary one can only assume that the SPCK board members saw these views on the SSG website and still thought that these were the best people to be given the SPCK bookshops.

If giving the shops away was the final remaining option, were no efforts made to give the shops away to their managers or some other group with a local interest?

Again, in the absence of any statement to the contrary one can only assume that the Church of England is happy that the nearest thing to an Anglican chain of bookshops has taken the direction it has taken.

It seems to me that an invaluable asset has been squandered, and no-one really cares that much.

Update: Links to the different Saint Stephen the Great charities on the Charity Commission website are here. The accounts from November04 - March06 are here (pdf document).

Comments on the SSG video etc

2007-12-05T17:29:00.002Z

The St Stephen the Great video 'Rescuing Britain's Christian Heritage' which I posted last week has had (at the time of writing) 29 comments posted on it. These include some responses from the user 'SSGCT', who posted the video. A sample comment:

You obviously have a great deal of anger and it is good for you to rid yourself of it in any way possible. You are quite incorrect in saying SSG "deceived" anyone - much less the CofE. SSG has never had any dealings whatsoever with the CofE. Nor has it been anything less than transparent about its intentions: to spread God's love through Christian bookselling and saving churches.

See the YouTube video page for the context.

Also (not relating to the video):

• The Bookseller has put up a new article since my last post: More resignations at SPCK
• Blog post from June Austin, a non-fictional writer: Podding Along Nicely: Trouble in paradise?

Update - the latest from the comment thread:

SSGCT:

That's kind of what I figured: you are just re-hashing the old "news" from Dave's blog. Trouble is, the stuff on that blog is grossly inaccurate, exaggerated and completely lacking in factual basis. Citing to that certainly lends no credibility to your assertions about SSG having "deceived" the CofE or anyone else! As for fruits: how about the fact 23 shops are still trading but 14 months ago, they were set to be closed? Why are you intent on ignoring that?

St Stephen the Great video

2007-11-30T16:11:00.001Z

The following video outlines the aims of the St Stephen the Great trust and features some of their projects.

A direct link to the SSG YouTube page is here.

Please note (for anyone who has happened upon this post): The video above does not represent the views of the writer of this weblog.

Religious Bookshops

2007-11-29T23:33:00.002Z

[Click on the image for the full sized version.]

This is the cartoon I did for the Church House Bookshop late night shopping event. The image is a bit off-colour as it is taken from a photograph of the original which is A1 size. The shelves on the left, by the way, say 'charismatic worship' at the top, and 'prayer' at the bottom. The shelves on the right say 'high church' at the top, 'middle of the road' in the middle and 'low church' at the bottom.

I may well do a version for the Church Times but if so I will redraw it. I forgot to label the 'extreme browser' who is clambering over the shelves. Not that I drew it in a hurry you understand. Thanks to the various people who supplied ideas, especially commenter 'Jaded for Jesus' who sent me the 'kneeling for prayer' gag months and months ago.

On the subject of bookshops: I don't have a lot to report on the SSG shops front. Christian Marketplace have a report here: The SSG saga goes on. Unfortunately there seems to be some problems with paragraphs dropped out of the online version - I'll contact Clem in case it's a technical glitch.

There are some quotes in the article with which I do not agree, as you might guess. I can't really say more though as it is all a bit close to home.

SPCK have, since I last wrote, updated their news page with the following:

Bookshops: a statement from SPCK

SPCK would like to emphasize that they do not own, manage or otherwise run the Bookshops which transferred to SSG's Charitable Trust in October 2006.

Saint Stephen the Great (SSG) was contacted by SPCK's lawyers in October 2007 concerning its use of the SPCK name for what used to trade as the SPCK Bookshops group.

In October 2007, SSG put out a release clarifying that from 1 November the bookshops
would be trading under the name Saint Stephen the Great.

The front page still says:

In October 2006, the SPCK Bookshops were transferred to another charity, the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG), who run them independently of SPCK.

SSG will not in future be using the SPCK name for these shops.

The SPCK name continues to be used in the shops - signs, bags etc.

Meanwhile on the internet the spckbookshops.org site remains empty, with links back to SPCK and the St Stephen the Great Trust site, which has been 'down for maintenance' for a week or so. It looks like they are designing a new site.

SSG / SPCK latest

2007-11-17T10:09:00.001Z

The shops saga has made a mainstream paper, albeit in a limited sort of a way. From the Guardian:
There's an unholy row in Christian bookselling, with an exodus of staff from the leading chain SPCK (the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge). Apologies for the religious puns, but they are hard to avoid when the company's president compares his shops to "the talents the Lord spoke of in the parable". To recap, a year ago a charitable trust took control of SPCK, whose 23 cathedral shops were struggling. But new owners St Stephen the Great (SSG) ran into trouble when they tried to impose a more orthodox stocking policy and ban promotion of the Qur'an. Staff in some branches such as Exeter resigned en masse. Now SSG wants to drop the 200-year-old SPCK name because the books released by SPCK's publishing arm are too liberal.

