THE DEATH OF JOHN STOTT is undoubtedly a massive loss to the world of Christian bookselling and publishing as well as to the wider church. Please feel welcome to post any tributes to him here. (more…)
July 28, 2011
John Stott RIP
Posted by Phil Groom under People News | Tags: Christianity, In Memoriam, John Stott, Obituary |[6] Comments
October 21, 2010
Remembering Keith Jones
Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Bookshops, News, People News | Tags: Bournemouth, Colin Bailey, Information Request, Keith Jones, Obituary |Leave a Comment
On behalf of Keith Jones Christian Bookshop, Colin Bailey, former manager, writes:
Friends may be interested to know that Mr Keith Jones, the founder of Keith Jones Booksellers in Bournemouth, passed away recently, aged 97.
His career in the Christian book trade began over 50 years ago as manager of the local branch of Pickering & Inglis. When this was closed – and he was made redundant – he started his own small independent store which he managed until his retirement. The shop has grown over the years into one of the largest Christian bookshops in the UK with a local, national and international reputation.
The current partners and staff would like to express their sympathy to the family, and give thanks for his life and the opportunity we have to share in the ministry he started.
Any information, personal experiences and reminiscences regarding his remarkable life would be much appreciated. Please email them to kjinfo AT btconnect.com.
- Keith died in the early hours of Thursday October 14th and the funeral is to be held on October 27th, 2.30pm, at Charminster Chapel, Bournemouth.
October 6, 2010
Phil Grant RIP
Posted by Phil Groom under Guest Posts, People News | Tags: CLC, Obituary |[4] Comments
Phil Burnham, CLC National Director, writes:
Phil Grant, a much-respected long-term member of CLC International (UK), was called home peacefully on September 27th. He was undergoing a further cycle of chemotherapy and had been admitted to hospital the day before.
He and Pat, together with five year old Jon, began their service to the Church through CLC in February 1977. Phil gave up a very successful career in the retail TV trade to follow the Lord’s clear leading into CLC. He had previously served as a volunteer in the CLC Birmingham bookshop and it was there that he returned fulltime after the Candidate’s Course, which in those days was an amazing six months in length!
Phil’s retail experience proved invaluable and in due course he became Manager of the store. His business skills, but also more importantly his heart for people and their spiritual needs, soon became evident. He was an avid reader and was very often able to connect the customer with the right book at the right time.
Upon the retirement of Allan and Doris Race, Phil became Head of UK Retail in 1988, overseeing the 18 or so Christian bookshops that CLC had at that time. He had great ability in upgrading shops so that they became more efficient, and also had a real passion for the welfare of the personnel in each of the CLC centres. His management skills and pastoral care were much appreciated by the CLC fellowship and he and Pat were later appointed CLC UK National Directors, a position they held until 2005.
After stepping down from CLC UK leadership in 2005, Phil continued to serve in CLC’s Birmingham shop on a part time basis and this he enjoyed greatly, despite increasing ill health and the toll taht this took on his body. Passionate to the end about Christian literature, it is no surprise that it was less than two weeks before his homecalling on 27th September that he decided he could no longer continue volunteering part time in the Birmingham shop.
Phil also served for a time as a Trustee of both CLC International (UK) and CLC International Office and was also involved in other charitable work as a Trustee.
He is and will be sorely missed not only by his CLC colleagues but also by many who knew him in the trade.
Funeral Arrangements
Phil’s Burial and Celebration Service: Friday 8th October
- Dress code: minimal black – Phil loved colourful things!!
- The committal, at which all are welcome, will take place at 12pm at Westall Park Burial Ground, Holberrow Green, Redditch, Worcestershire B96 6JY Tel: 01386 792806.
- The cortege will depart from Pat’s house (address available on request: contact Phil Burnham) at 11am should you wish to follow us. The journey will take approximately 45 mins from there
- Should you wish to meet us directly at Westall Park, directions are available here: http://westallpark.homestead.com/Contactuslocation2.html
The committal will take around 15 mins, after which time we will head back to Oldbury for the Celebration Service at 1.30pm:
- Kings Community Church, Tame Road, Oldbury B68 OJP
- Parking is limited at the church and you will have to use the surrounding side streets and the Co-op car park (at your own risk!)
- A hot drink will be available upon arrival at the church between 1.00-1.30pm
- Celebration Service, at which all are welcome, will commence at 1.30pm. it will last approximately 1 hr 15 mins
- A buffet will follow in the Oaktree Centre adjoining the church
Donations in Memory of Phil
Rather than floral tributes, we would prefer financial donations which will be split equally between the following charities chosen by Pat: Bradbury House Day Hospice, CLC and Krunch (the charity of which Jon is the Director). If you wish to write a cheque, please make it payable to ‘Kings Community Church’ and hand it to the treasurer after the Celebration Service. He will distribute the funds accordingly thereafter.
