December 24, 2008

A Very Happy Christmas to all this Blog’s Friends and Supporters

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Get the Goat this Christmas

Get the Goat this Christmas

Every year I’ve taken to buying a goat from World Vision instead of sending Christmas cards to my online friends and supporters. This year is no exception: you’ll find the official e-card here.

Thank you for your support and friendship through the past year.

A very Happy Christmas to you all, and my very best wishes for the year to come.

A Request

I’m sharing this year’s goat with the SPCK/SSG Bloggers. I hope most of you are familiar with the SPCK/SSG situation: it’s taken up a lot of my time this year, time that would most likely have otherwise been spent on developing UKCBD and this blog. I make no apology for that, but I do regret the need for it.

The only thing needed for evil to succeed is for those who know better to do nothing. Make no mistake about it: the Brewers are evil men. They took SPCK on trust and they have violated that trust: they have betrayed employees and suppliers. They have attempted to stifle free speech. They have reneged on a covenant, a covenant that they freely entered into and signed in the presence of a witness, to maintain shops as outlets for Christian literature. They have attempted a fraudulent bankruptcy filing on the USA courts. Their treatment of their employees has driven at least one man to a nervous breakdown; another committed suicide. All of these points are matters of public record and can be independently verified.

Yet they continue to operate so-called ‘Christian’ bookshops around the UK whilst people who should know better continue to trade with them, supplying them with books and other products that enable them to continue their devious business practices.

So to my request: please show your support for and solidarity with the former SPCK/SSG employees and suppliers who have not been paid — whose Christmas celebrations are blighted because of the Brewers — by reading and signing the two petitions to rescue the Durham and Chichester shops from the Brewers:

If you have already signed those petitions, thank you. Please spread the word and ask your colleagues and friends to read and sign them too.

Luke’s account of the nativity includes these words from Mary:

The Lord has performed mighty deeds with his arm; 
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 
He has brought down rulers from their thrones 
but has lifted up the humble. 
He has filled the hungry with good things 
but has sent the rich away empty. 

Let’s make 2009 the year in which workers and suppliers are paid and in which the Brewers are brought down, brought to book for their crimes and sent away empty.

Thank you.

 

August 3, 2008

The Dave Walker Reposts

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UKCBD > Christian Book Reviews > Arts & Media > The Dave Walker Reposts

The Dave Walker RepostsThe Dave Walker Reposts 
May 2006 – July 2008

Dave Walker and Matt Wardman (Ed) 
ISBN: (N/A) 
The Wardman Wire, 2008 (130pp) 
Free Download

Category: Arts & Media 
Reviewed by: Phil Groom

Sometimes things don’t work out as planned, even for highly placed business men and lawyers. Taken largely from the “Save the SPCK” pages on Dave Walker’s The Cartoon Blog, this publication reveals the sad and sorry story of the demise of the SPCK Bookshops following their handover to SSG, the Society of St Stephen the Great, in 2006 — and ends abruptly with a note from Dave dated July 8th 2008 on his silence following the tragic suicide of Steve Jeynes, former manager of the SPCK/SSG bookshop in Worcester.

Or rather, I should say that silence from Dave seems to be where Mr J Mark Brewer (co-owner of the bookshops with his brother, Philip) wanted it to end. Unfortunately, Dave’s not the silent type: he kept on blogging, in his own quirky way, telling the story, reporting evenhandedly and watching with astonishment as the Brewers’ business strategy fell apart.

Trouble is, Dave’s not an especially noisy guy either: he’s a cartoonist who expresses himself in pictures. He doesn’t shout or scream. So when Mr J Mark Brewer sent Dave a “Demand to Cease and Desist” — which if it was anything like the one he sent me was full of self-righteous indignation, allegations and threats of legal action — Dave backed down.

This proved, in retrospect, to be the best move that Dave could have made: the blogosphere exploded with indignation as “Of Course I Could Be Wrong” blogger, MadPriest, declared war by launching a campaign to send Dave Walker solidarity messages to Mr Brewer whilst fellow Anglican priest Sam Norton retrieved some of Dave’s missing posts from Google’s cache and reposted them on his own site.