Also:
• An article I haven't linked to: Leicester SPCK goes independent - The Bookseller
• All is blank on the 'SSG Bookshops formerly owned and operated by SPCK' webpage
• Here's the blog of a former SPCK manager who has opened a new shop in Lincoln: Unicorn Tree Books Blog

One more thing whilst I'm on the subject. I'm having to edit or not post a reasonable number of SPCK / SSG related comments. This isn't necessarily because I don't agree with the sentiments expressed, as I often do. The problem is that some comments could be straying into legally dubious areas or they contain allegations that I can't substantiate. In neither case can I afford to take a risk on this as it will be me who carries the can should there be a can to be carried. I really don't like to have to do this, but sometimes it is unavoidable.

I'm aware that my comment policy isn't very clearly stated, something that I plan to rectify shortly. In the meantime if you feel that a comment that hasn't been posted deserves to be read there is nothing to stop you posting it on your own blog, or even starting one if you don't have one. Try the link I posted in the previous post about getting started on Wordpress.com if that whole area is a mystery. It is possible, by the way, to stay up to date with what blogs are saying by keeping an eye on searches such as this one.

Radio interview with Mark Brewer

2007-11-09T10:58:00.001Z

There is a radio interview with Mark Brewer on this Orthodox radio station in which he outlines his plans for the former SPCK shops. It starts about 9 minutes in and ends at 25 minutes in.

An excerpt from the show:
Mark Brewer:
"At that time it was an entirely Protestant chain serving mostly the needs of the Church of England. We have gradually, as quickly as we can - but it is a gradual process - been working to transform these into Orthodox bookshops. Our biggest selling item by the way is Bibles, and that was true before we took it over, so, you wouldn't call that Protestant obviously."

Interviewer:
Let me ask you a question Mark; Any resistance to the introduction of Orthodox Christian books and material within this Protestant setting?

Mark Brewer:
There's been a substantial amount of resistance and it's manifested itself in a lot of ways that frankly I would not have expected. For the most part our staff has been supportive but not entirely, and we've tried to take their feelings and attitudes into account and approach this in a loving Christlike way, but at the same time Father we just don't feel comfortable selling theological books that are really what I would call inimical to Orthodoxy.

He goes on to talk about the banning of the Koran from the Bookshops, and then this about the Chichester shop:
England is so rich with the blood of the martyr saints. We have, just as an example: one of the shops that we have taken over is in a church - you're gonna love this Father - this church was built in the 11th century. It's one of the oldest buildings in the kingdom, and it's still standing in it's original form. It was dedicated to the saint King Olave who was (?) the invading Danes. He is the same person who murdered Saint King Edmund as in Bury St Edmund in East Anglia near the eastern shore of the country. Well we're in his church there selling books. The SPCK started that over 50 years ago, and we're now in the process of making a transition - it's a very small building but it's right in the middle of the heaviest pedestrian shopping area of the town of Chichester in southern England. And we're going to make this into a usable worship space for Orthodox worship, so that we can continue to sell books towards the back sort of like you might do in a parish church, but turn this building back into a church.

He then discusses imminent plans to buy a derelict church overlooking the Tyne in Newcastle and turn it into an Orthodox church.

Thanks to Ursula for the tip. As she says:
He clearly states that the intention is to make the shops "Orthodox shops" - for the Orthodox community. This interview took place on 27th October 2007 as far as we can
tell.

When is he going to announce that to the staff and also his plans for Chichester? Do they know?

Phelim McIntyre, former assistant manager of the Chichester shop, has posted these comments below:
Having spoken with people who know the Chichester situation this blog page is the first they will know about it.

Also:
The Chichester shop is a consecrated building. That is it is still a Church of England church, owned by Chichester Diocese. It is used rent free under a covenant dating back 50 years. An Anglican communion must take place once a year as part of that Covenant. The Brewers/SSGCT are responsible for the upkeep of the building, something neither they or SPCK before them did anything about. Because of this Mark Brewer can not just turn the building into an Orthodox Church. I know all of this because I was assistant manager at the Chichester shop and we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the shop just before I left.

I have been in contact with Chichester Diocese about this, and this blog was the first they knew about it.

To anyone affected who is reading - I'm really sorry you had to find out this way.

As recently as 8th May 2007 a special evensong was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Chichester SPCK bookshop. The Bishop of Chichester preached, and his sermon is here as a pdf (I'd link to the Chichester Cathedral website but it uses frames). A short extract:
I am glad of this opportunity to honour the fiftieth anniversary of The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in Chichester and the very distinguished service given by Barbara Scott over very many years. Not only have I benefited greatly from the bookshop itself and from Barbara's own expertise and knowledge and that of her colleagues, but I also have a rather personal reason for being grateful to be standing here today. Twenty-five years ago this year (when SPCK was celebrating its first quarter century in St Olave's Church) I was installed as Bursalis Prebendary in this Cathedral, a stall which had, not many years previously, been occupied by William Kemp Lowther-Clarke, long-time editorial secretary and distinguished historian of the Society.

According to its mission statement, SPCK exists
"to promote Christian knowledge
by communicating the Christian faith in its rich diversity,
helping people to understand it and develop their personal faith
and equipping Christians for mission and ministry."

