Given my antipathy to any form of religion, and that on offer from the C of E in particular, you may be surprised to find me posting on events concerning the SPCK (The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge) bookshops. But there is far more to this than religion. The SPCK had a considerable chain of bookshops offering a broad range of religious books; customers tended to be those who had a serious interest in such matters and the shops were not evangelical in nature. It became apparent some time ago that the shops were losing money and were facing closure, and Dave Walker, a Christian cartoonist and blogger started a 'Save the SPCK' campaign. The campaign appeared to have been successful when the shops passed into the hands of another charity, St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG). However what had appeared to be the saving of the shops proved to be anything but. Two brothers from Texas, J Mark Brewer (a lawyer in Houston) and Philip Brewer were trustees of the SSG, and considerable changes were made at the shops which caused immense disquiet among the staff, many of whom resigned. Soon stocks had been run down, the remaining staff found themselves facing redundancy, and Mark Brewer is currently attempting to take SSG into bankruptcy in a Houston court, claiming that SSG is a limited liability company, not a charity. SSG currently have considerable debts in the UK, not least redundancy money owed to former staff, while considerable sums have nevertheless been taken out of the charity for purposes such as Mark Brewer's legal retainer.
Dave Walker covered these events in some detail in his blog in a very reasonable and informative manner, but then found himself in receipt of a 'Cease & Desist' demand from Mark Brewer, who alleged defamation and threatened legal proceedings against Dave in the US. Dave felt that although his posts were not in the least defamatory he had to take them down if only to bring an end to the threats. So I (like others before me) am linking to available sources of Dave's original posts to show solidarity and to emphasise that honest bloggers should not be subjected to the sort of threats favoured by Mr Brewer.
Incidentally, Dave was cartoonist-in-residence at the Lambeth Conference; he will not have found himself short of material I am sure!
Dave's entire collection of posts can be found on Cease and Desist, or are available as a pdf download, courtesy of Matt Wardman, The financial and legal aspects of this affair are covered in considerable detail at Ministry of Truth. Sam Norton reposted much of Dave's material, and has now himself been on the receiving end of one of Mr Brewer's 'Cease and Desist' demands. SPCKwatch have some excellent material, this post being a good place to start, as do SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info.
The posts that follow are some of Dave Walker's originals. As always they should be read from the bottom up. I have copied them 'as is' and some links may not work as a consequence.
July 8th, 2008
My silence
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.
Posted by Dave at 1:06 am on July 8, 2008 and filed under Blogging, Save the SPCK.
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
Posted by Dave at 7:57 am on July 3, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK.
SPCK / SSG: Tragic news from Worcester
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.
Posted by Dave at 5:53 pm on June 27, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
A couple of things:
New website
Phil Groom has set up a new group blog on the subject of the former SPCK shops. It is here: SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info. If you’re interested in SPCK/ SSG updates please bookmark this site and/or subscribe to the feed. I do intend to continue writing on the subject on this blog, but during July and August in particular I will have very little (if any) time to devote to writing on the topic owing to my preparation for and participation in the Lambeth conference and being away from home for various other reasons.
If there is anyone who would like to contribute to the new site please contact Phil directly.
Staff pay
An update to my last post - some staff have now been paid. I have made an update to my last post to reflect this and will update again if it emerges that all staff have now been paid.
News reports
Bookseller: SSG tribunal claims mount
Chester Chronicle: Union action to support sacked Chester bookshop workers
Lincolnshire Echo: ‘Sacked’ shop staff in court action
Posted by Dave at 9:09 am on June 27, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
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.
Posted by Dave at 3:05 pm on June 25, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
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
Posted by Dave at 8:13 am on June 24, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
Christopher Howse: The bare and desolate SPCK bookshops
Posted by Dave at 9:57 am on June 21, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
Today’s former SPCK bookshop news
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.)
Posted by Dave at 8:18 am on June 20, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
Website updates
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.
Posted by Dave at 5:43 pm on June 19, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
Norwich / York
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.
Posted by Dave at 11:28 am on June 18, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK.
Charity Commission to investigate SSG
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.
Posted by Dave at 8:20 am on June 13, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
Former SPCK bookshop closures
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
SalisburyNow open again- Worcester
- York
Posted by Dave at 6:11 pm on June 11, 2008 and filed under Save the SPCK, Religion.
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