Alongside this, political blogger Matt Wardman — who compiled and published this report — launched an ongoing and growing campaign in defence of Dave’s right to free speech, whilst Unity, a self-proclaimed “big bad atheist blogger with a penchant for digging into the detail” has been systematically taking Mr Brewer, his business dealings and his correspondence to pieces on his blog, Ministry of Truth. For a more comprehensive round-up of blogs and others picking up on this situation see the Wardman Wire My Name is Dave Walker post index.

Enough by way of introduction, however. Perhaps the best snapshot summary of Dave’s posts has been given by blogger Exigency In Specie:

When you read the posts, Dave spent a good deal of time trying to moderate those reactions in order to thoughtfully report events that he believed should be of concern to a wider audience. As a relatively high profile site he primarily acted as a central resource for collecting together information from the geographically diverse chain. Care in what was written was uppermost, even when emotions grew – you can easily find points where he calls for cool heads, and where he removed comments that he himself deemed were close to the line.

From: Learning the Lessons, 30/07/2008

My own reading concurs: Dave is no irresponsible or reckless blogger. Which begs the question, why the heavy handed intervention?

Dave’s last SPCK related post appears on p.113. Then follow several pages of

These appended articles can be read online, of course, but I’d recommend downloading the entire document (pdf, 2.3MB), either here or from The Wardman Wire and reading it at your leisure.

As you read it, please be sure to send us your comments and feedback. If you run your own blog, please remember that it could be you being chased by angry lawyers next time. Please don’t sit back and hope it doesn’t happen to you: blog the story, join the fight and spread the word. And pray. Pray for the ex-SPCK booksellers whose lives have been wrecked by this fiasco. Pray for those of us standing with them. Please pray for Mr Brewer: despite all he’s said and done, nobody wants to vilify him, I hope: that’s emphatically not what this is about; but I would like to see some justice for these booksellers, and I would like him to respond in a more civil way than we’ve seen thus far.

Finally, when you come across some of the funnier stuff, do have a laugh. Remember, Dave Walker is a humourist.

You’ll find continuous updates in the SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info blog. Thanks for reading…

Phil Groom, August 2008

Phil Groom is this site’s Webmaster and Reviews Editor. He’s a regular contributor to Christian Marketplace magazine and is the manager of London School of Theology Books & Resources. Any opinions expressed here are personal and should not be taken as representing the views of London School of Theology or of any other group or organisation.

The Wardman Wire: Dave Walker Archives

The Wardman Wire

Authors | Categories | Publishers | Reviewers | Titles

 

July 7, 2008

Plans Coming Together for New Christian Bookshop in Cardiff

Posted by Phil Groom under Info, News | Tags: , , |
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Following the dismal failure of SSG to revitalise the Cardiff branch of SPCK, City United Reformed Church have risen to the challenge themselves, joining forces with The Church in Wales to secure funding and draw up business plans for a new shop, scheduled for opening on Tuesday 22nd July 2008.

The Revd Dr Tom Arthur, pastor at City Church since 1988, describes what happened and subsequent developments in a letter published in early June by Mission Connections:

We’d had a book store here at City Church for several years, but it recently closed. SPCK (that’s Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge) had been the resource for the mainline churches. About 15 years ago we took them in when they were no longer able to pay rising city center rents. We saw doing this as an important mission of the church.

The shop here managed to just tick over comfortably, but the SPCK chain as a whole struggled in recent years. About 20 months ago, they basically gave the chain away to a couple of American brothers who formed “St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust” and used the chain to promote the Orthodox communion. Having grown up Presbyterian, they were adult converts to Orthodoxy, and were enthusiastic, as adult converts to anything will be.

Despite their enthusiasm, their idea just didn’t work. Customers weren’t buying the icons which now filled the gift cabinets and the books on Orthodox saints that now filled the shelves just weren’t moving. Sales plummeted, and since suppliers weren’t being paid, they couldn’t get new stock. Last December, when our shop would have expected to take in £18k – £20k, they only took in £3,500. In January, they started closing shops.

