I hope this proves of interest. I have offered the eMag article in its entirety with the copyright proviso that I understand this site as constituting a 'congregation.' I apologise to admin if this is, in fact, an infringement.

Blessings

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Greetings,

I'm sending this as a Rumors "special" because it should be of intense
interest to the many who are part of the United Church of Canada, and
certainly of some interest to the rest of you. It is about an advertising
campaign carefully designed to reach out beyond the normal church
constituency.

It's Jim Taylor's "Sharp Edges" column which he writes for our
local daily paper and is available as e-mail by writing Jim at:
jimt@quixotic.ca. I'm forwarding it to you because of the lively
conversation it generated over coffee at our church on Sunday, where the
folks had read it in the paper that morning.

Following Jim's column is a news release from the folks who are
managing the campaign.

Sunday November 26, 2006

CHURCH AD CAMPAIGN CREATES SHOCK AND DISMAY

The U.S. media spent much of the week being scandalized by Michael Richards'
racist outburst during a standup comedy routine. You probably know Richards
better as Cosmo Kramer on the former Seinfeld sitcom series.
Several news stories were so appalled that they never mentioned the
offending word, "nigger."
Canadians, I guess, get upset about other things. In the circles I move in,
the word causing shock and dismay is "bobblehead."
A bobblehead is, of course, a dashboard ornament whose head bounces at every
bump. Some car owners consider them entertaining. Some consider them a good
luck charm.
But in this case, the bobblehead is supposed to be Jesus.
The image comes from an advertising campaign recently launched by The United
Church of Canada. The campaign has six full-page magazine ads.
* The bobblehead Jesus.
* Jesus in the Santa chair at the mall.
* A new baby, wearing a "warning" wristband.
* A Bible bristling with "Agree" and "Disagree" sticky notes.
* A spray can of whipping cream, captioned, "How much fun can sex be before
it's a sin?"
* A traditional wedding cake with figurines of two men on top.
Not since Charles Harvey of the Ottawa Citizen made a screaming headline out
of a casual comment by former United Church moderator Bill Phipps -- that he
did not equate Jesus with God -- has theology generated as much discussion.

NOT DISINTERESTED
At this point, I should declare my own bias. I have lived within the United
Church all my life. I have volunteered since I was 18; I was employed by it
for 13 years. During my book-publishing career, the United Church was our
biggest customer.
I am, in other words, not a disinterested observer.
That doesn't mean I support everything it has said or done. At times, I have
disagreed strongly with, even protested against, some church policies.
But not this time.
I was not involved in developing the current ad campaign. Indeed, I barely
knew of it until I chanced to attend a presentation in September.
Nevertheless, because of my known church association, I seem to have become
a lightning rod for those who consider the ads distasteful, misleading,
offensive, even disgraceful.

THREE REBUTTALS
Three things need to be said:

1. No money from any church donations went into this campaign. None. Zero.
Nada. The funding - about $10.5 million - came from a bequest specifically
designated for innovative ways of reaching out to unchurched people.
So it could not have been distributed to the poor, as some have suggested.
Nor could it have been used to prop up struggling congregations.
Some critics have objected that church members were not consulted. True. But
neither are pew-sitters consulted directly about thousands of other
decisions. Those decisions are delegated to elected representatives. As was
this one.

2. There are no television ads.
Most of the protests have come from people who glimpsed the content on
television. But those were news stories, not paid ads. After the venerable
Globe and Mail did a full-page feature on the campaign, other media leaped
on the bandwagon. Inevitably, they selected the most controversial images.
Television inevitably distorts the ads' message. Magazine readers have time
to read the text; viewers do not. Magazine readers have time to consider
their reaction; viewers merely react.
During his studies at Columbia University in New York, Eric McLuhan - son of
Marshall McLuhan - showed that television and print affect the human brain
differently. Television, as emitted light, stimulates the emotional right
brain; print, as reflected light, influences the more analytical left brain.

To judge a print ad on a brief television exposure, therefore, is almost
certainly misleading.

3. The ads were not aimed at today's church members. They were intended for
30-45 year olds who have pretty much given up on any church.
Although over 80 per cent of Canadians still profess belief in God and
consider faith important, only 19 per cent still attend church weekly. As
one commentator noted, "people are looking for spirituality everywhere but
in churches."
About a third of the $10.5 million went to research the attitudes of people
whose last contact with church was 20 or more years ago. They think of
church as intimidating, stuffy, and judgemental, boring, unwilling to
change.
In fact, the church - especially, perhaps, the United Church -- has changed.
But the target audience doesn't know it.

HOW ELSE?
Frankly, I don't expect these ads to bring hordes of people into United
Churches.
If it does, I fear that visitors may encounter church members who are just
as stodgy and judgemental as they remembered. The major flaw in this
campaign, to my mind, is a lack of training for the sales representatives
who have to close the sale, the local members.
If the church is merely a social club for existing members, this ad campaign
will be a failure.
But if the church's mission is to get people thinking about the role of
religion and faith in daily life, their relationship with what AA calls a
"higher power," then it has already succeeded.
In the first week alone, over 32,000 people logged onto www.WonderCafé.ca,
with 306 topics posted, for a generally civilized discussion.
I would ask critics how they would convince a sceptical generation that the
church is NOT stodgy, judgemental, set in its ways, and unwilling to change?
* With pictures of an ethereal man wearing a halo?
* With pictures of a heart, ripped from a living chest, dripping blood?
* With videos of good-hearted persons huddled in meetings?
* With buildings whose architecture restricts any mission but maintaining
the architecture?
The people who developed the WonderCafe campaign at least had some new
ideas.
Instead of chipping away at their efforts, United Church members might
better celebrate their creativity. And figure out ways of capitalizing on
whatever results come, good or bad.
*****************************************
Copyright © 2006 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study
groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
*****************************************

News Release
During the initial week after the launch of WonderCafe, The United Church of
Canada and its advertising initiative were mentioned as news items on
* 56 television stations in Canada
* 77 radio stations (not including phone in and interview shows)
* 50 newspapers.

On WonderCafe.ca, within the first week,
* 2165 people had filled out profiles
* 122,174 pages were viewed
* 306 topics were posted for discussion generating
* 5318 postings to the site
* 32,041 unique "computers"/individuals had logged onto the site

These figures do not include reports on the campaign by the BBC World
Service, the Australian Broadcasting Company and reports in New Zealand,
South Africa, India and New Zealand as well as many references on the
Internet.

The Public Relations dimension of this initiative will be considered for two
Public Relations awards. The Advertising Campaign itself will be considered
for four awards.

This week the Emerging Staff have also been part of interviews with two
Winnipeg radio stations - the CBC, CJOB, the Globe and Mail and, potentially
this Sunday, CNN.

Keith Howard
Executive Director
Emerging Spirit
( www.emergingspirit.ca; www.wondercafe.ca ) The United Church of Canada
250-483-5835