RAINBOW Christian Bookshop will be celebrating its second anniversary with a birthday cake on Wednesday ? but without the financial back-up of friends it will be its last.
The shop, in Fore Street, is seen as a godsend by the local Christian community. However, owner Angela Garnham said it was not making enough money to be commercially viable.
Now a group called the Friends of Rainbow Christian Bookshop has formed and is rallying to her rescue by pledging a monthly income.
?The shop is good but it cannot provide me with an income,? said Angela, 40.
?At the time of opening you think you have all you need to survive. But part-way down the road you realise you need help.?
Angela said she battled against asking because her shop was not a registered charity.
?It is an unusual situation. But a group of us got together and decided that this is the way forward while we still have the option.
?Being a Christian and running a Christian bookshop you can ask ? but if it was another type of shop I couldn?t. But it is a family being a Christian. I asked the family and they have responded.?
She said the original idea was for volunteers to run the shop but the church community held a meeting and agreed they would like her to stay.
?I?m front line ? I enjoy talking to people. I have been a listening ear for people who come in; a shoulder to lean on. I don?t have a collar on, which means people feel more free to speak,? she said.
So far the pledges have amounted to 20% of what is needed to keep the shop open.
?We have until the end of April to sort things out or we have to consider closing. We have asked for 100 friends in total to make a monthly donation. At the moment we have fifteen.?
Angela moved to Devon with her husband three years ago from London. She had previously worked with local authorities with homeless people.
?I was at a business course at the Business Information Point and my aim was to open a children?s book shop in Okehampton.
?However, someone on the course knew about the empty premises and the congregation in the Baptist Church next door had been praying about it opening as a Christian book shop. They contacted me and I agreed.?
A spokesman for ministers in Okehampton said they ?endorse and fully support the outreach in mission? that the shop in Fore Street is undertaking.
?As leaders we feel that the formation of a Friends of Rainbow Christian Bookshop will be instrumental in continuing the vision that Angela has begun.
?We recognise that the presence of Angela and the book shop is a vital part of the Christian witness in the town.?
Anyone who would like to become a friend should get a form from the shop or their nearest church.