I’m pleased to say that my 2010 ‘Guide to the Church’ calendar is now available. It contains 12 brand new cartoons that are not available anywhere else. It is subtitled ’situations vacant’ and is a guide to some of the jobs that you can do in church, for example bell ringer, choir member, cleaner, PCC member, coffee rota volunteer etc etc.

Producing 12 extra cartoons nearly caused my expiration, as it does every year. I really am only remotely funny once a week, meaning that such an extra effort resulted in blood, sweat and tears. Well, no blood, thinking about it. And not much sweat except when I kept the fan heater on too long. But some tears. Secretly though I am rather pleased with the cartoons – having not looked at them for a number of months I quite enjoyed them when my box of calendars arrived at the end of last week.

You can buy the calendar, which costs £5.99, via your local Christian bookshop (You might or might not have to order it), at Church House bookshop in Westminster (or online – they post overseas) or direct from the publisher, Canterbury Press (who also post overseas). Waterstones are listing it, but say 2-3 weeks delivery and then there’s Amazon, though it is currently out of stock.

The ISBN which will be useful for ordering via your local bookshop is 9781853119576

Update: The calendar is available on Amazon.com for those in the US.

Posted by Dave at 9:49 am on June 17, 2009 and filed under Books, My books.

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Hello.

Just to let you know that I will be auctioning the five Lambeth cartoon canvasses as previously mentioned, but that it will now happen in the New Year. Apologies to those who might have wanted to buy one as a Christmas present – I’m afraid that it has been the usual story of my spending all of my energy trying to get my creative work done and not having any time left to organise the administrative aspects. Sorry for any disappointment caused.

Meanwhile on my eBay site there are five more ‘Dave Walker Guide to the Church’ books up for sale – the auctions end just before midday UK time today. (Auctions now ended)

Posted by Dave at 8:50 am on December 16, 2008 and filed under Books, CartoonChurch progress.

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This afternoon I made myself a cartoonchurch eBay account so that I can start to think about selling these canvasses. However, I decided to start off with something a bit smaller and more manageable, so I’m now selling some signed copies of my books. My brand new shiny eBay account is here: cartoonchurch (0).

Now, I don’t really intend to make a long term thing of selling my books on eBay, as (a) I’d like to support local bookshops and (b) I’m too lazy to keep going to the post office. However, I do have a reasonable amount of stock that I need to shift, so I may well add some more if it works and people buy them.

I’d wanted to sell the books with a ‘buy it now’, but apparently I need to have more of a feedback score than my current ‘0′ before I’m allowed to be let loose on the ‘buy it now’ button. So the books are being sold as an auction, starting at 99p and hopefully ending up not too far from the £5.99 mark.

I might add more books, so please don’t bid huge amounts (not that you were planning to, I know) for a rare signed copy, because If I sell more they will become rather less rare. I will sign them saying anything you want (within reason) – so an ideal opportunity to pick up a unique(ish) Christmas present.

As an aside: I do have a personal eBay account, so the whole business is not entirely new to me. But my score on my personal account is (2) meaning that I am still really a novice. I’ll write about the not-terribly-but-a-little-bit-exciting story of my (2) purchases another day.

So… anyone like a book?

Update (Saturday midday): Have added another 5 ‘Dave Walker Guide to the Church’ books. These are a 3 day listing again, so will end midday on Tuesday if my calculations are correct.

Posted by Dave at 10:04 pm on December 11, 2008 and filed under Books, Cartooning.

10 Comments

…and look what is in it. More details later.

[By the way - I am aware that my blog page does not work well for Internet Explorer users with small screens - the image and all the blog content drops right down to the bottom of the page. This is more likely to happen if I use 500 pixel wide images from Flickr like this one rather than the 400 pixel wide ones I usually stick to for this very reason.

If any CSS wizard can advise me what I can do to stop this happening I would be incredibly grateful. I have spent three years trying to work this out (not continually) and have been unsuccessful thus far]

Update: How does that look to everyone? [Technical aside: I have used overflow: hidden] If nothing looks out of the ordinary that is a good thing.

Posted by Dave at 10:46 am on July 9, 2008 and filed under Books, Lambeth 08, Lambeth Conference, Sent via mobile telephone.

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[Click on the photo for a larger version on the Flickr website]

I’ve just been to the launch of ‘What am I doing here?’ at Church House and am sitting in the Methodists’ canteen. Aren’t the Methodists great.

The book has some of my cartoons in it. I gave a short speech and was videoed a bit. I will not come across well on the video. The picture above is of me signing some books with Hilary Brand, the author.

