February 25, 2011

News Roundup: Celebrating 10 Years Online | Commentaries Sale at Wesley Owen | More Shops Seeking New Owners | More Than Another Day of Prayer | New Blog for Caritas Music

Posted by Phil Groom under Cardiff, Christian Book Trade, Christian Bookshops, Christian Music, Independent Booksellers, News, Wesley Owen | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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UK Christian Bookshops Directory: Discover your local Christian bookshop!

Celebrating 10 Years Online!

GOT NEWS? If you have news you’d like to share about your shop or staff, please leave a comment or contact me direct to be included in the next News Roundup…

Don’t want to comment here? Join the conversation on facebook instead…

Celebrating 10 Years Online

THIS YEAR sees both the UK Christian Bookshops Directory and The Good Bookstall celebrating our tenth anniversaries: UKCBD was launched 10 years ago this month, in February 2001, whilst TGB was launched 10 years ago next month, March 2001 — and what an amazing 10 years it’s been!

We’ve seen STL expand its territory, Prayer-of-Jabez style, only to see the whole edifice here in the UK come tumbling down when they did a builder-who-didn’t-count-the-cost routine; we’ve seen the destruction of the SPCK Bookshops chain in the hands of the gruesome twosome, Messrs Phil and Mark Brewer; we’ve seen dozens of independent bookshop closures; and we’ve seen Christian Marketplace go from being a monthly independent magazine to a bi-monthly, surviving only as a subsidiary of another giant, the Premier Christian media empire.

We’ve also seen the phenomenal rise of online Christian bookseller Eden.co.uk, the emergence of the ebook and yet — in the face of all these challenges — many shops rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of those destructions, an important reminder if ever we needed one that God isn’t interested in our ambitions and empires, no matter how much we persuade ourselves that it’s God’s kingdom we’re building — because our God, the God we meet in Jesus, isn’t ultimately found in huge presences or high profiles but is revealed rather in small and hidden things, babies born in poverty, bookshops in backstreets and market halls, and bookstalls at the back of forgotten churches. We strive for ‘Mission on the High Street’ but God calls us to mission wherever we are, with whatever we have.

5 Quid for Life: A Mental Health Safety Net

5 Quid for Life

At UKCBD, I’m celebrating 10 years with a simple commitment: over the next year a minimum of 10% of all UKCBD income will be donated to the new up-and-coming charity 5 Quid for Life: A Mental Health Safety Net. It’s a project that I’ve been privileged to be part of from the outset, emerging out of a friend’s desperation as she poured out her heart over the disruption the current government’s changes to the UK benefits system would have on her. If you haven’t already done so, read about it here: Welcome to 5 Quid for Life; and if you’d like to make a donation, you can do so here: 5quidforlife.org.uk/#donate

For further reflections on the changes the last ten years have wrought, see Mary Bartholomew’s latest Good Bookstall editorial; and as we celebrate 10 years online, congratulations must also go to Luke Bunger and his team at one of those small independents, The Hub, Walsall, as they celebrate their first anniversary after surviving the collapse of Wesley Owen … talking of which…

Commentaries Sale at Wesley Owen

THANK YOU to Wesley Owen Birmingham for letting me know about their commentaries sale: 25% off all commentaries; but anyone wanting a slice of the cake needs to move fast — offer ends tomorrow, Saturday 26th February. Available from all branches and online too!

Meanwhile congratulations are due to the inimitable David Chant, former WO Birmingham branch manager, who has moved on into ‘semi-retirement’ from where he should be able to spend a little more time promoting Planet BB. Have you ordered your stock yet? David’s itching to hear from you…

More Shops Seeking New Owners

CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOPS seeking new owners seems to be a trending topic at the moment. This time around we have two, The Ark, Lymington, and Cardiff Christian Bookshop.

The Ark, Lymington

Shop For Sale: The Ark, Lymington

THE ARK is a Christian Bookshop and Café which opened its doors in 2004 and has gone on to serve the local community and churches ever since, but owner Ginny Ayling now wishes to retire and hand on the business to someone else: sale price £325,000, Freehold. Could that someone be you or someone you know?

The shop is well loved and supported by the local people. Describing the shop, the Revd Peter Salisbury, Vicar of Lymington, said:

The Ark is an important part of the Christian outreach in Lymington and is an excellent central meeting place. All the volunteers are from the local churches and the bookshop gives advice and an ordering service, which we use for our personal and church orders. The Café, which is always buzzing at lunchtime, has a very high reputation and offers friendly and personal service plus gorgeous food – I’m usually in there about once a week!

Download the Particulars of Sale or an A4 Sale Poster (both pdfs) if you’d like to know more or would like to help promote the sale.

CARDIFF CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOP is currently owned and operated by the Evangelical Movement of Wales, who have reluctantly concluded that they can no longer support the shop. From the shop’s February Prayer Letter:

The Evangelical Movement of Wales has decided most reluctantly that it must bring its support of the Cardiff Christian Bookshop to an end. This is most regrettable since it has been such a witness in the heart of the city for almost 50 years. It is, however, very keen that the work and witness should continue and would actively invite Churches and other interested Christian groups to assume responsibility for it and to come forward with proposals for its future operation. The Movement is continuing to own and support the shop in the short term and the business will continue to function as usual.

