A special Ash Wednesday Instagram filter, using Virtual Reality techniques, the popular Time to Pray app & podcast and the 2020 Advent and Christmas campaign 'Comfort and Joy' were among areas of work honoured at the annual 'Digital Impact Awards' in London. Competitors included household names such as Lloyds Banking Group, Fidelity, Centrica and Nestle. The judging panel said: “The Church of England has demonstrated incredible innovation and initiative in its adoption of digital tools to support the Christian community through the pandemic. “From online services to a multi-channels Christmas campaign to apps and virtual reality filters…The digital in-house team demonstrated rigor and creativity as it built its various projects on a vast foundation of research, as they developed digital solutions to immediate problems.” The full list of awards is below: Digital Impact Awards• In House Digital Team of the Year – Church of England.• The Church of England has won three golds in the Digital Impact Awards for:o Best use of VR for the Ash Wednesday Instagram filtero Best use of Audio for the Time to Pray app & podcasto Best use of existing social media platforms for the 2020 Advent and Christmas campaign• A further two silvers were awarded for:o Best use of online video for the weekly online services o Best digital employee communication for our Digital Labs training programme
On Monday evening we will have the second meeting of our Advent course at Chennels Cottage, The Green - the home of Pam and David Walker. Our course is being led by David Rivett and starts at 7pm.<div>You're guaranteed a warm welcome if you can join us but if you prefer to stay at home and connect via your computer or mobile device please click on this link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85491764781?pwd=WEtYcE12YmtFM0k3UzBtd1lLd1pwZz09 Meeting ID: 854 9176 4781Passcode: 467126
This Sunday's joint parish Holy Communion service is at St Peter's Church, Hascombe at 10am. We hope you can join us there. If you can't be with us in person you can take part in the service by clicking on this Zoom link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84387771148?pwd=Uzkvc1ZIWkFOcHRYWXJLaVgwNWZKdz09Meeting ID: 843 8777 1148Passcode: 135371
To mark International Day of People with Disabilities today (December 3rd), Christians in the Church of England in Greater Manchester and Rossendale who live with different disabilities share very personal stories on video about how they have found a welcome in the Church of England and been encouraged to fulfil their Christian calling.In a series of short films released today, (please click on link to watch the films) a diverse group of Christians who are training for ministry in the Church of England, or who already serve as clergy, tell their stories in moving and honest accounts.In the five films we hear from ordinands, who are studying at theological colleges, a serving member of clergy and a retired minister who lost his sight as an adult. Each contributor has something to say about how people who have experience of living with a disability, either personally or within their family, can flourish in the Church.Helen Tyler, who was diagnosed with dyslexia just as she started discerning her calling to ordained ministry and was worried about the training, said:“I realised ‘I can’t fix this. This is all part of me – it’s who I am – and I’ve got to learn to try and embrace it. I am still on that journey.’”Helen had this advice for someone in a similar situation: “Know your strengths, but also, be aware of what you struggle with and don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help because there are people out there who are willing to help you.”Canon Nick Smeeton, Director of Vocations in the Diocese of Manchester, commissioned the films. He said: “As part of our ongoing work to encourage and enable everyone to fulfill their vocation in the Church, we wanted to hear from individuals who have experience of living with any type of disability, either themselves or within their family, as they pursue their calling. We are very grateful to the men and women at various stages in the discernment process who have volunteered to tell their stories on camera.“We are challenged and will continue to do more to encourage vocations from as diverse a group of people as possible.”The five films are published to mark International Day of People with Disabilities on 3 December 2021. Further films will be added to the series in the coming weeks.View the videos at www.manchester.anglican.org/disability-and-vocations