SPCK bookshops: the hidden music

2007-11-08T23:32:00.000Z

The staff at the SSG (formerly SPCK) bookshops are forbidden from using a wide range of music at 'events', as this short segment from the new contract shows.

I think the musicians in our midst would be doing a service to the bookshop community if they were to come up with some music suitable for use at SSG bookshop events. These are my guidelines for such a composition:

• Singing looks as if it is OK, as long as it is done in a non-secular manner. The minute you stray into secularism you're in trouble.
• No rapping, but perhaps we could have some spoken words here and there like on old country and western records. You know the kind of thing.
• Drumming or percussion is out, unless it uses a piano. An odd but welcome exclusion clause. This loophole could I think form the basis of our composition - we could have a whole troupe of people drumming on pianos. I can see the video now.
• I've tried to find out what 'a-tonal' music is but failed. Beware of a-tonalism is all I can say. You think you can dabble in it, but it'll get you in the end.
• And you people who are thinking of using a 'boom box' whilst doing some dancing and singing operatically. No no no!

There may be a short break in transmission whilst some of us head off to the recording studio.

Leicester SPCK goes independent

2007-11-08T19:55:00.001Z

Some good news at last. The Leicester SPCK Shop has gone independent. It will henceforth trade under the name 'Christian Resources' - the new website is here.

I found the following press release on the St Paul's Oadby blog:

SPCK Bookshop, 10 Bishop Street Leicester

We are pleased to announce that from the 1st November 2007 ownership of the SSGCT/SPCK bookshop in Leicester is transferred to Reverend Peter Hebden.
As a consequence we shall once again be able to emphasize the ethos of SPCK and will trade under the name of CHRISTIAN RESOURCES.

The address and telephone numbers remain unchanged but there will be an increase in the use of e-mails for facilitating credit accounts for parishes. Thus the preferred method of ordering, invoicing and statement production for parish accounts will progressively use e-mail thus dramatically reducing the amount of paper being used. There is no need to travel into Leicester just telephone or e-mail your needs.

We are determined to retain and improve this Christian resource centre by serving those whose mission is necessarily rooted in the parishes. For this to succeed and be a foundation for the future we would like all P.C.C.'s to consider if they can use our facility even more than they do at present.

Please contact us (by e-mail if possible) and allow us to open a credit account for your parish even if you may not use it for a while.

Tel; 01162854499 e-mail; peter at christianresourcesleicester.com

Best wishes from Peter, Janette, Harriet, Alison and Helen.

Also this letter from the Bishop of Leicester, Bishop Tim. Once again thanks to Revd Simon (who incidentally I met at the Christian Blog Awards) on the St Paul's Oadby blog:

I am delighted to add my support and encouragement to this courageous initiative that Peter Hebden is taking to keep the SPCK Bookshop ethos and resource available to us in this Diocese. It is vital that we all maintain our reading and awareness of Christian issues and the presence of a high quality Christian bookshop at the heart of the Diocese is a matter of real interest to all Christians. We owe it to Peter to do our best to support this initiative and to ensure that it does not fail.

+Tim

Well done to these people and to the Diocese for making this happen. If you are local please do publicise and support it.

Let us hope that similar arrangements might be possible in other Dioceses.

Durham Cathedral SPCK

2007-11-03T20:29:00.002Z

There has been drama at the Durham Cathedral Shop, one of the former SPCK shops. This is the Press release from St Stephen the Great (thanks to Annie):

SAINT STEPHEN THE GREAT ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT CHANGE AT ITS DURHAM CATHEDRAL SHOP
Mrs. Carole Burrows, manager of the Durham Cathedral Shop, has resigned her position, effective 31 October 2007. According to Mark Brewer, chairman and CEO, "Mrs. Burrows served the charity with competence and aplomb, and she will be greatly missed by the staff and customers of the shop." He said that the charity had agreed to transfer the operations of the Cathedral Shop to Mrs. Burrows and expressed regret that this had not gone through. Saint Stephen the Great's president, Mr. Phil W. Brewer will serve as interim manager of Durham Cathedral Shop which is the flagship shop of the chain. Meanwhile, qualified candidates are being actively sought and interviewed for the position of permanent manager. In 2006, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge transferred ownership of the Durham Cathedral Shop as well as 22 other shops to Saint Stephen the Great. Commenting on the Durham shop Mark Brewer said, "Saint Stephen the Great considers it a great privilege to serve as the 'face' of Durham Cathedral through our operation of the Cathedral Shop. We seek to be a part of the pastoral ministry to both the Cathedral's visitors and to the employees of the Cathedral Shop." Saint Stephen the Great is an Orthodox Christian lay charity. It aims to share Jesus Christ's love and saving grace in a society suffering from the stress of a modern world engulfed by secularism. It seeks to do this by distribution of Christian literature and restoration of redundant churches for Orthodox Christian worship.

However, from the comments elsewhere on this site, Pax Vobiscum gives a different view:

A press release was issued on 2 November 2007 by J. Mark Brewer stating that 'Mrs Carole Burrows, manager of the Durham Cathedral Shop, has resigned her position, effective 31 October 2007.'

