Good Morning from the Church of England Communications Office 

Daily Briefing for Tuesday 4th September 2012

Birinus, bishop, 650
Tomorrow: Feria 

 1.  Back to school - with two new Eucharistic Prayers for children
Two new Eucharistic Prayers for school and church use are published today - both composed to involve children and capture their imaginations as fully as possible in the preparation and celebration of Holy Communion. They are available alongside practical guidance from the Liturgical Commission helping celebrants turn an ordinary school room into an exciting place of worship; and they are available in a range of print and digital formats to suit schools and churches. For further information, see end of briefing or go to: http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2012/09/back-to-school-%E2%80%93-with-two-new-eucharistic-prayers-for-children.aspx

2.  PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CHURCH ADVERTISING NETWORK
Godbaby  - the must-have Gift this Christmas
A very different image of baby Jesus is due to hit the streets this Christmas, with the new Godbaby poster from the Churches Advertising Network, http://churchads.net/   (News release at foot of briefing including quotes from Bishop of Bradford Nick Baines and Rev Arun Arora director of communications, Archbishops' Council)

3. Today's press coverage

Daily Mail p19
News report that Archbishop of York is backing the newspaper's fight for "an automatic block on internet filth"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2197887/Sentamu-backs-Mails-fight-automatic-block-internet-filth-causes-immeasurable-misery-heartache.html

Daily Mail p12
News report "Christian fightback: Equality watchdogs take on Cameron and back the right to wear cross at work"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2197894/Christian-fightback-Equality-watchdogs-Cameron-right-wear-cross-work.html
Commentary from Lord Carey:  "How can it be a hate crime to show your faith in Christ?"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2197862/How-hate-crime-faith-Christ.html

Daily Tel p17
News report that Anglican Church in Sydney has been criticised for changing marriage ceremony to include a vow by brides to 'submit'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9517680/Sydneys-Anglican-Church-introduces-submit-wedding-vows-after-Fifty-Shades-of-Grey.html

Guardian p2
Latest news article on Christian girl accused of blasphemy in Pakistan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/03/christian-girl-senior-pakistani-cleric-blasphemy?newsfeed=true

Range of articles/obituaries on the death of Sun Myung Moon founder of the Unification Church (known as the Moonies)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/inside-the-sinister-moonie-cult-how-1301689
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/03/moonie-cult-leader?INTCMP=SRCH
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/02/rev-sun-myung-moon?INTCMP=SRCH
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9517193/The-Rev-Sun-Myung-Moon.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9503758/Can-the-Moonies-keep-on-shining.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/reverend-sun-myung-moon-messiah-who-befriended--presidents-dies-8101593.html

 Ends 
 
Newspaper Web links with most or all stories -
 

Daily Mail              http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Daily Mirror           http://www.mirror.co.uk

FT                         http://www.ft.com

Guardian               http://guardian.co.uk

Independent titles http://www.independent.co.uk

Observer               http://www.observer.co.uk

People                             http://www.people.co.uk

Sun                       http://www.the-sun.co.uk

Sunday Mirror       http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk

Sunday Times        http://www.sunday-times.co.uk

Telegraph titles     http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Times                    http://www.thetimes.co.uk

 

With some stories

Daily Express        http://www.express.co.uk

Daily Star              http://www.dailystar.co.uk

Ev Standard           http://www.standard.co.uk

 

Church press

Baptist Times        http://www.baptist.org.uk/btnews.htm

Catholic Herald     http://www.catholicherald.co.uk

CEN                      http://www.churchnewspaper.com

Church Times        http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/front.asp

Methodist Recorder         http://www.methodistrecorder.co.uk/index.htm

Tablet                    http://www.thetablet.co.uk

 

Other links

Ananova                http://www.ananova.com

BBC                      http://bbc.co.uk

Channel 4             http://www.channel4.com

Private Eye            http://www.private-eye.co.uk

Reuters                 http://www.reuters.co.uk

 

 

NEWS from the Church of England

 

PR 98.12

 

3/9/2012

Back to school - with two new Eucharistic Prayers for children

 

Two new Eucharistic Prayers for school and church use are published today - both composed to involve children and capture their imaginations as fully as possible in the preparation and celebration of Holy Communion. They are available alongside practical guidance from the Liturgical Commission helping celebrants turn an ordinary school room into an exciting place of worship; and they are available in a range of print and digital formats to suit schools and churches (full details below).

 

Endorsing the new prayers, the Revd Mary Hawes, National Going for Growth (Children's and Youth) Adviser, said: "These prayers have been specially written to unlock a child's imagination whilst being arresting and brief so that they can be learned by heart. Children can lead particular sections and engage with worship through art and music. I fully commend their use in churches and schools."

 

Recognising that the attendance of children at all-age celebrations has increased, and taking account of the Dearing Report's emphasis on the importance of the Church's mission work with schools, the General Synod commissioned the House of Bishops to compile the prayers in 2008.

 

Using direct, visual and vivid language, the two prayers may be incorporated within the current framework of Common Worship services either within Holy Communion: Order One or A Service of the Word with Holy Communion.

