Dr W.R. Cooper
On behalf of the Society, I want especially to congratulate member Bill Cooper, known to so many of us, on his doctorate. It was awarded, summa cum laude, by the Emmanuel College of Christian Studies at Springfield, Arkansas, USA, for a thesis entitled Richard Hunne and the English Reformation - a fine work of mature scholarship of which we were proud to publish the first shoots (an essay much admired and commented on) in Reformation 1.
Bill is a quite astonishingly prolific scholar, with much accomplished and even more in the pipeline. He is also a good teacher, and it was no surprise to many of us to find that Emmanuel College had appointed him Full Professor of Providential and Geopolitical History in the Cambridge Graduate School there. For health reasons, he cannot travel to the campus: but as scholars now live in a global electronic village he is able to guide his fortunate students by e-mail (something now common even on-campus in the USA).
I know of bodies of outstanding work by Dr Cooper ready for publication - we shall hear more, much more, I know. Meanwhile, Bill - Dr Cooper - Professor - Sir, we salute you.
Tyndale in the Dome.
Members will be eager to hear more (see Journal 12, p.59). So am I. So is everybody. In spite of the continued valiant work of our Trustee Sir Rowland Whitehead, pressing for clarification, patiently trying new routes, there is nothing to report about Tyndale in the Dome except the official statement, which we reported last time, that he will be represented ‘in some form’. We have heard from Brian Lang, Chief Executive of the British Library, that the Dome organisers are not able to accommodate the wonderful ‘Turning the Pages’ device. This was invented by Clive Izard of the BL, and is presently to include Tyndale’s 1526 New Testament (see, for more details, the report on the Tyndale in the New Millennium day). Meanwhile we all remain grateful to Sir Rowland for his patience and persistence on Tyndale’s behalf.
‘Let There Be Light’
We have limited funds, and we thought hard last Autumn about making, at considerable expense, thirty sets of the slides, audio-tape and booklet which make David Ireson’s audio-visual presentation about Tyndale, at £25 each set. But we had faith. As I write, all but a few have now been bought (not always by Tyndale Society members) and are in use. Any member who has access to places where it can be presented (it lasts 40 minutes) - schools, W.I.s, church groups and so on (one set has been bought for HM Prisons) - is strongly advised to put in an order quickly. It really is a case of HURRY WHILE STOCKS LAST.
‘AD’
Finally, I want to bring to your attention the development of member Brian Edwards’s excellent Millennium booklet, AD, as reported in Journals 10 and 11. Out of an initial print-run of 300,000, a very large number have now been bought by churches and other groups. The 32-page booklet explains clearly why in Britain the Millennium is celebrating Christian heritage. As offshoots, there are now three school workbooks (for ages 7-8, 9-10, 11-13) which ensure that the users, like the readers of the booklet, are aware not only of mainstream Christian history in the UK, but the implications for the law, for medicine, for the arts and for society. All these publications the Tyndale Society is happy to recommend. Details and orders from Day One Publications, 3 Epsom Business Park, Kiln Lane, Epsom, Surrey KT17 1JF; tel: 01372 728 300; fax 01372 722 400; e-mail ad@dayone.co.uk
David Daniell
Church Shops
Watch out for Tyndale Bibles, etc., for sale throughout the UK in the church shops. If you don’t see them, do ask for them.
T Shirts
T-shirts are available in light grey and white, in medium and large sizes for £8.00 plus 80p post and packing. They show a portrait of William Tyndale as on the Journal cover, with his name and dates. Wear one and complete strangers will ask you about William Tyndale. Place your orders with the Journal editor. Buy now for the summer, while stocks last.