Because of customer comments and the concern of denominational leaders, we had already been considering strategies for taking over the shop, as this shop here in Cardiff was the only resource like it for all of Wales. The elders proposed that I and our church secretary, Patrick (that’s “clerk of session” in Presby-speak) should explore our options. So Patrick and I convened a meeting of concerned people from across Cardiff’s ecumenical spectrum, and with the backing of that group we took the project on.

A press release dated 26/06/2008 from the Church in Wales explains further:

The key to success for this enterprise will be our ability to respond to the requirements of the broad, ecumenical church scene in Wales. We’ve sent out over 800 letters to churches from Powys to St David’s, and have received good input in response. We will be carrying everything from rosaries to zipped leather Bible covers, along with books and church supplies. We’re building a website at www.ctbooks.org.uk to publish reviews of what’s new and advertise special promotional offers. A scheme of partner churches will return 5% of purchases by church members to the churches who sign up for the scheme, and we plan special monthly evening opening hours for partner churches.

So a new mainstream ecumenical bookshop for Wales is finally here, thanks to the support of many encouraging voices and the expert advice of so many experienced colleagues. The shop will be open 10am to 5pm Monday – Friday, and 10am to 4pm Saturdays. We hope this shop will make a real difference in strengthening the churches, not just here in Cardiff, but across Wales.

 

A New Christian Bookshop for Cardiff

A New Christian Bookshop for Cardiff

 

 

 

June 26, 2008

Dedicated SPCK/SSG Blog

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements, News | Tags: , , |
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SPCK/SSG BlogA dedicated SPCK/SSG Blog (as previously mentioned here) is now live at spckssg.wordpress.com, set up by exporting all related posts and comments from this blog. Future news and info will be posted there rather than here, with pointers here as appropriate.

The invitation for volunteers to get involved remains open: all you need to do is sign up for a WordPress ID then leave a comment using your sign up email address (this will not be made public) so that you can be set up as an author/contributor. Your WordPress ID doesn’t have to be your real name: pseudonyms are quite acceptable, but I will need to verify your real identity before allowing you to contribute actual posts.

Any SSG/ENC moles who may be reading: I’ll be checking identities quite carefully, so don’t even think about it. Thank you.

Comments are open to all (except spammers, of course, who will be ruthlessly intercepted by Akismet, the WordPress antispam system).

Update 27/6/2008: Originally I said ‘let me know your WordPress ID’. What I actually need is your WordPress sign up email address: just use it as normal when leaving a comment. Apologies for any confusion/misunderstanding!

 

 

 

June 20, 2008

SPCK/SSG News Archives

Posted by Phil Groom under Info, News | Tags: , , , , |
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Save the SPCKDave Walker has compiled an index of news reports and correspondence about the SPCK/SSG saga in the Church Times blog, which helpfully supplements his own Save the SPCK section. To that I’d like to add the UKCBD SPCK/SSG News Section, this site’s reports and reflections and the various reports in the Bookseller: 
SPCK | SSG | St Stephen the Great. Should probably also add this rather long and meandering thread at Ship of Fools, “SPCK” bookshops.

Taken all together that’s a huge amount of information with considerable overlap, but it leaves no one with any excuse to say they didn’t know what was going on.

One of the things we (that is, Dave, Phelim and myself: not sure whether anyone else was in on the conversation) discussed briefly at the SPCK Booksellers Get-together back in May was the idea of setting up a dedicated SPCK/SSG blog. This would take some of the pressure off Dave, especially in July when he’s going to be busy blogging and cartooning Lambeth (brilliant cartoon in today’s Church Times, btw: had me in stitches. thanks, Dave!), and will help keep a continuous spotlight on the situation, which neither Dave nor I can necessarily do with our respective blogs.

I’m quite happy to set the blog up at WordPress, although anyone reading is equally capable of doing that: WordPress really does make blogging incredibly simple. But what I can’t do is run it single-handed: I think it needs a team of three or four people, possibly more.