September 24, 2010
Alban Books: Jane Grounsell Remembered
Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Suppliers, News, People News | Tags: Alban Books, Jane Grounsell, Obituary |[2] Comments
Elaine Reid, Alban Books, writes:
We are sad to report the untimely death of our MD Jane Grounsell after a two-year battle with cancer. Jane was a much-loved colleague who will always be remembered with love by all at Alban.
Jane was the most warm, friendly, charismatic, intelligent and inspiring lady who we were privileged to have at the head of our Alban Books’ team. We were so fortunate to have a Managing Director who was not only a fantastic colleague but a very dear friend as well and Jane buoyed our team on with her enthusiastic and optimistic attitude to life and work. Jane will be sadly missed.
I echo those words. I only knew Jane through our email exchanges but it was under Jane’s leadership that Alban Books became one of the first — and most generous — sponsors of the UK Christian Bookshops Directory. She had a tremendous gift of encouragement and will, indeed, be sadly missed.
A more complete obituary may be found in The Scotsman:
Obituary: Jane Grounsell, publisher, 56
Jane Grounsell, a well-known figure in Edinburgh’s small publishing community, has died, aged 56.
Born and raised in Leeds, Mrs Grounsell graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in zoology before taking up her first job as a picture researcher for Marshall Cavendish in London, working on the part-work encyclopaedia Tree of Knowledge.
Working in pre-internet days, when images were selected by looking at slides over afternoon tea, Mrs Groundsell [sic] excelled at her job, using her considerable charm and no-nonsense approach to befriend the eccentric ladies who managed some of the richer and more inaccessible picture libraries at the time.
She had a keen eye for the stunning photograph, which could both illustrate the text and be visually appealing, and it was not long before many of the illustrations from her Human Life strand were being used on the cover of the magazine…
April 24, 2010
Jeremy Mudditt RIP: The End of an Era for Paternoster Press
Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, News, People News | Tags: Carlisle, Obituary, Paternoster |[9] Comments
My thanks to Robin Parry, Editorial Director for Paternoster, for kind permission to reproduce the following message sent out by him to Paternoster’s authors this morning. I myself only had the privilege of meeting Jeremy once, when he helped co-ordinate a book launch at LST: he was the very model of courtesy and helpfulness, a kind and gracious man.
Robin writes:
Jeremy Mudditt – colleague, friend, and Christian brother – died on the morning of Wednesday 21st April at the Eden Valley Hospice in Carlisle. He was 71.
Jeremy was diagnosed with cancer of the colon just over a year ago and had secondary tumours in his liver. Four weeks ago his liver started to fail and he was admitted to the Infirmary in Carlisle and then to the Hospice.
The Funeral will be held at Carlisle Cathedral at 12:00 on Tuesday 27th April. Anyone who wishes to attend is most welcome to do so.
Please remember his family in your prayers. It is only six months since Jeremy’s beloved wife Meg died of cancer so the children have lost both parents in a short space of time.
I wanted to say a few words in honour of Jeremy who was, as all who knew him would agree, an extraordinary fellow – one of a kind.
Jeremy’s father, Howard Mudditt, founded The Paternoster Press in London back in 1935 and Jeremy lived in the shadow of Paternoster for literally all of his life. He joined the company in 1957 and replaced his father as its Managing Director in 1975. In 1988 heart problems required a lifestyle change and so he sold the business to STL who moved it up to Carlisle. Jeremy moved to Carlisle with Paternoster and continued to work freelance for it until recent months. So he has walked with Paternoster through its London period (1932-1962), the Exeter years (1962-1992), the Carlisle phase (1992-2004), and its more recent Milton Keynes incarnation (2004-present). He has been the ongoing link with our historic roots and his passing is literally the end of an era.
In his time Jeremy worked in just about every conceivable area of publishing: from commissioning to editing, typesetting to proofing, printing to warehousing, marketing to selling into shops (and even to working in bookshops). If you ever wanted to know about, say, the virtues and vices of various fonts or paper-types then Jeremy was the man! But far more than being a living encyclopaedia of publishing, Jeremy had a passionate faith in the triune God and saw the mission of Paternoster very much in terms of divine calling. This was not just business, it was mission!
