A little treasure in the grounds of St Mark’s
Walking through the grounds of C.S. Lewis’ childhood church in Dundela, a small pair of cupboard doors beckon. Opening them will take you to another place but it isn’t Narnia; it’s the life-changing world of the Bible and Christian literature.
With the aim of making God’s word easily available to all who pass by, St Mark’s Dundela, in partnership with The Book Well, have placed a little bookstore behind their parish hall.
Behind the doors you’ll find a selection of second-hand Bibles, devotionals, and books that will introduce and encourage Christian faith. The shelves also have copies of leaflets with all the services and activities going on at St Mark’s.
The project is part of the parish’s Speak Jesus initiative as the Rector, Canon Helene Steed explains:
“Anyone at all is welcome to take a book, take it away, or sit down for a read on the benches. There is no cost and no obligation to return it. We want people to have the opportunity to discover and grow in Christian faith, and to pass it on.
“It’s also a cross community upcycling project. The bookshelves came from the Parish of St Colmcille’s at Ballyhackmore and one of our wonderful parishioners, Lionel, turned them into an outside bookstore complete with doors and a roof.”
Richard Ryan, owner of The Book Well on the nearby Belmont Road, is delighted to be partnering with his neighbour and to have an outlet for his second-hand stock.
“These books have all come to us as donations. They’re pre-loved by someone else and we hope they’ll be passed on again. With Bibles, people don’t want to throw them out, whether they’ve come from a religious household or not, so a lot of those have come to us as well. This is a great opportunity to pass them on to be used.”
