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Most Clergy Are Book Worms |
Clergy and
books seem to go together.
Some years ago I received a bequest of a library of about
3,000 books from my late great uncle, who was a priest for
67 years. I had the task of sifting through thousands of
dusty theological books, many of which were totally out of
date. I took out a few books which were useful for my
studies, and then tried to sell the rest, but even a well
known Oxford Christian second hand book shop refused to take
them. From that day on I refused to be a book collector.
I
do have lots of books but I make sure that each year I have
a cull and throw out those books which I shall never read
again, or frankly are so out of date that they might even be
harmful to my ministry. If I have enjoyed a book I may also
give the book away to someone to read and then pass on. It
usually finds its way back to the church book shop for
re-sale. I would love to put a tag on books to see how many
times we sell them!
This week we have been
preparing for a ‘Grand Book and Jigsaw’ sale at
church which seems to becoming a regular feature of our
church. With a weekly book sale bringing in at least £5,000
a year and then 3 book Fayres per year I feel that we might
as well close the church and open up as a bookshop.
Seriously, we all enjoy these occasions and especially the
weekly Thursday Market Day sale which see over 400 people
coming into the church for coffee and cake, and then a look
at the high quality(?) bric a brac and book stalls.
In our computer age it
amazes me that so many people actually buy books. With the
decline of the national and local newspapers (although the
local EDP is doing well compared to many), and Amazon and
Tesco making books as a cheap as they have ever have been, I
have wondered for some time about the future of the book
trade. However with every announcement of a Book Fayre the
Parish Office is inundated with calls to collect books, or
books arrive at the Parish Office or in church. Tomorrow
(August 7th) we have well over 10,000 books for
sale – that is extraordinary. But as well as fiction and
nonfiction books we do sell numerous Christian books and
cards and are planning a permanent bookshop in church to
accommodate the growing demand. It gives me great joy to be
asked by a visitor to church, or a member of the
congregation, to advise on a purchase of a Bible or a
Christian book for children or a card with Biblical text for
a special occasion. We hear so much about the Koran, but we
forget that the Bible is still in the bestselling book of
all time and that each day Bibles are bought in this country
to read, or distributed overseas to eager Christians in
Africa, India, and South America.
It is quite extraordinary
that when I have a cull of my Rectory library each year I
will never throw out a Bible. What I do is to store as many
Bibles as I can, and keep a stock at church, and when a
visitor who is obviously seeking more information about the
church asks for a Bible, and is eager to learn, I actually
give them a Bible as gift from the church. What a wonderful
feeling you have inside when you actually give someone God’s
Word, and they are actually going to read it!
Adrian Bell |