The business costs around £55,000 per year to run in terms of staffing, rent and other expenses: download the February Prayer Letter (pdf) if you’d like to know more.

More Than Another Day of Prayer

8 Days of Prayer: Launching a Season of Prayer for Christian Retail in the UK

8 Days of Prayer: Launching a Season of Prayer for Christian Retail in the UK (pdf, 90kb)

JOY MCILROY of Ashburnham Books has been busy liaising with Clem Jackson at Christian Marketplace to draw up plans for another Day of Prayer for the trade — but this year it’s more than a day of prayer: the vision is for a season of prayer to run through Lent, starting on Ash Wednesday, 9th March. Announcement here: Day of Prayer for Christian Trade.

The announcement suggests sharing plans via the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group. Should you choose to do so, please note that that is a closed group, set up specifically to facilitate discussion within the trade away from the public eye — in other words, not the best forum to use if you wish to engage with others beyond the trade…

As with previous occasions I’ll be updating this site’s Day of Prayer page with news and updates as and when they emerge: please do feel free to post details of any plans there and to point members of the general public in that direction.

New Blog for Caritas Music

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, another birthday this month as Caritas Music turned 13 back on February 2nd and have now launched a brand new bright-and-shiny blog for Caritas Music / Eschenbach Editions, where you’ll soon find all the latest news appearing from these two independent music publishers.

Looking Back…

 

June 23, 2010

Dear Bob

Posted by Phil Groom under Book Reviews, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , |
1 Comment 

Dear BobDear Bob

Annie Porthouse
ISBN 9781859996331 (1859996337)
Scripture Union, 2003 (208pp)
£6.99

Category: Fiction
Subcategory: Christian
Reviewed by: Joy McIlroy

When asked to read and review Dear Bob by Annie Porthouse I did a little research in preparation. I was particularly concerned as this title has generally donned prime position in the ‘youth’ section in my shop and so I wondered whether I was qualified to take on the task. But on discovering that being an entertaining read for all ages and specifically aimed at those aged 18-30 I felt more relaxed. Whilst clinging on to this age bracket by my fingernails I felt confident diving right in.

The book is a work of fiction based around the main character, Jude, as she discovers the joys and challenges of freshers’ year at university. It is written in a diary style not dissimilar to such titles as Bridget Jones’ Diary and Theodora’s Diary (not forgetting the Sacred Diaries of Adrian Plass for those of you who can remember back that far!). Rather than being a diary, it is, in fact, a series of letters addressed to ‘Bob’, that elusive young man that all teenage girls think about every second of every day – my husband-to-be whom I have not actually identified yet! The book instantly appealed to me as I like prose that is laid out slightly differently: I find it keeps my attention and has the added advantage of breaking down the chapter into little chunks for those of us who don’t have time to sit for long periods of time to indulge in a bit of reading. We are taken on a journey through friendships, love interests, parental disputes, and ultimately a search for faith in a new and often lonely existence.

I want to congratulate Annie Porthouse! My personal university experience was rather short-lived, but within the pages of Dear Bob Annie has successfully captured every single emotion and experience that I had. This time in any young persons’ life is an amazing journey of discovery as they experience independence on a new level, but also how this independence impacts their friendships, relationship with parents and siblings, and also their faith. As well as being often full of good fun times and shared experiences that stay with you forever, it can also be a time of incredible pain as you juggle feelings of loneliness, home-sickness and soul-searching. When a young Christian enters this journey there is of course a level of discovery about faith and church which nothing in Sunday School has ever prepared you for. To travel with this character through her struggles and see a glimmer of hope emerge on the other side is incredibly gratifying and releasing, as well as good fun at times.

So who should read this book?… Well I came away very surprised at how much of the story I found I could relate to. There is obviously a lot of substance in the book that will appeal to those in their years following leaving school (whether heading to university or not). Also, those like myself who still have a glimmer of a memory of this experience will find it an entertaining journey down memory lane! But beyond the main character there are many others that have quite some depth and can speak into many situations. I found myself particularly drawn to the main characters’ older sister who is married and has 2 small children (the life phase I now find myself in). The author has managed to successfully portray the challenges that come to this character as well: emotional, psychological and physical experiences that can eventually take its toll in this tricky phase of life. I would also recommend it to any parents who have children leaving home. The experiences of the main character and the feelings alongside it are depicted incredibly accurately and so parents would do well to be prepared for these.

I personally found it hard to put this book down, mainly because it actually became a personal journey of discovery and healing as I reminisced about this time in my own life. I question its shelf-life based on its regular use of pop culture references, but it is a well written and fun book. Whilst leaving the reader satisfied that Jude will take on the rest of her university experience in a more positive place faith-wise, the question of the identity of ‘Bob’ is never revealed. So I shall be picking up the sequel Dear Jude shortly…

Joy McIlroy, June 2010

Joy McIlroy is manager of the bookshop at Ashburnham Place and is a frequent commenter on this blog.