So, do we have any volunteers from amongst our readership? You’ll need a WordPress ID: signing up for that will take you less time than it’s taken me to type this sentence. Then you’ll need to leave a comment using your WordPress sign up email address (this will not be made public) so that you can be set up as an author/contributor. SSG/ENC moles need not apply!!

Over to you, people…

Update 27/6/2008: Originally I said ‘let me know your WordPress ID’. What I actually need is your WordPress sign up email address: just use it as normal when leaving a comment. Apologies for any confusion/misunderstanding!

Update 5/8/2008: SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info was launched on 26/6/2008. On 22/7/2008 Dave Walker was harassed into taking down his ‘Save the SPCK’ pages by J Mark Brewer: more info here.

 

June 13, 2008

30a Sincil Street, RIP

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Estate Agent's Flyer for the former SPCK, Lincoln.Don’t quite know why, since as far as I remember I’ve never been there, but somehow today it struck me as unbearably sad to see the stripped-out windows of the former Sincil Street SPCK Lincoln shop in this estate agent’s flyer (zoomed in shot of the shop front further down).

I guess what struck me was the hardened finality of it as the culmination of the Brewers’ betrayal  — I can think of no other word for it — of SPCK’s trust in handing the shops over to them, of the utter failure of SSG to live up to even their own expectations.

It prompted me to look back at the October 2006 Press Release, still available on the SSG website as I write, but also available as a pdf here (200kb)…

Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust and SPCK share a strong commitment to communicate the richness of the Christian Faith. Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust intend to employ a vigorous marketing strategy for the SPCK Bookshops. “People in our stressful, modern age, care deeply about spirituality and long for a deeper faith. SPCK Bookshops will offer a primary solution to these questions of faith” said Mark Brewer, Chairman of Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust, in a press release accompanying the transaction.  “SPCK will continue into its fourth century with its shops as places where all people, Christian or otherwise, are welcome and given the chance to widen their spiritual horizons.”

“We are delighted to have found partners with a similarly strong vision and a determination to invest in the mission of presenting the Christian message imaginatively and effectively in an attractive environment”, commented SPCK’s new Chairman, Bishop Michael Perham in the same press release.

Under the new arrangements, SPCK Bookshops will continue to serve the broad and diverse SPCK customer base, and expanding the products that it offers those customers. Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust will also place a major emphasis in online marketing at www.spckonline.com, utilising the internet and harnessing the market power and presence of the venerable SPCK and its 308 year-long history in the U.K.

In this way we believe the Bookshops will be both maintained and strengthened, remaining broad and looking ambitiously to a growing future.

We believe that this is good news for the whole Christian community. 

If the Brewers had followed through on that initial commitment to remain broad in their outlook — “to communicate the richness of the Christian Faith”, developing the shops “as places where all people, Christian or otherwise, are welcome and given the chance to widen their spiritual horizons” — then it would, indeed, have been “good news for the whole Christian community”, then perhaps we might not have come to this present pass.

SPCK, 30a Sincil Street, LincolnAs things have emerged, however, it seems that we can only wonder, watch and weep for what has been lost.

Or is that really all we can do? Even as I write 30a Sincil Street, RIP, I am reminded that the letters RIP have more than one meaning: Resurrection in Progress! If you visit Lincoln, be sure to go a little further along Sincil Street to the Central Market where you’ll find that miracle in progress as Lincoln is Saved by a Unicorn! 

SPCK/SSG may be over and done in Lincoln, but Christian bookselling is alive and kicking: long may it continue.

Full details of Unicorn Tree Books below.

Unicorn Tree Books 
35-40 Central Market 
Sincil Street 
Lincoln LN5 7ET  

Phone: 01522 525557 
Fax: 01522 830896 

Websites 
unicorntreebooks.blogspot.com/ 
www.lincolncentralmarket.co.uk/page_1158437533734.html 
www.browseawhilebooks.co.uk

 
Hodgson Elkington Flyer originally downloaded from
http://www.hodelk.co.uk/commercial/brochures/CP7383.pdf
Thanks to UTB for posting the link that led me to this on Dave Walker’s shop round up page.

