#002 Cartooning after Makin
Also: Advent controversies
Hello and welcome to issue #002 of The Cartoon Church. As promised, these newsletters have indeed been incredibly unreliable as to their timing. But this time in particular I wanted to pause for a short time after the publication of the Makin Report, in order to write something, but not in a hurry. See my comments below - skip three drawings if that’s what you’re here for.
Cartoon of the week
This week: Advent controversies.
You’ll find more Advent and Christmas cartoons in the cartoons section of CartoonChurch.com. And it’s all free to browse. If you’d like to use the cartoons you find there in your Church magazine licences are available.
Church Times cartoon snippet
This is a small section of a cartoon titled ‘Who didn’t lock up?’
You can see all of my recent Church Times cartoons, including ones about AI, and whether we will need this many chairs, here, on the Church Times site. Today’s is about designing a Christmas Fete poster. You can look at two articles or cartoons before you have to pay, so choose wisely. Thanks to everyone who helps fund my cartoon by subscribing to the CT.
Things you might like
I’ve made some Christmas cracker designs you can print off at home: Printable crackers.
My ‘Carols by various artists’ playlist on Spotify. Various genres, but not really choral / traditional. You’ll hate some of it. Standard Spotify disclaimer: Please support artists by other means (buying music, gigs, etc). Carols, various artists
(Lack of a) Cartoon about the Assisted Dying bill
Thoughts on church cartooning after Makin
Anyone who follows Anglican goings-on or reads the news will be aware that the Makin Report, investigating the John Smyth abuse scandal, was finally published in November.
The content was not really a surprise, of course. Most of the shocking detail was already available, most notably in the book Bleeding for Jesus, written by my friend Andrew Graystone. But it’s still horrific to read the report (and if you’re going to comment it is important to actually read it, not just about it).
There are lots of questions raised by the Makin Report, and the extent to which the C of E will really take heed and make changes rather than kicking the can down the road remains to be seen.
Whatever happens, the focus needs to be on victims and survivors, and doing the right thing for them. Everything I’ve written below needs to be read in that context.
Sadly we know that this was not an isolated case, and that there is more to come to light. As Andrew said, on Roger Bolton’s podcast, “…there are at least three major church abuse stories affecting the Anglican Church that will break in 2025”. And, from what I know, that doesn’t surprise me at all.
I’ve not really said much about this subject until now, largely because my social media isn’t where I talk about church-related stuff these days. But, while I’m continuing to produce church-themed cartoons, it could look to the casual observer as if I’m just ignoring the topic entirely.
I can assure you this is not the case. In fact, all of this has brought back to me an unease I’ve had for a considerable time about the cartoons I do about the church, particularly the Church of England. As those who follow my work in the Church Times will know I’ve specialised for years in drawings about church happenings. Mainly the minutiae of everyday goings-on in local (chiefly Anglican) churches, though I do draw about the national church and other issues too.
This might, by the way, all seem very inward-looking, and perhaps it is, but to me it’s important.
My question: Do my (let’s face it) mostly uncritical drawings about (largely) trivial things give the impression that everything is OK in the church, when it isn’t? I don’t really know the answer to this. It’s not really a criticism I’ve had from anyone else (and don’t worry, I’ve had plenty of criticism for other reasons), but it’s certainly one I make of my own work.
I might as well say things as I see them: I haven’t drawn very much at all on the actual topic of church abuse, probably, if I’m to be honest, though lack of ability. Those who know me well will know that the whole cartoon-writing process in general doesn’t come very naturally to me, and I’ve just not found ways to communicate well on the subject of abuse through my cartoons. This is not intended to be false modesty - just the reality as I see it.
My defence, to myself at least: I know people who have been affected, and the subject just is complex. There isn’t always an easy ‘target’ for a cartoonist - it’s often more complicated than that. And yes, this could sound very much like an excuse for keeping quiet when I shouldn’t, and perhaps it is, and I’m sure there will be some that think so.
I’d rather not cover a topic than do so clumsily. Humour at the wrong time and place is undoubtedly a bad thing. As, I’m afraid to say, Justin Welby demonstrated in his incredibly ill-thought-out farewell speech in the House of Lords yesterday, which made clear, if anyone was still in any doubt, that he really does need to go.
But, an alternative view, in defence of everyday-scenes church cartooning: Life in local churches does continue, and there’s humour to be found in the everyday. People are just getting on with things. And, in the vast majority of local churches of the kind I typically depict, safeguarding is now taken very seriously, and local church people are doing good work in their communities.
It’s always been my aim, over the nearly 20 years of doing this, that my work should give a morale boost to clergy and churchgoers when they open the Church Times on a Friday.
Which, incidentally, is why, when my work is described as ‘anti-parish’ by prominent clergy who don’t care in the slightest about the effect their words have on others, it stings. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people have told me over this time that 20 years of drawings have helped and not hindered, and I hope that that is the case.
Well, there we are. I hope my somewhat jumbled thoughts make sense. I’d love to hear your thoughts about any of this. Tell me I’m overthinking it and worrying too much. Tell me to do better. Or tell me to go away. I’m open to hearing. Thanks for reading.
That’s more or less it for this issue, but a few final admin notices:
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Thanks for your support everyone - speak to you soon.
Dave
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Dave don't worry. What your cartoons do, I think, is remind us about how many loyal and faithful Christians are loving and serving and caring for their communities on a daily basis and just trying to follow Jesus, and that, I think, is an important thing to remember.
Thank you for acknowledging the CofE situation and being honest about your questioning. A lot of what I've seen in news reports has been people saying the same thing about the good work happening at local/parish level, taking safeguarding seriously etc. That's the context for your cartoons, so don't worry if you're not addressing the institutional stuff, maybe that's someone else's job.