Local newspapers can be most effective evangelization
partners with local congregations if we think in terms of what
God is doing in our neighborhoods that may be of interest beyond our
membership rather than in terms of how can we get "publicity"
for what "we" are doing... for our programs, services, fund
raisers, building campaigns, anniversaries, etc. The local papers
will not think of themselves as "evangelization partners"
-- but that's all right. And they don't care if you do.
The Morning Call, Allentown, recently carried
in all editions (circulation approximately 175,000) a feature about
Kiju Paul's summer journey throughout the diocesan community -- specifically,
his meeting with children at the Cathedral. [Kiju Paul is a priest
from the Sudan, studying at VTS, and spending the summer on a whirlwind
journey visiting with congregations in the 14 counties of the Dicoese
of Bethlehem.}
That feature was not published because I
used what little influence I may have to make such things happen but
because someone at the local congregation conveyed their enthusiasm
about Kiju Paul and their concern about the Sudan to the newspaper.
A week or so ago, Cathedral member and World Mission committee member
Barbara Lloyd spoke with me about how to interest the newspaper in
such a feature. I gave her a few names and suggested that she simply
tell the folks at the newspaper why she thought this was a good story.
When I saw yesterday's feature, I supposed Barbara somehow followed
through on this. The newspaper sent a reporter to Kiju Paul's session
with the children on Tuesday. The story appeared on Wednesday.
Additional items to note here.
(1) When something is scheduled to happen at your
congregation that may be of interest to folks beyond your membership,
it is much more effective to extend something of what happened to
a wider audience through an after-the-fact newspaper feature, column,
letter to the editor, etc., than to concentrate on pre-publicity that
might get a handful more to the event. Energy-draining "pre-publicity"
efforts might bring 110 rather than 100 people to your event. The
after-the-fact feature in the newspaper, however, will bring something
of the event to thousands more.
(2) Cast your bread upon the waters. If you convey
to the editorial people at your local newspaper your enthusiasm or
concern about something, their follow up with a reporter and their
own feature may surprise you. This is a far more effective approach
than the traditional "news release" which I hardly ever
use any more. If nothing happens, don't become a nag. You'll wear
out your welcome in a hurry. Often enough, the simple reason is that
an editor had to make a quick judgment about current priorities --
and that judgment had nothing to do with his/her liking or not liking
your church.
Thanks, Barbara and/or whoever made the Kiju Paul
feature happen.
One last thing.
The following email note I sent a few weeks ago (email
is quickly becoming the most effective way to communicate with folks
at the local newspaper) is an example of one of the approaches I use
in place of news releases.
To: [Journalists at eleven local dailies] From: Bill
Lewellis
By 1974, the Episcopal Church had not yet admitted
women into priestly ministry. On July 29, 1974, three retired bishops
took matters into their own hands and ordained eleven women deacons
as priests -- thereby causing a great furor in the Episcopal church.
Their action, however, had the desired effect: two years later, the
church policy was changed to admit women priests.
This summer marks the 25th anniversary of women in
priestly ministry in the Episcopal Church. That will be marked by
a celebration in Philadelphia on July 29 at the church where the ordination
of the "Philadelphia 11" took place -- and an August 15
celebration in the Diocese of Bethlehem. We will celebrate 25 years
of women in priestly ministry with a celebration at St. Stephen's
Church in Wilkes-Barre on August 15. The senior woman priest in our
diocese, Elizabeth Myers of Milford, will be principal celebrant of
the Eucharist. Women priests from the diocese will concelebrate. Bishop
Paul Marshall will preside. Gwendolyn-Jane Romeril, rector of St.
Andrew's, Bethlehehem, will preach.
If you want to consider a feature about women priests
in the Diocese of Bethlehem and in your coverage area, I'll be glad
to help with that by providing a list of helpful and strategic contacts...
and, if you wish, by conceptualizing with you about the shape of the
feature.
Thanks.
Bill
Bill
Lewellis, Communication Minister/Editor, Diocese of Bethlehem
Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible. Be loving.
Develop and, if necessary, change. --Bernard Lonergan
Feature Films
and Videos for your spiritual journey
FilmClipsOnline
Too good to be true? Decide for yourself. Subscribe for *free*
30 minute-cassettes of 1-5 minute clips of recently released or about-to-be
released films which come with a study guide tailored to a particular
audience (currently available -- study guides and questions for discussion
for use in junior high school, high school, Christian settings). Films
are previewed and prepared for the clips by a panel of educators for
the education editions, church folk for the church editions.
TheFilmForum.com
Christian conversation about the movies. It is unfortunate
that Christians have adopted the philosophy that a movie must either
be approved of or disapproved of. There is little room for discussion
of one particular character, one theme, or one scene within a film
that, as a whole, might be deemed offensive... The Film Forum aspires
to create a dialogue about our spiritual lives, a place where we can
learn from one another... focusing not on reaching a conclusion about
a film but on listening to the experiences of others in God's kingdom...
The mission of The Film Forum, then, is to encourage readers to stay
open to the Spirit in all of life. The goal of The Film Forum is to
encourage readers to listen to the Spirit of God in whatever they
do.
SpiritualRx.com
The website of Trinity Wall Street's magazine, Spirituality &
Health: The Soul/Body Connection. The site includes a comprehensive
collection of reviews of books, audio, video and feature films for
your spiritual journey.
Chiaroscuro
Spirituality in the cinema. "Hide the ideas, but so that
people find them. The most important will be the most hidden. (Filmmaker
Robert Bresson). Chiaroscuro = The interplay of light and shade in
an image. This site hopes to move beyond the culture wars and encourage
a conversation between the cinema and Christian spirituality. Movie
spirituality wasn't invented yesterday... Oftentimes, the conversation
regarding movies and spirituality remains locked within the latest
film releases at the multiplexes and video chains that dominate North
American culture. One of the goals of Chiaroscuro is to cast a larger
net to broaden the dialogue and include international directors, independent
filmmakers, and classic films from the past that deserve (re)consideration
by mainstream audiences.
Hollywood
Jesus
Pop Culture from a Spiritual Point of View. In Western culture,
filmmakers are the story tellers that connect the viewer with the
realities of the mysteries of life that appeal to our inner quest
for truth and purpose. The images in the movies that spark this inner
quest stay with us a lifetime. "All of life's riddles are answered
in the movies." (Steve Martin in Grand Canyon)
TextWeek
Sometimes films help us understand interesting perspectives on
biblical themes. They can give us new insight to contemporary interpretations
of those themes, and open up new avenues for understanding, preaching,
and living the text within our culture. Have you ever tried to remember
what scene it was from what movie that illustrated a particular biblical
or spiritual theme? Have you ever wanted a list of cultural perspectives
on spiritual themes? Textweek is a "concordance" of a kind
-- an attempt to gather together scenes in movies that serve as "comparative
texts" in relationship to biblical/spiritual themes and passages.