He then goes on to say some gushing things about Mrs Burrows qualities (so true, she is a brilliant bookseller and caring person) and that the charity had agreed to transfer the operations of the Cathedral Shop to Mrs Burrows and expressed regret that this had not gone through.

HOWEVER - and you knew that was coming - this is not the case at all. Mrs Burrows, who was trying to work with her solicitors on a proper affordable deal to take over the shop - a deal instigated by the Brewers and not by her - was told by Mr M Brewer that she must either accept his deal (with no amendments) or clear her desk within the hour. As the deal offered was not affordable she didn't have much choice. That is not resigning - that is being sacked.

So, 2 members of the staff representative body who were trying to work with ACAS on legal contracts have now been booted out.

I think you will be hearing more about this story in coming days, if not hours.

Also from veritas in the comments below:

The Brewers say that Carol Burrows has resigned. I saw the press release. Carole says she was fired. Being told to "clear your desk and take nothing with you" does not sound like a resignation to me. Nobody who has spent time with Carole can imagine that she's a quitter. She stood up for part-time workers who were set, via the new contract, to become casual workers with enormous financial ramifications for them. And nobody should doubt that Carole has been anything but loyal to the SPCK cause. I'm left wondering why the Brewers need to be advertising for a new manager? Do they want another "yes boss" person in charge so that the shop can be further decimated and will that new person be on the forum discussing new contracts. Oh dear, I forgot! Durham is special isn't it - apparently whoever is in charge can delete the directives sent via e-mail to other bookshops because "Durham is the jewel in the crown." Well the jewel in the crown has books on the shelves face up rather than spine up so that the shelves can look full. Some jewel!

Some further news. Nigel Oakley launched his book, "Engaging Politics?" in the bookshop. By all accounts it was a fantastic evening thanks to the staff members who stayed behind after working hours without pay. It's what dedicated people do. Unfortunately, the bookshop staff could not order the book because the publishers had not been paid. Nigel had to buy copies himself and the bookshop had to pay him. This is no secret. Bishop Tom Wright told this to the synod members today. Bishop Tom is launching a book at the Durham shop soon. Wonder if he'll have to buy copies too?

I don't think this is the last we will hear of this story.

Surprisingly, given that it is 'the flagship shop of the chain', the Durham shop does not currently appear on the map on the bookshops page of the SPCKOnline site:

The red arrow is mine by the way. Oddly though it does appear on the SPCK Bookshops site. I've no idea whether this has significance.

On a related but probably less important note the web address www.durhamcathedralshop.co.uk was registered by the Dean and Chapter of Durham cathedral on the 29th of October just gone, perhaps because they thought the shop was about to turn independent. It is only being used for email thus far though - the web address doesn't bring up a webpage.

[You'll get these results if you put the domain into any domain registrar website (and have nothing better to do):]
Domain name:
durhamcathedralshop.co.uk

Registrant:
The Dean & Chapter of Durham Cathedral

Registrant's address:
Chapter Office
The College
Durham
DH1 3EH
GB

Registrar:
Onyx Internet Ltd [Tag = ONYX]
URL: http://www.onyx.net

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 29-Oct-2007
Renewal date: 29-Oct-2009

SPCK reports (latest)

2007-11-02T16:28:00.001Z

I'd like to keep SPCK and the places where it is being talked about at the top of the blog over the weekend, as it is what most people are coming here for at the moment. (Scroll down if you'd prefer an in-depth discussion on the subject of 'heaps' in 2 Chronicles, and scroll down further to advise me on my recent accidental purchase of a low quality folding bicycle.)

OK, SPCK:
• My own blog entries: Save the SPCK
• Church Times report: SPCK rift widens: shops renamed; trustees resign
• Response to the Church Times report from the Brewers (printed on MetaCatholic): The SPCK saga and Texan "Orthodoxy"
• Bookseller article: Schism develops at troubled SPCK
• Ship of Fools thread: "SPCK" book shops
• Facebook Group: A group for all those people who mourn the tragic demise of SPCK Bookshops (Over 50 members in one day)

I'll add more if they become available.

Also:
• Clem Jackson of Christian Marketplace would like to talk to people who have knowledge of what is going on. I can vouch that he is a trustworthy individual who is not going to take your words out of context etc. His contact info is here.

• Someone asked in a comments thread below whether anyone has a SSG contract so we can see what has been going on in terms of that side of things. Well, I'm sure someone has, but not me. I'm not sure whether I or whoever gave me the said document would be in any sort of legal hot (or even lukewarm) water if I was to publish one. I suspect possibly so.

The future of the SPCK shops

2007-11-01T00:01:00.003Z

From today (1st November) I understand that the SPCK shops will cease to trade under the SPCK name. I have had a report in the comments to a previous post that they will be trading as 'SSG'. I don't know whether that means as the letters 'SSG' or as 'St Stephen the Great'. We will find out very soon. I have been told that all SPCK logos and carrier bags (like the one above) will be removed from one shop, and therefore one assumes all of them, today.

