Seeker

http://churchads.net/2012/index.html Some people find this advert shocking. The truly shocking thing about it is in the title 'Godbaby' - a brilliant use of a new compound word. It starkly states what Christians believe - that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. And yes, that is a shocking idea. It's also good news that God communicates with us in a language even the youngest child can understand - in this case with the wordless cry of a new-born baby' The BBC has now noticed the Godbaby advert produced for Christmas 2012 by ChurchAds.net . The BBC said early today that it was produced by the Church of England, which is not the case. The annual Christmas campaign is produced by an ecumenical network, involving people across the churches of the UK, using the services of award winning advertising executives and designers who give their work free.  I wrote a brief post Godbaby when the 2012 campaign was launched nearly a month ago. Now the advert is getti...

http://churchads.net/2012/index.html Are you ready for Christmas yet?  Far too early I know.  ChurchAds.Net are ready. They have just launched the 2012 poster for the Christmas Starts with Christ Campaign that has been running the last few years. This one is likely to be as controversial as the posters of previous years, but that's the point - to get people talking about it and introduce the story of Jesus in a fresh way. What do you think about this one? 

Why does Holy Cross Day come in September, not Good Friday? It goes back to the 4 th century. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, after her son and his empire had adopted Christianity, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to find and preserve sites associated with Jesus.  Legend has it that Helena discovered part of the cross of Jesus and believed she’d discovered the site of Calvary and the resurrection tomb nearby. Here she built a chapel, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was dedicated on 14 th September 335. So 14 th September became a day for recognizing the Cross and celebrating what it symbolizes, a symbol of triumph, a sign of Christ's victory over death, and a reminder of His promise, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself." (John 12:32) The gospel reading for Holy Communion today says it all: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but...

I have been thinking about all that I owe to the late John Stott, pictured here in a photo by John Yates taken at The Hookses, near Dale in Pembrokeshire. I'm still not ready to put my thoughts into a blog post. I will, but not yet. Meanwhile, here is his answer to my question - what is Christianity?   "Christianity is not primarily a theological system, an ethical system, a ritual system, a social system or an ecclesiastical system - it is a person: it's Jesus Christ, and to be a Christian is to know Him and to follow Him and believe in Him." Thank you 'Uncle John'. For some tributes to him see here (a special section of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity website) among many other places.

Risen Christ, when you ask us, as you asked your disciples: "Who am I for you?" we would like to answer: you are the One who never abandons us. Prayer by Brother Roger of Taize

Gothic novels featuring vampires or horror aren't my choice of holiday reading. I didn't see the film 'Interview with the Vampire' though I was aware it was based on the American author Anne Rice's series of novels about Lestat (a vampire). My lack of interest in her particular form of dark fiction means that the fact that 12 years ago the author converted from atheism to Christianity had failed to grab my attention. Until today. Alison Flood, in an article for the Guardian, picks up on Anne Rice's post on her Facebook page that she has decided to "quit being a Christian" because of negative attitudes by Christians to birth control, homosexuality and science. What interests me most about this is that Anne Rice declares that her faith in Christ is still central to her life. She writes, "I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being 'Christian' or to being part of Christianity...It's simply impossible for me to '...

As it turned out, they didn't need their spices that morning, only their eyes and ears and a voice to pass on the message they heard,  "why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen." Luke 24: 5 Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!