I can’t believe the bookshop is closing...I’m gutted, that’s so sad, you’re joking, but that’s terrible...Any and all of those phrases could describe your thoughts and emotions at the news of the closure of the CLC Christian Bookshop in Sheffield. Closure came sooner than planned; the clearance sale lasted just two days before the shop had to close its doors due to the new lockdown restrictions.Read on to find out why we closed, what you can pray for, how to keep in touch with CLC Bookshops and source the items that you need, what happens to the staff, what can be done if there is to be a local supply source going forward...and more.**Where do I go now? The shop's closure does not mean that you have no source of supply. Browse and buy on clcbookshops.com or give us a call on 0330 8181000 and choose option 2 (local rate) to make enquiries, ask for advice, place orders and make payments. Both the website and phone line will be there to meet needs, but we know it's never the same experience as being in a shop.**Can Sheffield support an independent Christian bookshop?If there is someone, an organisation, a church or a group of churches out there interested in exploring possibilities so as to keep a Christian bookshop in Sheffield and serving the region, please email jan,burnham@clcbookshops.com with your questions in the first instance. What is the Lord saying to Sheffield’s churches, Christian entrepreneurs and visionaries? What are the possibilities and options? Could a bookshop ministry be supported by those it serves...?**Back to the closure of CLC Sheffield... The CLC Trustees’ prayerful and painful decision to close the shop is due to the downward slide in sales over the years without a parallel slide in costs. Our reality is that almost all CLC branches are gone from our streets, with most of them closing in the past three years due not just to the rise in online retail but to multiple factors.CLC overseas has also been struggling, with whole ministries recently closed or due to close in Liberia, Japan, Bolivia and Spain as economies shrink, purse strings are tightened, and as church and individual culture and buying habits change.**But wasn’t moving next to the Cathedral far better than being on West Street? Not long after opening on Devonshire St in 1956 next to the Devonshire Chippy, CLC Sheffield moved and spent 47 years on West St. Some of you will recall praying for us and with us for “somewhere better” than West St. It took quite a few years to find. Relocating to 2 Church Street in the spring of 2018 meant a 16% increase in rent, plus the costs associated with vacating West St, fitting out the new location (new electrics, LED lights, shop flooring, shop fittings, suspended ceiling, alarm system...) and actually moving.The shop team knew that it was a make-or-break move, but at least it had the potential to stave off or even prevent closing down. Of one thing you can be quite sure: had the bookshop remained on West Street, it would have closed some time ago - and before this pandemic hit. So, yes, most definitely, moving to Church Street was beneficial and positive. Given that ours is a niche market, we certainly give thanks to the Lord that the ministry has lasted as long as it has.The decision by the charity's Trustees to exercise the break clause on the shop's lease and vacate the property in March 2021 was not easy to make even if the numbers said otherwise. Closing affects people and it leaves an important city and a large area without a Christian bookshop as a source of supply and a place of witness, prayer, encouragement, fellowship and community.**What about the shop staff? Manager Jan and husband Phil have served with CLC since 1981 in Spain, Africa and the UK. For some years their plan had been toretire at the end of January 2021. Instead, they will be based at home, putting their experience and knowledge to good use in the customer services context, among other tasks. At the moment it is too soon to know what our employed and volunteer team colleagues will be doing from March onwards.**Our thanks So we thank the Lord and honour those who have worked in the shop over the years as volunteers, full-time missionaries and employees, all of whom have influenced the local Christian scene for good as a result.Likewise, it is right and proper to acknowledge, thank and honour you, our customer, whose prayers and purchases have kept us going until now. Thank you also for your interest in the wider ministry of CLC, proclaiming the message of salvation in Jesus through the testimony of our colleagues and the written word of the materials we make available.And we thank the event and conference organisers who allowed us to run so many bookstalls in so many places and contexts, providing resources for people we would otherwise have had no opportunity to serve.**So, what next? Here are a few pointers...--Pray that the Lord speaks loud and clear if there is to be or not to be a resource centre (or a number of smaller ones) to replace the CLC bookshop.--Invest in the mentoring and discipling of others by using and making known the contact details: clcbookshops.com and 0330 8181000.--Pray for the numerical and spiritual growth of believers in and around Sheffield, with their leaders growing appropriately too.--Pray for tangible expressions of unity as we, the Body of Christ, work together to fulfil the Great Commission and bring hope to our generation and society.CLC’s purpose is to glorify God by making Christian resources available so that people may come to faith and maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether or not Sheffield one day has somewhere local making Christian resources available, let’s each do our part to bring people to faith and maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ.When you have the time, think what the CLC bookshop has meant for you; pray for the staff, give thanks for the ministry and the lives it has touched in Sheffield and beyond; and if you wish to add something to our “Book ofTestimony & Blessing” – e.g. a word of encouragement, a testimony or some words as to what the bookshop has meant for you – send us the text and we’ll stick it in.With thanks to God for each and every one of you, and for what he has done and will continue to do in our wonderful city. Grace & peace,Jan Burnham (ex-Manager)jan.burnham@clcbookshops.comPp. your local bookshop team.