There is a press release about the book on the Church of England website which I have reproduced below:

Church launches a guidebook to churchgoing

26 June 2008

A cartoonist and an author have joined forces to create a fresh guide to churchgoing – published by the Church of England this week – which has already won praise for its no-nonsense approach to explaining the Anglican faith.

What Am I Doing Here?, produced by Church House Publishing, uses the main weekly communion service as a basis for explaining why people go to church, and what happens when they do.

Broadcaster and editor of Private Eye, Ian Hislop, is among early fans of the book’s ability to communicate simply what going to church is really about. He comments: “Most books nowadays explain why people don’t go to church anymore. It is good to find one that explains why people still do.”

Accompanied by illustrations from cartoonist Dave Walker, the pocket-sized book guides readers through each of the key parts of the Holy Communion service, demystifying what happens and why.

Written by Hilary Brand (Christ and the Chocolaterie; The Sceptic’s Guide to the Bible), the book serves as an ideal resource for churches to offer people who have recently started attending church, perhaps through contact with Fresh Expressions, Back to Church Sunday, or other mission initiatives.

It follows research (pdf document) that recently revealed three million people (six per cent of the adult population) would come back to church if they received a personal invitation.

The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon, is convinced that the book’s down-to-earth style will help explain what the 1.7 million people who attend a Church of England church each month get up to, without resorting to theological jargon: “Written from the perspective of an ordinary ‘person in the pew’, this book is a wonderfully direct, simple and informative guide to what goes on in church and takes us on the brief journey we make when we worship together.

“It debunks some of the myths about church – for example, that only ‘self-righteous’ people go to church. Church is for all people – the ragbag of saints and sinners that we are – and Hilary Brand’s simple clarity and Dave Walker’s cartoons should make it a more welcoming place particularly for those who don’t go to church, but might like to.”

Over its 72 pages, What Am I Doing Here? highlights key parts of the Holy Communion service, including:

• Wonder and wow factor – how worship begins with finding and expressing gratitude for all that God has done
• Admitting and acknowledging – recognizing and ‘owning’ the fact that we are responsible for messing up, and that we need God to forgive us
• Receiving and renewing – the need for gaining strength, comfort and delight in remembering and reenacting the Last Supper, the ultimate demonstration of God’s sacrifice for the sake of humankind.

What Am I Doing Here?, priced £4.99 (ISBN 978-07151-4161-8), is available from Christian bookshops, or by mail order via the web.

My own page about the book is here.

Posted by Dave at 1:27 pm on June 26, 2008 and filed under Books, Church, Religion.

5 Comments

I’ve just heard that ‘What am I doing here’, the book I’ve contributed cartoons to is now available. It is published by Church House Publishing – the page on their website is here.

Church House Bookshop contacted me this morning to say they have it in stock – see this page. They do mail order. It should be available in lots of other places as well – the ISBN number is 9780715141618 if you want to order or search for it somewhere.

There are about 8 cartoons I think – one for each of most of the chapters. I’ve posted one below. I’ll admit that at first I was hesitant to do the cartoons for this book as I was stressed with other things at the time, but when I read the manuscript I said yes. It goes through a typical Anglican communion service and explains why we do what we do. I think it could be a really useful book to (for example) give to newcomers who are not used to church services and all the strange things that happen in them. I’ve posted the publisher’s description below.

Have you ever wondered what church is all about? Ever found yourself in a service wondering what on earth is going on? And what the point of it all is?

Whether you’re completely new to church or have been coming to church for a while, this little book is here to help you!

With a down-to-earth style and subtle humour, What am I Doing Here? takes you through an Anglican Holy Communion service, demystifying what happens – and why.

Subjects covered include:

* What are you doing here?: The need to meet your maker
* Worship: The need to celebrate and count our blessings
* Confession: The need for accounting procedures and a clean slate
* Sermons: The need for wise words and challenging questions
* The Creed: The need for a basic belief system
* Prayer: The need to engage with the wider world and ask for help
* The Peace: The need to live in right relationship with others
* Holy Communion: The need for strength, comfort and delight
* Being sent out and the after-church chat: The need to share the journey

Hilary Brand is the best-selling author of Christ and the Chocolaterie and The Sceptic’s Guide to the Bible. As an ordinary pew-dweller rather than a church leader, she’s in an ideal position to empathise with newcomers.

Dave Walker is one of the best-known Christian cartoonists in the UK. He runs www.cartoonchurch.com and contributes the weekly ‘Dave Walker Guide to the Church’ cartoon in the Church Times.