 

 

June 12, 2008

SSG Uncertainty Continues (2)

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements | Tags: , |
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Update, Friday 13th June 2008
New reports posted by the Bookseller and the Church Times today:
St Stephen the Great files for bankruptcy | Ex-SPCK shops ‘bankruptcy’

Below, my updated notice now posted alongside all SSG entries in the UK Christian Bookshops Directory. Previous version here: SSG Uncertainty Continues (1)

Any new info, please do let me and/or Dave know. The best guide to which shops are currently trading may be found on Dave’s Former SPCK shop roundup page.

In October 2006 the former SPCK Bookshops and their associated websites were entrusted by SPCK to the Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG), under the control of Messrs Philip and Mark Brewer. Unfortunately shops and staff alike suffered in the transition to new ownership, leading to staff departures, branch closures and uncertainty over opening times for those that remain.

Reports emerging during June 2008 indicate a deepening crisis: SSG has apparently filed for bankruptcy in the USA whilst ownership and control of the shops has been transferred to a new company — also registered to the Brewers — called ‘ENC Management Company’. The Durham and Chichester shops appear to have been reconstituted as independent trading companies but remain under the Brewers’ personal control.

The SPCK name is still in use over shops and online despite an online statement from SPCK (dated 12/11/2007 but since removed from the SPCK website) emphasising that they “do not own, manage or otherwise run the Bookshops”.

In view of these uncertainties, anyone considering trading with SSG, ENC Management Company or the so-called independent shops may be wise to seek legal advice first.

Latest news and comments on the situation may be found in either this site’s blog or Dave Walker’s Save the SPCK pages.

Anyone concerned by SSG’s treatment of the former SPCK booksellers and wishing to help is invited to make a donation to the UKCBD Save the SPCK Booksellers Fund.

Disclaimer
Information posted here is based upon the best available information at the time. In particular there is no clear information available about which SSG/ENC shops are currently trading: prospective customers are strongly advised to check before visiting.

(This notice updated 12/06/2008 )
 

June 12, 2008

SSG Uncertainty Continues (1)

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements | Tags: , |
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Below, the notice that I’ve been running alongside the SSG entries in the UK Christian Bookshops Directory since early April: figured I ought to preserve it for posterity. Will be updating it this evening with something that more accurately reflects the current chaos. Suggestions, anyone? Other than just “Aaaargh!” please, even if that does more or less sum things up…

The former SPCK Bookshops and their associated websites are owned and operated by the Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust(SSG), which acquired the shops from SPCK in October 2006.

Unfortunately shops and staff alike suffered in the transition to new ownership, leading to staff departures, branch closures and uncertainty over opening times for those that remain, with at least one branch (Leicester) becoming independent. Previous shop descriptions, opening times and other information has therefore been removed and SSG have been invited to provide up to date details; until this is provided and independently verified, details shown here, whilst offered in good faith, may or may not be valid.

Branches reported as closed or slated for closure include Birmingham, Bristol, Canterbury, Cambridge, Cardiff, Carlisle, Lincoln, Norwich and Sheffield. Customers are strongly advised to phone ahead before visiting these or any other branches.

Although the SPCK name is still in use over the shops and online, that use is subject to ongoing legal discussions. SPCK have emphasised “that they do not own, manage or otherwise run the Bookshops” (online statement dated 12/11/2007), whilst SSG have declined to comment. In view of the uncertain legal position no link to spckonline.com can be provided at present. Online fulfillment is apparently being provided by St Andrew’s Bookshops: again, in view of the uncertainty, prospective customers may be wise to consider shopping elsewhere.

Anyone concerned by SSG’s treatment of the former SPCK booksellers and wishing to help is invited to make a donation to the UKCBD Save the SPCK Booksellers Fund.

Latest News
Google Warns Visitors: Beware spckonline.com
Updates on the situation may be found in the UKCBD News Section and in Dave Walker’s Blog.

(This notice updated 06/04/2008 )
 

June 10, 2008

September Meeting for ex-SPCK Booksellers

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements, Guest Posts | Tags: , |
1 Comment 
SPCK Booksellers Fund
Simply a reminder that the Save the SPCK Booksellers fund I set up last year is still open. Any ex-SPCKers in need of help, please do get in touch; anyone else, please feel welcome to contribute.