You can find a link to the Archbishops' letter here. You can find a link to the live prayer here.
Due to the recent announcements from the Government calling for a national lockdown, we are suspending services held in our church building. We are however continuing with our online services.Online servicesPlease do join us for our online services. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Our Explore service (first Sunday of the month) and our Connect service (third Sunday of the month) are on Zoom. Details to join will be sent via network groups. If you are not in a network group, use the "Get in touch" button to request joining details.</span>Our holy communion services (second, fourth and fifth Sundays) are available on our YouTube channel. Children's are on our YouTube channel.Network groupsWe have a number of network groups. These groups provide support to each other, some meeting to have house groups (online). If you would like to be part of one of these groups please contact us.Link and LookPlease see our notice sheet section for the Sunday Link and Sunday Look activities. The Sunday Link includes a weekly reflection and the Sunday Look includes activities suitable for children.ResourcesThere are a large number of resources to support you in your faith on our resources page, please take a look.
They will call him Immanuel which means ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23)Worries are being voiced over what Christmas will mean this year as families face the loss of loved ones and concerns are being raised over how Christmas can be celebrated in these circumstances. Despite the difficult circumstances we face this year, one of the key messages of Christmas remains: God is with us. In our Christmas carol, ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ we sing: ‘pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel’. And it is this truth that our above Bible verse refers to, reminding us that God came to live among us in the person of Jesus and is still with us in the person of the Holy Spirit. So no matter what the circumstances are this Christmas and indeed throughout this time of lockdown and beyond – whether we are lonely, anxious or fearful, we are not alone. God is with us and we can talk to him and share our worries & fears – that is what prayer is, simply talking to God. We don’t have to know special words or set prayers – God loves us and wants to hear what is troubling us, just as any loving parent wants to hear what is worrying their children. And prayer does make a difference – some- times it might change a situation but even if it doesn’t (and God does not promise to take all our troubles away) we do know the promise that God will help us in our troubles and give The strength we need to cope and have hope and joy in the midst of suffering. An example of this is the hymn writer Joseph Scriven who wrote, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’. It sounds a jolly tune and we may think that Scriven didn’t have a care in the world but the truth is very different. He wrote the hymn out of extreme pain – he lost two fiancées in tragic circumstances and never married as a result. He wrote to say that Jesus was with him and helped him cope through his difficulties. One of my favourite Bible passages is Romans 8:35-39 where the apostle Paul affirms that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Like Joseph Scriven, these were not just nice words – Paul knew what it was like to suffer: he was flogged, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, in danger at sea and in danger from many other sources; he endured long term illness, hunger and ultimately martyrdom. Yet God gave him the strength to keep going and to have joy despite his pain. This Christmas, perhaps more than ever, can we be encouraged to try praying – and find for ourselves that God is indeed with us and that we are not alone. Yours Tim