Information has been hard to come by, but I really am quite surprised (actually very surprised) that no-one else seems to be reporting on this. As far as I am aware there have not, at the time of writing, been any media reports on this week's developments. (Update: There has since been more written elsewhere - see towards the end of this post.) A thread on Anglican 'Mainstream' has been posted, where, incidentally one poster wrote "it seems the Cartoon Blog has a less than 'orthodox' agenda about this issue?"

Lots of things are still uncertain. The main question is of course what is now going to happen to each of the shops. But I'm also wondering, for instance, what will happen to the website for the SPCK shops and the SPCK Online site.

It is clear from the comments here on the blog on the various SPCK posts that a lot of people feel very sad and angry about what has happened. Please spare a moment to say a prayer for those involved, particularly those who work in the shops. If you live near one of the shops why not pop in and, I don't know, take them some chocolate or something. Better than nothing.

My opinion is that those of us who can should continue to support the shops with our trade despite the uncertainty. If we don't then there really is no future for them.

One theme has come up a number of times in the comments: The SPCK Governing body have some very serious questions to answer about the way the shops were transferred to the new owners. As a first step the Governing body really should be making some sort of public statement about the immediate changes so that we know for certain what is going on. Silence isn't good enough here. In the longer run I hope that there will be some means by which some of the difficult questions can be asked.

I do have some information about developments in some of the individual shops, but I'm not posting information at the moment as (1) I have no way of verifying much of it and (2) I do not want to prejudice arrangements that may be being put into place. It is likely that some of these changes will become apparent very soon. If anyone directly involved would like me to make any developments known as they occur then please do get in touch.

There are doubtless some people reading who are wondering why I keep going on about this and wish I'd get back to posting nonsensical drawings. To my mind this is why it matters:

Why does any of this matter? Because the shops still employ some wonderful, talented people who are being treated very poorly. Because the shops were safe places for Christians of all denominations and people of no faith to meet, discover new and more challenging aspects of theology, discuss, debate and explore. They were 'fresh expressions of church' before the term was a cliché. Because many of our most thoughtful, dynamic and provocative Christian publishers would struggle to exist without the support from these shops. If they close, if their stock breadth is reduced, then informed, intelligent Christian debate will begin to be stifled in this country and new, challenging authors will find it harder to get their work published.

In short, the fall of the SPCK Bookshops means the triumph of knuckle-headed fundamentalism and a crushing of openness to the true, radical, empowering spirit of the living God.

To read all the posts on this site about SPCK from May 2006 until now click the Save the SPCK category. The various comments threads on the recent SPCK posts contain a lot more information than I've posted here, though I must emphasise that I have no way of verifying the accuracy of everything posted.

I will post updates on this post if there are any. I am away from the computer for much of the day so such updates and comment moderation may be slow.

Update: A Facebook group has been created - see the comment below.

Further Update: (1st November pm) The situation is confused. At least one Bookshop is operating entirely as normally, with the same signs, the same bags and the SPCK name given over the telephone to describe the shop. As has been pointed out in the comments the SPCK Online site is using the SPCK name in conjunction with the SSG one, describing them as the "Saint Stephen the Great SPCK Bookshops". I have no idea whether the top bods at SPCK have allowed this, but from the homepage it would appear not:

In October 2006, the SPCK Bookshops were transferred to another charity, the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG), who run them independently of SPCK.

SSG will not in future be using the SPCK name for these shops.

The link from the SPCK homepage to the SPCK Bookshops has been removed.

In other news, there is a thread on the Ship of Fools.

Additional Update: (2nd November AM)
Church Times article: SPCK rift widens: shops renamed; trustees resign
The Bookseller: Schism develops at troubled SPCK

Additional Further Update: (2nd November PM)
MetaCatholic has the text of a letter responding to today's Church Times report: The SPCK saga and Texan "Orthodoxy". They are unhappy with SCM-Canterbury Press.

Licence for the SPCK name is withdrawn from the bookshops

2007-10-30T00:03:00.001Z

May I draw your attention to two comments that have been left on my site today:

Pax Vobiscum:

So, SPCK's AGM came and went with nary a murmur. The usual suspects in the Governing Body got away without censure on their appalling decision to hand over £6million worth of assets to be systematically stripped by the brothers Brewer. Several shops have declared UDI, including the brightest and best star in the firmament. SPCK has agreed not to continue with the license for the name and those shops where SSG does not hold the freehold stand a good chance of fading into distant memory. Meanwhile, those shops where SSG does hold the freehold could be in for a very interesting time indeed. It is enough to make you weep into your incense-infused orthodox coffee, served in a an agate cup hand-carved by nuns in Texas.

Let us hope that the shops that go independent can build a good, workable model to keep resourcing their communities - we must support them where we can. Meanwhile, prayers and cheery words for all the staff who are left.