And don’t forget the existence of BTBS: The Book Trade Charity: they’re there to help. 

— Phil Groom 

Phelim McIntyre writes:

In September there will be a meeting between publishers reps and ex-SPCK staff. This is to see how, if possible, we can stop the years of knowledge from SPCK bookshops being wasted. So this meeting is not just talk, if you are able to come please think about how people can be used. Using myself as an example:

I am 36 and worked for SPCK Bookshops for 2½ years. Before that I worked for W H Smiths, ran bookstalls at conference and for a small independent Christian Bookshop. I have done the Chapter House Proof Reading and Copy Editing course and have had short stories published. Due to my age I am unable to take retirement. How can my skills be used and not wasted?

This is a serious question – the ex-staff fall into 2 categories. Those who have taken retirement and those who have had to find other jobs. Not everyone has found full time employment. It is these people who need the help. Please think about this and either come to the meeting or let me know your suggestions.

Thank you.

Phelim McIntyre (ex-assistant manager, Chichester SPCK) 

 

June 9, 2008

Questions Raised over SSG ‘Bankruptcy’

Posted by Phil Groom under Info | Tags: , , |
[6] Comments 

Respondents to both this site and Dave Walker’s recent related posts (Dave’s Backup Site | Dave’s Main Site) are asking searching questions about the legitimacy of SSG’s apparent filing for bankruptcy.

Citing USA website lawyershop.com, ‘canon law’ and ‘mm’ — who may well be the same person using different aliases — have expressed concern over the possibility of Bankruptcy Fraud:

Bankruptcy Fraud
Bankruptcy, by definition, is when a debtor is declared – either by creditors or his own account – legally insolvent. His property is liquidated and divided among his creditors to pay his debts. But when a debtor falsely claims bankruptcy, attempts to conceal his assets, launches petition mills or files multiple claims, he is committing bankruptcy fraud – a federal offense.

Types of Bankruptcy Fraud
Concealment of assets, petition mills, and multiple filings are the most common types of bankruptcy fraud.

Concealment of Assets
Concealment of assets accounts for nearly 70 percent of all fraudulent bankruptcy cases filed by individuals. This type of fraud occurs when a person purposely fails to list every one of his assets on his bankruptcy claim, knowing that creditors cannot liquidate valuables of which they are not aware. Similarly, business owners frequently conceal assets when filing for bankruptcy – they transfer money or properties to their relatives’ or associates’ names so that the assets cannot be confiscated.

Observations over the weekend from ‘justflyingkites’ certainly seem to support this possibility and raise the further question of whether filing for bankruptcy in the USA can, in any case, apply to SSG as a UK registered charity:

According to advice from USDAW (they say they have not had enough time to research thoroughly) a charity registered in Britain cannot be made insolvent through the American courts. USDAW has discovered that the ENC management company consists of the Brewer brothers and one of their wives.

As for hiding their assets – 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.

Whatever eventually emerges, one thing seems sure: the Brewers’ behaviour — in their treatment of their staff, in their general communications and in their business dealings — falls far short of the standards of honesty and integrity one might hope to expect from a Christian organisation. This is nothing new, of course: the history of Christianity is littered with examples of abuse and devious dealings done, supposedly, in the name of Christ. I find myself wondering if Spencer Burke has the right of it when he says:

Maybe the greatest gift the Christian religion can offer the world right now is to remove itself from the battle for God. Perhaps it’s time to release the claim to universal privilege it grants itself as the only “true religion”. 

(p.48, A Heretic’s Guide to Eternity)

On the other hand, I find myself somehow not yet ready to roll over and die, to concede defeat to the likes of the Brewers. Perhaps as Steph, another respondent here, has commented, I am naive, but I’d sooner go down in history as naive than silent. I am also uncomfortably aware of Jesus’ remarks about judging others, but again, are we not called to speak out against injustice and dishonesty when we see it? Again, I do not consider silence to be an option.

As last time, watch this space…

 

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