 

Guidance material encourages celebrants to think carefully about how best to prepare a room that may also be used for school dinners or gymnastics, and "use imagination and allow space for an entire liturgical experience", "leaving room for silence and mystery"; it suggests inviting children to make bread and banners, and play uplifting music on their own instruments, and covers practical matters such as the height of the Communion table.

 

Alongside the free online versions of the two new Eucharistic Prayers at http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/texts/additional-eucharistic-prayers.aspx , Church House Publishing (CHP) has published the texts and guidance in a range of useful formats:

- Common Worship Additional Eucharistic Prayers: with Guidance on Celebrating the Eucharist with Children is available as a booklet (ISBN 978 07151 2225 9, £5.99) from booksellers or direct from http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/product.asp?id=2398033

- A Kindle Edition of the booklet is available http://www.amazon.co.uk/Common-Worship-Eucharistic-celebrating-ebook/dp/B0094DE6D6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346421426&sr=1-1

- The services and guidance are also available in Visual Liturgy Live, CHP's worship-planning software www.visualliturgylive.net.

 

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CHURCH ADVERTISING NETWORK

 

Godbaby 
 

The must-have Gift this Christmas
 

 

A very different image of baby Jesus is due to hit the streets this Christmas, with the new Godbaby poster from ChurchAds.net - the Churches Advertising Network.

 

The striking image of a fictional 'Godbaby toy' aims to make the Christmas story appeal to the younger generation, and puts Christ at the centre of conversations.

 

"It's another strong and arresting image. It will surprise some and disturb others." Said Bishop Nick Baines, giving the image an enthusiastic thumbs up.

 

He continues, "Which is exactly what the real Jesus did. And it forces us beyond the tinsel to the human  reality of  'God among us".

 

The cute brown-eyed boy doll in a blue baby grow represents the baby Jesus, and plays on the idea of Christmas being a time when everyone is searching for that 'must-have' Christmas gift. It carries the slogan - 'GodBaby - He cries, He wees, He saves the world' and is the latest advert from the 'Christmas Starts with Christ…' campaign. 

 

ChurchAds.net Trustee, Mike Elms, a former advertising executive, said: "Research shows that 84% of people believe that 'Christmas should be called Christmas because we are still a Christian society' and yet society still seems set on airbrushing Christ out of His festivity. So, our campaign places a Christ-focussed message at the heart of the seasonal consumerism: on shopping centre posters; on commercial radio; in the pages of our daily newspapers. This year's poster features the 'Godbaby doll': this year's 'must-have' gift. It's a striking, contemporary and very simple way of communicating the nativity message that Christ, fully divine and fully human, came to us for our salvation.

 

The Christmas Starts with Christ campaign has been running for 4 years and research shows that 42% of people seeing it say 'it makes me think more about the true meaning of Christmas'.

 

Supported by Premier Christian Media, The Jerusalem Trust, and all major Christian denominations, the aim of the campaign  is to remind people of the real meaning of Christmas.

 

To maximise the impact of the message, ChurchAds.net is asking individuals and churches to make a donation to a National Christmas Advertising fund. The aim is to raise enough money to cover the placing of posters at bus stops, buy airtime for specially commissioned radio ads, and buy colour ads in national and regional newspapers. For more information and a FREE campaign activation pack and resources, visit: www.churchads.net

ENDS

 

Notes to editors:

Last year the campaign re-cast the nativity scene with trendy twenty somethings, in designer fashion offering luxury gifts including Swarovski crystal perfume bottle, a Faberge egg and a replica crystal skull.

 

ADDITIONAL QUOTES

 

Arun Arora, Communications Director, Church of England

"We need to be re-telling the story of Christ's birth in ways which engage creatively and positively with the public's interest. GodBaby is edgy and pushes at the boundaries of our comfort zones and into the places where people gather."

 

David Wilkinson, Principal of St John's College, University of Durham

"This fun and provocative picture takes us on a journey into the surprising nature of the Christian message.  What does it mean for the divine saviour to be fully human? It is a journey that many other Christians have tried to communicate - perhaps Charles Wesley was doing the same with 'our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man'"

 

Mark Greene, Executive Director LICC

"This brilliant double-barrelled ad simultaneously undermines two corrosive, contemporary beliefs: Jesus is not just a mythic baby to coo at, he is God. And his birth isn't primarily a marketing trigger for buying toys and gifts, it's a moment to remember how desperately we need God and how extravagantly God loves his world."

 

Christmas Starts with Christ…

The Christmas Starts with Christ Campaign is now in its fourth year. The campaign re-tells the Christmas story in modern, secular contexts to capture the general public's attention and interest. Poster ads in previous years have set the nativity in a bus shelter and featured a dramatic 'Jesus Babyscan'. Radio ads have placed the story in a football match, horse race and pop chart countdown.

 

About ChurchAds.net

ChurchAds.net, the group behind the advert, is an ecumenical charity comprising senior communications experts from all major denominations and many Christian organisations. Churchads.net works with a number of key partners including Premier Christian Media and the Jerusalem Trust.

 

Contact

Contact Francis Goodwin on 07733001781