Jeremy oversaw the launch of landmark books and series such as the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (1976) and the NIGTC commentaries (the first volume of which appeared in 1978). He also worked for many years on the production of various theological periodicals including Evangelical Quarterly. In recent years his passion was the blooming of the Paternoster monographs. He was instrumental in the creation and growth of what was originally one series (Paternoster Biblical and Theological Monographs) but soon grew into five (Paternoster Biblical Monographs, Paternoster Theological Monographs, Studies in Christian History and Thought, Studies in Evangelical History and Thought, Studies in Baptist History and Thought). It gave him immense satisfaction to play his role in the publication of groundbreaking and significant works that bless both the church and the academy.
But for me the greatest thing about knowing Jeremy was the man himself. He knew so much ‘stuff’ – history, poetry, art, politics, literature, classical music, theatre, theology – and could keep you entertained for hours with countless stories and interesting snippets of information and opinion. He was an old-school man of the best kind.
Speaking and praying with him not long before he died I was so very impressed by his unswerving faith in and commitment to God. He was at peace with his situation and had complete confidence that his life and his death were in the hands of a Father that he trusted. He died, as he lived, in the hands of Pater Noster – ‘Our Father’.
I have asked a few people who knew Jeremy over the years to offer some words of appreciation in tribute to a life well lived.
I have worked alongside Jeremy as an author, an editor, and an adviser for almost fifty years (we first met on July 10th 1961) and deeply appreciated his friendship, his expertise and wisdom as a publisher, and his marvellous literary knowledge and witty letter-writing skills (continuing the pattern set by his father). The debt I owe to him for the rich contribution that he has made to my own life is incalculable and I thank God for such a friend and colleague.
I. Howard Marshall, Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen. Chairman of the Paternoster Theological Advisory Board, Senior Editor for Paternoster Monographs
The first word that springs to mind when I think of Jeremy Mudditt is commitment. This was to God, first and foremost; to his family, which was moving; to Christian publishing which was far-reaching; to the Christian Brethren which was profound; and to the Anglican worship which illumined his later years. Nor shall I quickly forget his considerable erudition or his quirky sense of humour. It may be trite but it is surely true to say that we shall not see his like again.
Harold Rowdon, retired lecturer at London Bible College, Brethren author and editor, and personal friend
Laurel and I were saddened to learn of the death of our dear friend, Jeremy Mudditt. We have been friends since our time in the UK in the mid-1960s when I was a research student at Manchester and we began to talk about various editorial projects that later came to fruition under Jeremy’s watchful eye. We treasure the numerous visits we made over the years to Jeremy and Meg’s home in Exeter and our personal friendship over the years. Jeremy’s was a life well lived, focused on serving God’s kingdom. He was both an encouragement and inspiration to many. We thank God for allowing us to share in various editorial projects together and for the fun we had together.
W. Ward Gasque, English Ministries Pastor, Richmond Chinese Alliance Church, CANADA
Jeremy was passionate about publishing and loved books from many genres. He would often quote several stanzas from a sonnet or lines from a French poem whilst dashing down the corridors of STL. If sales were strong he could occasionally be heard singing an anthem from The Mikado or a Verdi opera. His tireless commitment to biblical and theological publishing has left a legacy that will continue to influence a generation or more of students, scholars, leaders, and thinkers.
Mark Finnie, Publisher at Authentic Media
Like many other younger Evangelical scholars I first met Jeremy when Paternoster accepted my doctorate for publication. And like many others, I received encouragement, wise counsel, help, and guidance, and I am grateful to God for His servant’s tireless ministry. From this initial contact, I started to freelance for Paternoster, working closely with and learning a great deal from Jeremy, who knew the publishing business inside out and the Christian publishing ministry as well as anyone. It has been a joy and a privilege to serve the Lord together with Jeremy in this way for ten years, and to become a close friend. Evangelical biblical, theological, and historical scholarship has been greatly served by Jeremy who had a deep passion for the intellectual dimension of Christian faith and witness. Now he knows in full. Thanks be to God.
Anthony R. Cross, Director of the Centre for Baptist History and Heritage, and Research Fellow, Regent’s Park College, and Member of the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford
Jeremy had a unique character. He was a man of immense intelligence, wit, and humour with an incredible command of the English language. His traditional values, his good manners, and charm endeared himself to everyone he met. We shall not forget him.
Jeremy and Liz Thompson Jewitt, Directors of AlphaGraphics, Printers of the Paternoster Monographs and Journals
I helped Jeremy with historical titles in the Paternoster SCHT, SEHT, and SBHT monographs, although I met him only once. But I was aware of the enormous influence for good he exercised. His strategic vision for Christian publishing allowed academic authors to see their efforts in print and Evangelical readers to appreciate the strength of their position. He loved his Lord with all his mind as well as with all his heart, soul, and strength.
David Bebbington, Professor of History, University of Stirling and Paternoster Series Editor for SCHT, SEHT, and SBHT
He will be missed.
