Hope is alive and well and living in cyberspace

The public face of Hope 2008 is now live. Initial feedback on the site has been very encouraging, and already further exciting opportunities for partnership are emerging. Watch this space!

The first film, Fresh Hope, examines aspects of hope, and features 'vox pops' from the public expressing various perspectives on hope. There is a short accompanying film that shows some of those who contributed to the main film, as well as a new poem by Christian slam poet Jude Simpson.

Kick-starting the conversation

"A dialogue not a monologue". That is how the HopeInfo.co.uk project is being described. And to begin the conversation with the public at large about the nature of hope, the agency is writing to 3,000 households across the country living in "Hope Street".

Selected responses will be posted onto the website to start a conversation about what it means to live hopefully. At the same time, the first of five films will go live on the site. Entitled "Fresh Hope" the film explores the theme using a bus journey motif and vox pops shot in a busy central London street.

Creative new content for the public face of Hope'08

On Friday, slam poet Jude Simpson was filmed performing a new poem written especially for HopeInfo.co.uk. The poem is one of several creative new ideas coming online for the public launch on the 1st December.

Life coach Bruce Stanley is also writing new content to help people measure their "hope score" and find ways to develop more hope in their lives through a series of weekly emails.

Filming of 'Fresh Hope' - the first in a series of five films - is complete, and editing is underway, with the film going live on the site in just under three weeks' time.

The Hope we have in us

Monday sees the launch of HopeInfo.co.uk - the public face of HOPE 2008.

This new site, produced for Hope 2008 by the Christian Enquiry Agency in partnership with Church Army, provides a contemporary, contextual public face for what looks set to be the biggest sustained national ecumenical mission initiative ever. Using film and fun, reflections and discussion, the site aims to inform and engage, and enable visitors to explore the theme of HOPE as well as providing clear next steps they can take to "go deeper" with links to rejesus.co.uk, the Christian Enquiry Agency and others.

Monday's launch is the first step in getting the word out to churches, with the site going public on 1st December.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT WITH A Passion for Evangelism?

Vacancy
The Christian Enquiry Agency is looking for an enthusiastic and proactive individual, with excellent organisational skills and a good appreciation of the potential complexities of a journey to faith, to help respond sensitively and effectively to enquirers to the Agency.

The role is varied and will stretch you, as you seek to play an active role in the continual improvement of the service we offer to the public on behalf of the churches of Britain and Ireland, and to serve both CEA and the Deo Gloria Trust in other key areas of work.

Working alongside the two Directors and responding with care and creativity to postal, email and some telephone enquiries will be both challenging and rewarding, as will dealing confidentially and proactively with the wider work.

Based in Selsdon, but occasional travel to take minutes at London locations required.

For an application form and further details please visit: www.deo-gloria.co.uk/jobs/index.html or email: eric@deo-gloria.co.uk

Closing date Monday 1st October 2007.

Interviews to be held 10th-12th October.

Friends and Heroes - the gift of knowledge

BBC2 has agreed a new broadcast slot for the Friends and Heroes series.





Friends and Heroes is a cartoon series that seeks to "entertain, educate and inform, introducing a new generation, whatever their faith, to the stories of the Old and New Testament."

Concerned that children today do not lose the shared cultural memory that has informed our collective culture, moral codes and religion for generations, the series, also available on DVD, aims to "empower children to listen to their conscience and to make good decisions about respect, kindness, compassion, faith and tolerance, based on knowledge and not ignorance".

Visit http://uk.friendsandheroes.com/ for more.

rejesus 777

Imagine a website all about the life, teaching and followers of Jesus that attracted tens of thousands unique visitors a month… that website is rejesus.co.uk (at least 25,639 last month).

Hundreds of churches already link to rejesus.co.uk, finding it the best possible way to give visitors to their sites information about the person at the centre of their faith. Denominations also link to the site – two and a half percent of all referals come from the Church of England website (www.cofe.anglican.org/). Currently there are 777 live links to rejesus.co.uk! and that number is growing every day.

It is only with voluntary contributions that rejesus is able to maintain an attractive, compelling and up to date site. Could you do three things today to enable rejesus.co.uk to continue to serve the churches in the UK and beyond?

1) The informal report for the last financial year is at www.christianity.org.uk/downloads/rejesus07.pdf - please have a read – I’m sure you will be as inspired as I was when I read it - and circulate it as widely as possible.

2) LINK to rejesus.co.uk from your websites, in your email footers and on leaflets and stationery your church produces/uses – it’s there for you.

3) Please support rejesus.co.uk financially. Remaining contemporary and culturally relevant is not easy. rejesus's costs are very small, but such an extensive and creative site needs financial support. You can give online: http://www.rejesus.co.uk/about_us/donate.html or can send donations to: rejesus.co.uk, 27 Tavistock Square, London. WC1H 9HH.