Thomas:

Come Wednesday, when the current license expires, they will no longer be able to use the SPCK name on their shops. What name they do trade under remains to be seen - I withhold offering suitable suggestions!! The Brewers have managed to systematically strip the leading Christian bookshops of their reputation, their standing, the respect they held amongst clergy, laity and the wider Christian publishing and retail trade, as well as completely destroying the morale of, or losing altogether, the highly experienced and dedicated staff who have built up the reputation However, the blame cannot be placed entirely on the shoulders of the Brewers. Those within SPCK who took the original decision to hand over their assets to a group of unknowns are also to blame.

Mark Brewer did not get his wish to be elected to SPCK at their AGM, in fact I am told the motion was not even put. Furthermore, I am told Simon Kingston and Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester, have both withdrawn from acting as trustees to SSG. Such was the Bishop of Gloucester's assurance 12 months ago that he would serve as a trustee to ensure SSG maintained the reputation of the bookshops. Did not Pilate wash his hands?

A meeting the week before last between 4 of the staff, Mark Brewer and ACAS resulted in, you will not be surprised to hear, nothing constructive. The following Monday, the shops represented by those 4 members of staff had their e-mail disconnected. Suppliers have been told under no circumstances are they to send stock to certain named shops (not that they would do until outstanding bills were paid) two of which are in the process of, or have, negotiated a buyout. Presumably the fate of the remaining shops will be revealed within a matter of weeks, if not days.

Please note that I have no means of verifying the accuracy of every detail of these comments, but I am drawing attention to them as they are both by people who know a great deal more than I do.

SPCK boss steps in to run the Exeter shop

2007-10-16T13:04:00.002+01:00

SPCK boss Phil Brewer is running the Exeter SPCK shop himself, according to this report in the Exeter Express and Echo website. This is, if you remember, all to do with the fact that the staff all walked out as they were being made to sign contracts that some staff members have described as 'unsignable'. See the 'Save the SPCK' category on this blog for the whole story over the last year or two.

I know that one or two journalists have been finding it difficult to contact Mr Brewer, the boss of SPCK. Well, here is your chance. Phone up the Exeter shop with an enquiry about the latest brands of incense and it looks as if you might get to speak to the man himself. Actually, you would do well to vary your initial enquiry subjects a bit. Some of you could ask about palm crosses or bulk orders of 'Two ways to live'.

Update: Ruth Gledhill has posted. See also a very interesting comment from (I assume) an insiders perspective by 'Pax Vobiscum' on her previous post.

The staff of SPCK Exeter resign

2007-10-11T15:12:00.003+01:00

From the Express and Echo in Exeter:
One of Exeter's oldest shops is facing upheaval after all its staff resigned in a row over new contracts. All seven employees with the SPCK bookshop, in Catherine Street, handed in their notice and are due to work their last day on Saturday.

Of course this won't be news to you if you have been following the comments thread from my last SPCK post where Neil posted the same thing yesterday. I don't know whether other shops are facing a similar situation.

Other SPCK news:
• In Christian Marketplace an article 'Concern rising over SPCK bookshops' which quotes the Church Times article 'SPCK shop staff voice concerns about their future'.
• The Truro shop is apparently closing 'next week' according to a commenter, but I only have second hand knowledge about this.
• Sadly it is not proving possible to order items from certain well-known Christian publishers in certain SPCK branches. I've no idea how widespread this problem is.

The future looks uncertain. In the meantime the best we can do is heed the advice of Richard, a former SPCK bookshop manager who posted in the last comments thread:
Please pray for my former colleagues, especially those still working in the bookshops, and please support them any way you can - cream cakes are always welcome.

Update: Western Morning News - Shop staff resign in contracts row

Someone, please buy the SPCK bookshops

2007-09-30T00:30:00.001+01:00

Somebody needs to buy the SPCK chain of bookshops, and quickly.

This is from my friend Neil, who has just handed in his notice:

Handed in my notice just in time, I have found out that our owners want to run each shop with just one person, and as they presented us with an unsignable (by which I mean only an idiot would sign it, not that it is printed on ink-proof paper) contract they will be lucky if they have enough staff left to run any shops at all. It has nearly been a month since we have been allowed to place a stock order and the shop is running out of stuff. In fact I predict that in a few months the shops won't exist at all, hundreds of years of bookselling torn apart in one year, very sad.

Things really are that bad. I know some people reading are not affected by this and so don't really care, but for those who have books / resources / newspapers and suchlike of interest to Anglicans and others it really is bad news.

Wesley Owen? Hymns Ancient and Modern? CPO? Premier? Anyone!

SPCK staff must work Sundays

2007-05-18T20:50:00.002+01:00

More odd goings-on have been going on at the SPCK bookshops. Ruth Gledhill has the text of some memos sent out by the management to the shops - see her two posts today: 'If you go down to an SPCK bookshop today' and 'Why
Christians must work on the Sabbath'. The staff are apparently being asked to work on Sundays, greet all customers within 3 seconds, and all sorts of other crazy things.

I've been aware, from various contacts, of some absurd goings-on at SPCK recently, but I hadn't written here for the sake of my highly secret sources, who understandably want to remain nameless and employed. But if true these latest missives really do take, as they say, the biscuit. I suspect the Sunday-working one is illegal too, depending on the fine print.

