The congregation of a parish church is to lead a national Church of England social media campaign encouraging people to come to church this Christmas, as more than 20,000 festive services are already registered across the country.
A group of people who attend St Paul’s Church in St Albans will feature in a series of 40-second films, speaking about the joy of coming to church at Christmas and being part of a church community.
The advertisements, to be featured on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin, will run up to Christmas Day and will encourage people to consult AChurchNearYou the church finding website. to find a service in their community.
The series of short films also promotes the Church of England’s Christmas carol release, a new version of The First Nowell, written by composer and former King’s singer, Bob Chilcott.
Babatunde Idowu, whose family is featured in one of the films, says: “Church is a place of refuge, church is a place where you feed your heart and hear about God. It is a place where you go and connect with other like-minded people – people to support you even when you are down, it is just beautiful and when you sing the carols, it is always joyful.”
The Bishop of Stockport Sam Corley said: “These moving testimonies demonstrate powerfully how the Christian faith revealed in Jesus Christ is a message of love and hope that transforms lives and communities. And we want people to know that these gifts are on offer to them too.
“So we are inviting everyone to join us in church this Christmas and to explore their place in this amazing story we find ourselves in – that God is among us, and life will never be the same again.”
Photo credit: Church of England
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