Annie Porthouse’s blog, complete with revised and updated ‘Dear Bob’ study guides

Scripture Union | Order from your local Christian bookshop or www.christianbookshops.org

Authors | Categories | Publishers | Reviewers | Titles

Facebook discussions…

 

February 8, 2010

Day of Prayer: 26th March 2010

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements, Christian Bookshops, News | Tags: , , , |
[6] Comments 

Praying HandsCross-posted from Christian Marketplace:

Following the success of the first Day of Prayer last September, it is proposed to hold a second Day of Prayer for the UK Christian trade on Friday 26th March 2010.

The plan is for all parts of the Christian media industry, retailers, suppliers, distributors and customers, to gather together on that day to pray for our trade at a time, and in places, to suit as many people as possible.

Joy McIlroy, from Ashburnham bookshop, who started the ball rolling last year over the internet said, “Further to the recent Christian Resources Together Consultation Day and the break-up of IBS-STL UK, we felt it was right to come together once again in prayer to thank God for his provision and to seek his guidance as we move forward together.”

The suggestion is that the focus of prayer should be for all aspects of the trade as we seek to move forward post-Biblica – but with a special focus on the local Christian bookshop.

Clem Jackson, editor of ‘Christian Marketplace’, said, “At the Consultation Day we were challenged to pray for our trade, more regularly, and to listen to what God is saying to us. The Day of Prayer last September caught the imagination and attention of people in a way which I know surprised us all and is something which I believe we must continue with.”

In addition to the Day of Prayer for the trade, by the trade, it is hoped to open this up to the church at large by asking local churches to pray for the trade and particularly their local Christian bookshop, during their services on 28th March (Palm Sunday).

“The issue of local Christian bookshop has been the subject of articles in many local publications and even ‘The Times’ (‘The call goes out to keep Jesus on the High Street’ – Timesonline 17th January),” said Jackson. “We need to tap into, and develop, this increased awareness and get local congregations ‘on board’.”

This initiative provides another opportunity for bookshop managers to make contact with local church leaders and seek their support. “We suggest that bookshop managers contact their local church leaders with prayer pointers etc. to help this process,” said Jackson. “But equally, church leaders who are readers of this magazine are urged to take this initiative on themselves.”

Those who are able to host prayer events on 26th March are asked to contact the UK Christian Bookshops blog (http://christianbookshopsblog.org.uk/) to communicate their plans and also use Facebook and Twitter to get the message out.

As with last year’s Day of Prayer, a dedicated page has been set up for discussions relating to the day. If you plan to host an event, at your bookshop or elsewhere, please leave details in the comments on that page.

 

August 23, 2009

Date Announced for Day of Prayer: Friday 4th September 2009

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements | Tags: , , , |
[2] Comments 

Praying HandsThe following message was sent to all members of the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group this morning:

Friday 4th September – Day of Prayer for Christian Retail in the UK

James 1 v 5 says ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God.’

During the last 12 months of life in the Christian retail trade I’m sure many have been struggling to find wisdom in amongst many fears and frustrations. I know I have! When I took this concern to God he simply called me to pray and also to encourage others to do the same. I am sure that we all individually pray about our own part in the industry and for the industry as a whole but it is a good sign of our unity to come together. I have been overwhelmed by the support this call has received and so I urge you to join with me and others in our trade to set aside time when we can all pray together.

Many of us face concerns over our future and also for the future of our colleagues, but in order for us to stand together we must first kneel together, putting aside our irritations over any decisions that have been made or hurt that has been caused; bringing our petitions to God with one voice. This is also an opportunity to bring our thanksgiving to God for the many ways he has blessed the work of our hands and rejoice with those who are thankful.

Friday 4th September has been the day set aside for this. Any time that you can find during that day to pray would be great. However we ask you to pray at 10am or 3pm in the knowledge that others will be doing the same.

If you feel this is something you would like to join us in I would appreciate if you could do the following:

  1. Visit http://christianbookshopsblog.org.uk/day-of-prayer/ to let others know that you will be taking part.
  2. Pass the word on to any contacts you have in the industry, e.g. bookshop managers, staff and trustees; sales reps; colleagues. Ask them to also visit the website and email me at dayofprayer AT christianbookshops.org.uk so that they receive all the latest information for the day.
  3. If you have any specific prayer requests or things you are particularly thankful for that can be shared with others joining in the day please email them to me at the above email address. I will be producing a sheet to be distributed before the day which will aid us as we pray.
  4. Consider whether you could host a prayer gathering, where others local to you could join you for these hours. If you can, then let those around you know either by phone, email or through the website above.

For those of you in the South East you would be welcome to join me at Ashburnham Place just outside Battle in East Sussex (see www.ashburnham.org.uk for directions!). Between 5-7pm we will be gathering in the Prayer Centre to close our day with prayer and worship. If you would like to join us for this part of the day please let me know so we have an idea of numbers.

“I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Psalm 16v8.

Joy McIlroy
Ashburnham Bookshop

 

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