Meanwhile, I noticed at the Christian Resources Exhibition that the main Anglican publishers have banded together to form AnglicanShop.com. This will be an online shop for Anglican things.

I spoke to one of the new managers of this site at the CRE who just happens to be moving from a certain chain of Christian bookshops, but I can't tell you which one.

Apparently the shop will feature 'interactive' elements. I'm not sure what this means, but perhaps we will be able to talk to each other whilst we are shopping. I suppose it will be a bit like talking to fellow shoppers in Tescos and asking them which particular ready meals they have enjoyed recently.

Update: Ruth has taken down the two posts for some reason. I'll try to find out why.

St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust

2006-12-06T12:39:00.002Z

My SPCK cartoon appears in this month's Christian Marketplace magazine, which is nice.

I've been keeping an eye on the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust / SPCK story as it intrigues me and I am interested to see what happens. It did not
surprise me to read that the Trust have instructed their shops not to stock the Koran, as they are not overly enthusiastic about the Muslim faith. It remains to be seen whether Christian denominations they also are not terribly enthusiastic about will be less represented or removed from the SPCK shelves.

The controversial 'St Stephen Foundation' website which talks about these dubious denominations in quite strong terms has now been deleted from the internet, although you can still see it via archive.org.

One of the aims of the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust which I hadn't quite noticed until now is to take over at least 47 redundant Church of England Churches, one for each of the 47 churches and monasteries St Stephen the Great built to celebrate his battle victories against the Muslims:

Perhaps of equal or greater significance to this great saint's life is that he built many churches and monasteries, one after each of his 47 successful battles against the Moslems, including many of the most beautiful monuments to Orthodoxy in the entire world.

This struggle for the Faith is being waged primarily by the acquisition of the "redundant" church buildings of the Church of England. In this, its second year, the trust has succeeded in acquiring fee title to its second magnificent church building (both are listed buildings). In the years to come, it aspires to acquire at least 45 more. I find this a fairly unsavoury symbolic gesture I have to say.

I find it all a bit sad as I remain a great fan of the SPCK bookshops themselves.

Update: Joe asked in the comments whether we should stop supporting the SPCK bookshops. My answer is no. I think we should continue to support SPCK shops for the following reasons:

• I think the good the shops and the books sold through them do outweighs the strange and dubious objectives of the owners.
• I want to support the staff, some of whom I know.
• I suspect that once this chain is gone it really is gone and I can't see anything similar replacing it. At least if we continue to support SPCK there remains the chance that it will be taken over by someone we are able to support more wholeheartedly.

The SPCK takeover (continued)

2006-10-22T11:37:00.002+01:00

Two good points in the comments from yesterday's post:

Are the shops safeguarded?
Well, yes and no. As Neil pointed out, the SPCK shops are only 'safeguarded' if people keep buying things from them, a point that I should have made.

Who are the people who now run SPCK anyway?
Joe did a bit more digging around than I did yesterday and came up with some interesting snippets of information on the St Stephen Foundation website, which seems to be linked with the St Stephen Trust, the people who have taken over the SPCK shops. Interesting beliefs listed on their 'Why Orthodoxy' page include:
• The Orthodox Church is the only true church:
• Since the time of Saint Peter, the Orthodox Church has remained unaltered with seamless continuity. Established in A.D. 33 at the time of Pentecost, it is the only church true to the Word of God, and therefore, the only one that offers true salvation and eternal life.
• Certain Christians, the precise identity of whom is uncertain (but they could be evangelicals or perhaps protestants generally), are going to hell:
• In the United States of America, people are flocking back to what they believe is Christianity but, in reality, they are being misled by false prophets - a blind man. They are persuaded to join "Feel-Good" churches where they are told they will be saved by making a donation and saying a few simple words. Unfortunately, many of these are "feel good" churches are established just to make the management rich, or where the minister actually believes his own message, they are leading poor misguided souls into eternal damnation - both will fall into the pit.
• The Roman Catholic church is not 'the true church of Christ':
• One hundred and fifty thousand souls convert or revert back to the Roman Catholic faith each year in the USA. In their misguided belief, they assume that this is the true Church of Christ.

As Joe says, how are they going to feel about stocking Protestant or Roman Catholic literature?

The Orthodox take on SPCK

2006-10-21T12:21:00.002+01:00

Orthodox charity St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust are to take over the SPCK bookshop chain, which you might remember from my campaign earlier in the year.

This is splendid news as it means the future of the shops has been safeguarded.

Thanks to Neil for passing on the news.

Comment from an SPCK employee

2006-05-05T11:37:00.003+01:00

Father Richard, an SPCK employee has commented on my original post about the SPCK bookshops. I thought the comment well worth drawing to your attention:

Perhaps it is time for an SPCK employee to add a few comments. Firstly, thank you for this initiative, and for the chance to hear what people think of us. Yes, the SPCK Bookshops are an imperfect bunch, with their own idiosyncracies. We don't see ourselves as a chain because each branch is so different - it exists to respond to the needs of the local community. We all buy our own stock based on how we perceive that need. So it is hard to generalise about what SPCK keeps on its shelves.