Thank you.

Evangelism UK

Last month saw the launch of a new website dedicated to providing news items and information on evangelism for church leaders. Brainchild of the Group for Evangelisation (GfE), a coordinating group of Churches Together in England, http://evangelismuk.typepad.com/ aims to highlight useful resources and to help communication across networks. The site, managed by Capt. Jim Currin (Church Army) for GfE, is well worth bookmarking or subscribing to as it will provide a comprehensive source of information from across the churches.

Acts of Random Kindness?

A new film opens in UK cinemas on 3rd August. The follow-up to Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty is reported to be one of the most expensive comedies ever made (~$175 million).
Reviews have generally been good and there are certainly themes that could serve to provoke interesting discussions, in and outside of the churches, such as stewardship of the earth, acts of random kindness (ARK!), the power of prayer and God’s overarching, loving, creational intent.

I saw a sneak preview of the film last night and one of the most profound moments is when God explains to Evan's bewildered wife what He thinks the story of the flood is really all about. I'll leave it to you to decide whether "God" is right or not. Go and see the film. On balance it is worth it.

There is a strong anti-corruption pro-nature/environment message in the film, which I can only applaud. I have to say though that if I was going to spend 175 million dollars on getting moral or Christian messages out there I think I would want more bang for my bucks! But then that is not ultimately why Evan Almighty was made of course...

That said, look out for new Evan Almighty content at http://www.rejesus.co.uk/ in the next few days. This is too good an opportunity to miss in terms of reflection and discussion and Christian engagement with our neighbours.

Broadcast Yoursalve

YouTube provides a great opportunity for Christians to talk about their faith. There is some excellent material out there and some really awful stuff too, as a YouTube search for Jesus will reveal. THIS example (video below) shows poet Jude Simpson talking about how, in her view, Jesus feels about us:

Happiness apparently NOT a cigar called Hamlet

Happiness For Life is a course by embody that follows a natural line of enquiry about happiness, from 'me and my subjective happiness', to the limitations of that, and the further answers found in meaning, purpose and self-transcendence.

The course provides an experiential but non-directive framework for people to come to the conclusion that happiness is related ultimately to meaning found partly through spiritual practices uniquely found in social/communal groups.

Of those participating in the first course, some 50% asked for details of local groups they could join that offered a safe place to explore community and spirituality.

Happiness For Life has been written with this hope in mind and it seems to be delivering. The next course starts in Bristol on 4th July and can also be facilitated anywhere in a reasonable radius of Bristol. Contact: Bruce Stanley via www.happinessforlife.co.uk

ALWAYS BE READY to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you

'HOPE' looks set to be the biggest initiative of the churches for 2008. Are you on board? If not, now is the time. For more information visit the HOPE website, or read about how the Christian Enquiry Agency and rejesus.co.uk can help you at www.christianity.org.uk/hope. Below the latest news from the HOPE office:

"Over the last month, we've been hearing really encouraging news of people planning to bless their communities in creative and innovative ways. So much so, that we're having a hard time selecting items to put in this e:news. Click on the links below to find out what we've managed to include... Our resource book 'HOPE - Great Ideas' is going to be out in a month. It's 160 pages of exclusive copy from people who are passionate about word and action mission. Check out the website throughout June for a sneak preview, and to get hold of a copy. Our new editions of DVDs have come through. They now come with subtitles, and we have a Welsh language version which you can order from the office. We've been meeting with regional advocates, the people who are pushing Hope08 into being in an area near you. We discussed plans, swapped ideas and are learning how we can be more effective in resourcing this grassroots initiative. One of these ways is through making sure our website is flexible, and shaped around plans as they develop. With this in mind we'd love for you to start sending us your ideas. We want the website to serve you and your community, so let us know what you're planning for 2008! You can email us at info@hope08.com, and keep an eye on the '2007, a Year of Preparation' section of the website. Yours, Fritha - on behalf of the Hope08 Team."

Bono: black and proud

If you haven't seen the film The Commitments, then the post title may be a little lost on you, but the clip below is well worth watching.

Unique opportunity: Mission and Communications Intern

Could this be you, or someone you know? A vacancy has arisen for a Mission and Communications Intern (One-year fixed term contract).

This is a unique opportunity for the right individual to work at the heart of UK mission and evangelism networks, on the cutting edge of communication in Christian mission.

Supporting the Director and managing complex projects, you will need to have initiative and drive. In return, you will have the chance to gain invaluable experience and to undertake a research project into a key area of the Agency’s work.

With a good understanding of, and sympathy for, the breadth of theological insights and perspectives on mission and evangelism across the churches, you will:
- be educated at least to ‘A’ level or equivalent, with a theological qualification;
- have excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills;
- be competent in the use of office software and be numerate and articulate;
- have an enthusiasm for creative evangelism;
- be of good standing within a church that is part of Churches Together in England (or other nation).

