It is a year since I lost Simon. He would have been celebrating his 50th on 9th November. To celebrate his birth, we will scatter his ashes. Not the celebration we had planned but I like the nice, neat, cyclical nature of the timing and I know Simon would appreciate that too. It is impossible to summarise the essence of someone. How do I do that for his 50th? Wish me luck. His deepest Christian beliefs however, have been easier to curate. I found a marvellous discovery in my files earlier this year, whilst doing some computer spring cleaning. I found Simon’s content for his book The Key to the Door, which he wrote in May 2020 during the first Covid lockdown.
I had completely forgotten it was there, so with great joy I posthumously published it in July 2022 and have made it available for download on his legacy website simonmappawards.com. It is such a gift to find his voice speaking again, from a distance now, about the things that made him who he was. It is not a book offered for constructive criticism. It is not for review or challenge. It is Simon’s love letter to his top five greatest thinkers and philosophers that influenced him personally, as a Christian, and love letters are immune from deconstruction. If you knew Simon, you will find this book a great comfort. I do. It is a chance to continue to converse with him from the beyond and be possibly inspired to check out some of these works for yourself.
In The Key to the Door Simon reflects on the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Ludwig Wittgenstein, the Methodist preacher Leslie Weatherhead, Irish mystic John Moriarty and Tom Wright. Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida are also high up on his list but he concedes that their study requires deeper delving. These thinkers influenced Simon as a Christian, in different ways. There is no common thread. In his concluding remarks he says:
‘For Kierkegaard it is the simplicity that leads to the cross of Christ, whereas for Wittgenstein it is in the silence, when language can do no more work. Within Weatherhead it is understanding more fully the ultimate will of God over the intended will of God. In the writings of Moriarty the Christian must begin to appreciate the beauty of the Earth as God’s creation – which links seamlessly to Wright’s teachings on the meaning of the Cross as the coming together of Heaven and Earth.’
If you like reading other people’s love letters, this is a 120 page treat. You can find it to download at simonmappawards.com in the section entitled MORE and the sub section of Simon Mapp Library. Happy reading. Any book from the Simon Mapp Library is also available as a free gift. Just check out the Simon Mapp Library catalogue from the same website. Choose a book or two (or more) and I will send it in the post as a gift (free).
Finally, a quick word about the Simon Mapp awards. In memory of my darling Simon, we need to raise £1000 every year for the next 10 years until 2032, to fund books for undergraduates from Department of Theology and Religion at Birmingham University. Students can apply for help to fund the purchase of their chosen specialist books in preparation for their third-year dissertation.
Visit simonmappawards.com to find out more. Five lucky recipients per academic year will receive £200 in book tokens as part of the scheme. Every penny raised on this Just Giving page goes direct to Birmingham University to fund the Simon Mapp Awards justgiving.com/simonmappawards. As a theology graduate himself from Birmingham University, this is Simon’s legacy, to fulfil his wish that knowledge and discovery should be available to all.
Simon Mapp was a member of the SOF Board of Trustees and Vice-Chair of the Board for several years. Geraldine Mapp is his widow.