One of the reasons that WO eventually realised that a merger was not going to work was probably because we were all so determined to keep both our breadth of stock and our ability to control our own buying. We exist to promote Christian knowledge in its rich diversity.

Yes, Amazon is hurting our business (although we also sell some of the more unusual secondhand stock on Amazon as well), but the time has passed to moan about that. The biggest problem SPCK has had has been that it simply doesn't have the money necessary to invest in developing the shops.

Yes, too many mediocre books are published - as shops we have to do some of the work editing out the dross without restricting our customers opportunities to find what they need. There are also too many Christian bookshops competing in a dwindling market. If SPCK is to survive then it must be because it is offering what is really needed.

I take issue with those who see us as just stocking populist titles on spiritual warfare. I've never stocked anything like that (we have a WO on the same street we can refer people to), but promote the likes of Robert Beckford, Gordon Lynch, Callum Brown, Timothy Radcliffe, Leonard Sweet, Hans Urs von Balthasar, John Shelby Spong, Tina Beattie and Elizabeth Stuart. The strength of a shop over the internet should be the ability to browse, to try something different and, hopefully to mix with other people with similar interests and differing views.

What worries me, as a bookseller and as a parish priest, is how much harder it is becoming to engage people in thinking about their faith, in exploring it, pushing at the boundaries, growing a deeper knowledge of Christ. Sales of good quality Biblical commentaries are minimal. Hardly anyone wants to really get to know the Bible in depth. All the stuff on 'new ways of being church' has stiffed as much as anything because many people aren't prepared to accept that the world has moved on. DVD material, with the honourable exception of the Nooma series, has been risible in its content. And the trouble with Greenbelt is that is only once a year!

Finally, the problems SPCK are having reflect wider problems in the churches. Too many of us are still stuck looking inwards. Yes, we have a big responsibility to our Christian communities but if we don't work hard on bringing the Word to the rest of the high street then we are not doing justice to the Gospel.

There is also a comment from Clive Wright, chairman of the governing body of SPCK in today's Church Times. I can't type it out in full as I need to do some work, but it includes:

May I make it clear that the trustee Governing Body of SPCK has taken no decisions about the future of its shops; the Society is a charity with a modest income that is insufficient to meet large operating deficits. We must therefore consider carefully the future of each shop, endeavouring to take account of our responsibilities to our staff, or mission and the wider Christian community. Our aim will be to preserve as many outlets as possible consistent with our limited resources.

See also Save the SPCK! and the SPCK song.

The SPCK song

2006-05-04T11:51:00.005+01:00

The 'Save the SPCK' campaign continues. John and (one assumes) the good folks from Sprowston have recorded the SPCK song! It is about 1mb. Fantastic.

Meanwhile at least 20 bloggers have added the SPCK cartoon to their sites, thereby indicating their support for the campaign. There has been a great debate in the comments section too. It pleases me that such a diverse bunch feel that they want to comment on this blog. I really do appreciate it.

I have added a 'Save the SPCK' category to the blog, so that all posts on the subject are in one easy to find place.

So, where do we go from here? I think we need some evangelists to take the campaign to new mission fields. Post your ideas here!*

*I am using a lot of exclamation marks these days. This is not usual for me. It is to convey my enthusiasm.

Save the SPCK!

2006-05-03T09:57:00.006+01:00

The SPCK bookshops are on the brink of closure. So says a report in the Church Times.

"So what?" I hear you ask. Well, I think it is a shame. SPCK shops are, in many parts of the UK the only place where Christian books of a non-evangelical nature are stocked. This has got to be bad news for anyone like myself who is producing literature of interest to the broader Christian community rather than just the evangelical sector. It is true that at the moment I don't have a book and I'm not selling my cards though SPCK, but both of those could change (or could have changed) in the future.

I might add that it is not only SPCK who are having problems. Wesley Owen have announced they are to close their flagship store in central London. To quote their spokesman:

"Every time someone buys from Amazon, rather than from a bookshop, that is another nail in the coffin of a Christian retailer."

So, what can we do about this?
• Somebody could record a song.
• If you know a benevolent benefactor see whether you can persuade them to buy the SPCK.
• Support your local SPCK (though it may be too late for that)
• Join my one man campaign by adding this cartoon to your blog using this code:

Update:
Let's list the bloggers supporting the campaign.
Serena
Sam of Redwelly fame
Jack the Lass
Ian of the Youthblog
Neil "I will personally miss a friendly shop that actually changed my life."
Rosamundi
Never conforming
Urban Army
Musings, by Miffy
Dolphy
Tractorgirl
Connexions
Mad Teacher
the last burnt sienna crayon
Soprano Helen
The Days are Just Packed
Good in Parts
onmebus
Deep Thought
The librarians tangents
robert marshall
think bubbles
Three Chord Wonder
Christian Bookshops - News
Of course, I could be wrong
The Complex Christ
A Curious Girl
Thoughtful Christian

Update: You can find all posts relating to the SPCK campaign by clicking the Save the SPCK category.