Posted by Dave at 12:31 pm on June 13, 2008 and filed under Books, Cartoons, Church, My books, Religion.

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I notice that the webpage for one of the projects I have been working on is now up: What am I Doing Here? – A Beginner’s Guide to Church by Hilary Brand. It is published by Church House Publishing.

I’d tell you more, but I’ve a train to catch.

Posted by Dave at 11:04 am on April 24, 2008 and filed under Books, Religion.

5 Comments

This is a rather belated mention for Nicola David’s Grove booklet ‘Publicity and the Local Church‘, which uses my ‘The problem with the church‘ cartoon on its cover. I haven’t seen the book yet – I’ll take a look next time I’m in Church House Bookshop, who do, it must be said, have a very good selection of Grove booklets. Anyway, well done to Nicola, who reads this site and would comment more if it were not for the fact that my site mysteriously eats her comments.

The thing I like about Grove booklets is that they are short and to the point and cost about three pounds. It means that you can afford to investigate a subject without a huge amount of investment and getting approval from the PCC. Interestingly I note that one of the other new titles is about Online church, based on experiences gained through the St Pixels project.

On a semi-unrelated subject I was really very surprised to see at the weekend that the big Waterstones in Piccadilly still has ample copies of the Dave Walker Guide to the Church on prominent display in both the ‘Waterstones Recommends’ section and the Humour section. Quite remarkable.

Please note: I wasn’t especially looking for it – I just happened to glance my head to the left slightly when passing the shelf where it had previously been. It must be emphasised that I really do not spend my weekends travelling the country attempting to spot copies of my book in various bookshops.

[Disclosure*: Church House Bookshop is part of Hymns Ancient and Modern Limited, who pay me to do drawings.]

*I’m going to try to write one of these when I recommend something that might, directly or indirectly bring me financial benefit. I’ve read elsewhere that it’s something I should perhaps do.

Posted by Dave at 11:59 pm on January 27, 2008 and filed under Books, Religion.

4 Comments

Your eyes do not deceive you – this is indeed ‘The Mills and Boon Guide to the Church’.

Click ‘read the rest of this entry’ to find out more about this book.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Dave at 11:52 pm on January 17, 2008 and filed under Books, Church, Religion.

15 Comments

A short series featuring some of the reference books I use in my day to day work. Number one:

My wife brought this back from work as it was surplus to requirements. It had been in a cupboard for (and I quote) ‘hundreds of years’.

Posted by Dave at 11:43 pm on January 16, 2008 and filed under Books, Cartooning, Church, Religion.

19 Comments

Cartoonist Darren Harvey-Regan, creator of ‘Bold’s Fold‘ has a second book out called ‘Bold’s Fold – a second helping’.

Darren’s cartoons are all about the charismatic branch of Christianity. If you are, or have been, involved in that side of things I think you will enjoy this book.

Those who have been reading my website(s) since the early 2000s might remember that we featured some of Darren’s cartoons on Wibsite.com. At the time Darren was the cartoonist for ‘Christianity and Renewal’ magazine. ‘Renewal’ was later dropped. I can’t remember why exactly. Probably because, as all library-goers know you can only renew something about eight times before having to take it back and choose something else. Failure to do so will incur a charge of 20p a day.

Posted by Dave at 6:07 pm on December 18, 2007 and filed under Books, Cartooning, Church, Ecumenical matters, Religion.

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This is the belated fifth and final cartoon from my Cartoon Challenge Night. I got there eventually. I changed the concept rather, but it is based on the suggestion by Mary in a limited sort of a way.

I will add this and one or two other cartoons to the downloadable area before too long so that subscribers can use them. It might be Monday though as I am behind with things and we are going out.

Talking of cartoons the Church Times is available free online for this week only owing to the postal strike that is currently happening here in the UK. This means that there is a rare opportunity for non subscribers to see my latest cartoon for this week, entitled ‘Clergy Advertisements‘. If you’d like to see the fruit of my latest blood, sweat and tears every week why not subscribe to the Church Times. It is currently £65 for Uk subscriptions and £95 in the USA.

Talking of various things, I mentioned a few weeks back that my book was temporarily out of print, but then forgot to say when it was in print again. So, to set the record straight, it is in print again. The calendar is also selling well apparently – Rhys sent me a link yesterday to Christian Marketplace, who are recommending it as a Christmas present. Who am I to argue. The book and calendar are both £5.99 and if you were to buy one you would be helping me out right royally. Thank you.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Posted by Dave at 1:11 pm on October 5, 2007 and filed under Books, Cartoons, Church, Religion.

10 Comments