Salary from £13,000 to £15,000 p.a. depending on experience.
Closing date for applications: 6th July 2007. Interviews to be held two weeks later.
The Job Description is HERE.

Outreach resources for the iPod generation

We've launched two new contact postcards today - attractive (we think) designs with a tear-off freepost response card offering information on "hope" and "life in all its fullness".

For all cards received the Agency will send information on the life and teaching of Jesus - free of charge and in complete confidence as always. The cards also carry details of where to get more information on the web, for those that prefer that. Get them now "while stocks last" and let us have your feedback - we will be updating them later in the year and would love to have your comments, suggestions and stories as to how you have used/plan to use the cards. ORDER ONLINE NOW:
http://www.deo-gloria.co.uk/resources_cea-contact-cards.php

Good News indeed

Mark Russell, Chief Executive of Church Army, has given an interview with Premier.TV in which he speaks of the need for new forms of communication and new forms of church for a new generation. Mark gives us further evidence, not that it was needed, that his is a timely appointment. Go to http://www.premier.tv/jesuscentred/ and see what you think. Encouraged? Questions? Post them here. Or check out Mark's own blog (see links on the right).
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"Ecumenically responsible evangelism"

This post comes 'live and direct' from the Senior Representatives Forum of CTBI, where World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia is speaking. As Ekklesia reports, during this visit he has called for an "ecumenically responsible evangelism" (visit http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5195 for more.) I wonder what this would look like in practice. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Body Language: walking the walk

Body Language is a campaign that plans to get faith back onto the everyday conversational agenda, by resonating with people outside the church and connecting with the people inside it.

The project has the ambitious, but achieveable target of a national advertising campaign that aims to get ‘it' (faith) to come up more often in conversation. How? By creating greater awareness of the church’s ‘Community Care’, particularly at the local level, in a manner that actively invites non-Christians to find out more and even contribute to church-based social care programmes. Why? The research the idea is based on showed that this was the common ground most likely to be productive in getting both those inside, and outside the churches talking and working together.

I've had several meetings with the team from LICC behind the initiative and I am very excited about it. And I'm not easily excited. Watch this space for more, in due course. In the meantime, I highly recommend the following reading, available from LICC online:

Freely you have received...

This morning I was at the local train station with two dozen others from the local churches. We were handing out free hot cross buns to commuters with details of local Easter services and, of course, contact details for the Christian Enquiry Agency.

It was a heart warming experience, for the simple reason that people were much nicer than I expected them to be! There were one or two very sceptical people that barely made eye contact if at all, but the vast majority of people were pleasantly surprised and more than happy to fill the time waiting for the train by munching away on a hot buttered bun. If nothing else this is a simply great way to raise the profile of the churches in the community. And judging by previous years, this activity repeated nationwide, will result in an influx of enquiries about the meaning of Easter.

How to pray? Where to pray?

In a new partnership with the Church Army and rejesus.co.uk, the Christian Enquiry Agency has produced 'business' cards for Church Army evangelists on the theme of prayer.
If you think this is something you could use, small quantities of cards can be made available free on request and larger print runs can be obtained at cost (less than 2p a card). Printed on 300gsm gloss card, these attractive, simple cards have a space to overprint your details or those of your church and refer people to the rejesus.co.uk site for information on how to pray.

Spirit of Life - spirituality fair at Coventry Cathedral

Yvonne Richmond is the Canon Missioner at Coventry cathedral and the driving force behind the 2nd annual Spirituality Fair being held at venues across the centre of coventry on the 7th May. We are providing new contact cards for the event that will enable people on a spiritual journey to contact us to explore Jesus as the Spirit of Life:

Hope08 - a major opportunity for churches

'Word and deed missions' - as I have heard them called - are nothing new. Jesus wasn't exactly all mouth, after all. But they seem to be enjoying a renaissance. So many people are searching for meaning, yet are suspicious of those who claim to have found it. And frankly, so am I. When someone's words and actions don't quite seem to match, there's due cause for cynicism right there. But when I see someone living out their claims, I'm at least prepared to hear them out. Christians up and down the country are already living out the faith they profess - according to Churches Information for Mission, Christians are EIGHT times more likely to be voluntarily active in their communities. Hope 2008 provides a helpful banner under which much of the churches' work in the community can be done. Why bother? Well recent research has shown that many churches' social action programmes are missed opportunities - because there is a lack of clarity as to who was behind all the good work.

As part of its contribution to 'Hope' therefore, the Christian Enquiry Agency is encouraging participating churches to communicate more clearly:
a) who they are and
b) how people can contact them
as well as promoting the existence of the services this agency provides.

We are also producing Hope contact postcards with a freepost response to that churches can overprint to facilitate better contact and communication throughout 2008. Samples will appear here soon; watch this space...

What do you think?