Addiction ‘supercharged’ by isolation
Isolation fuels porn addiction – and it has been supercharged by the lockdown.
So says Mike Genung of CRE exhibitor Blazing Grace.
‘On March 17 Pornhub, the largest porn website in the world, announced that worldwide porn downloads were up more than 26 per cent – in just one month,’ said Mike. ‘To put this in perspective, Pornhub’s 2019 Year in Review revealed that the site was visited 42 billion times in 2019 – that’s 115 million searches a day. Remember, Pornhub is just one site. There are thousands of other similar sites.’
Mike points out that Google Trends consistently shows the regions with the highest percentage of porn searches are in those with high concentrations of religious organisations.
‘Quarantine restrictions resulting from COVID-19 are pushing many Christians deeper into bondage to pornography,’ claimed Mike. ‘It’s not that the church wasn’t already isolated. When I speak at churches, I ask those who meet with another believer weekly for the purposes of support and prayer to raise their hands. Usually only 15-20 per cent do so. Now isolation, the fuel that breeds and feeds porn addiction, has been supercharged.’
According to Mike the UK is the second largest consumer of pornography in the world, and upwards of 70 per cent of UK Christian men are viewing it.
‘This adds more urgency to the need to face the porn epidemic in the church and provide God’s people with effective answers for freedom and healing,’ he said. ‘Every marriage and family infested with pornography is at risk. The COVID-19 pandemic will lessen but the decades-long porn epidemic in the church will not without sustained, effective steps.’
Blazing Grace is a ministry to persons and couples who want healing and recovery from pornography and adultery. It offers counselling, group sessions and other resources for men and wives.
For more information visit Blazing Grace.
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Our next exhibitions
CRE South West 2021 – 17-18 March 2021
Westpoint, Exeter
CRE National 2021 – 12-14 October 2021
Sandown Park, Surrey
Online services: keep it simple at the start
When it comes to starting church services online, keep things as simple as possible.
That’s the advice from Andy Pidsley, managing director at CRE exhibitor API Sound and Visual. ‘Phones and tablets have built in microphones and cameras and generally just work,’ said Andy. ‘Plenty of helpful YouTube videos will help you get started.’
There are several ways to broadcast services and meetings, he believes, each with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. ‘Live streaming is like a radio broadcast, offering one source to many listeners,’ he said. ‘Video conferencing, however, is more like a council meeting with a chairperson and a number of participants.’
There are pros and cons to each.
‘With live streaming the potential for congregational feedback is limited to a text message and it doesn’t allow users to see each other,’ said Andy. ‘Platforms such as YouTube and Facebook are well suited to a Sunday service format. They can also be promoted and anyone can join the service without a specific invitation. While they are free to use, you should have the correct CCLI licence to cover streaming to the public.’
Video conferencing platforms, however, such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom, give users the opportunity to see and hear everyone in the gathering as well as the chairperson.
‘They also offer the facility to share the users’ desktops so you can run a Powerpoint presentation or song words for example,’ said Andy. ‘Many of these platforms offer a free service but subscriptions are very reasonable.’
This type of service is ideal for smaller churches of 50 or less, however strict discipline is necessary as people can talk over the top of each other.
‘If you have a paid-for Zoom account you can also stream to Facebook or YouTube direct for those who want to watch but not interact – or visitors who don’t have the login details for the Zoom meeting,’ said Andy. ‘Our church has a Sunday meeting on Zoom weekly with around 40 participants. We led worship from our lounge and someone else operated Easy Worship, church presentation software, in their kitchen! There was a great sense of togetherness with many contributions and we even had coffee and chat afterwards.’
Dates for your diary
CRE South West 2021 – 17-18 March 2021 Westpoint, Exeter
CRE National 2021 – 12-14 October 2021 Sandown Park, Surrey
Zooming in on the Psalms
A new journal has been launched that looks at 10 psalms in depth and offers space for users to colour as well as reflect and write.
‘Exploring the Psalms has been created by Jacqui Grace and is perfect for new Christians and home groups,’ said Anne Stiles, founder of Just Cards Direct. ‘During lockdown we have discovered Zoom conferencing to be an ideal medium through which people share inspiration and reflections from journalling.’
Just Cards are passionate about resourcing churches and organisations with cards and gifts for various occasions and initiatives. Almost 300 women prisoners received a card recently that simply read: ‘Trust me, you are amazing!’ The cards were donated by Just Cards to a church reaching out to their local prison.
‘Many of the women are isolated in their cells at this time, so it is particularly difficult for them,’ explained Anne. ‘The church chose a card which specifically required a non-religious image. What a wonderful message to share!’
The ‘just’ of Just Cards refers to justice.
‘We aim to stand tall in upholding ethical business principles and fairly supporting craft makers in Africa who produce beautiful handmade gifts,’ said Anne. ‘Our fairly-traded products are made by small groups of people in Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa – countries close to our hearts.’
Just Cards offer churches 25 per cent off everything, including pastoral card packs, Christmas and Easter cards and congregational gifts. Create an account for your church here.
Dates for your diary
CRE South West 2021 – 17-18 March 2021 Westpoint, Exeter
CRE National 2021 – 12-14 October 2021 Sandown Park, Surrey
CRE National postponed for 12 months
With large-scale indoor events unlikely to be permitted in the autumn, CRE National at Sandown Park, Esher has been postponed for 12 months – until 12-14 October 2021.
‘Though October is still four months away, we thought it best to make this difficult decision sooner than later,’ said event director Brett Pitchfork. ‘Even if Government restrictions are lifted, we doubt enough people will feel confident about attending an event of this kind in the autumn. We have taken the decision with a heavy heart but feel it is the responsible thing to do and appreciate the thoughts and prayers of our visitors and exhibitors as we plot our way through these difficult times.’
The next two exhibitions are:
• CRE South West – 17-18 March 2021, Westpoint, Exeter
• CRE National – 12-14 October 2021, Sandown Park, Surrey
Before lockdown, 42 per cent of exhibition space at CRE South West had already been taken and organisations considering exhibiting in Exeter are invited to make contact with the CRE sales team. Click here for more information.
‘By March next year we are confident strict new guidelines will be in place to ensure sufficient protection for all our visitors and exhibitors,’ said Brett.
The first in the region for six years, CRE South West has been welcomed by the Right Revd Robert Atwell, Bishop of Exeter.
‘Since CRE was last in the south west lots has happened at local church level,’ he said. ‘There are new worshipping communities, new leaders, new volunteers taking up important roles – and lots of exciting projects in our local communities. I want to help people to be inspired in their faith and get the support they need to make a difference where they are. CRE is a great opportunity to access new resources, ideas and practical tools to meet the many challenges of local ministry.’
In place of CRE National 2020 in October will be a ‘Virtual CRE’ – taking the form of online seminars, interviews and features, accompanied by a specially-printed handbook listing all exhibitors booked in at one or both of the next two exhibitions. The handbook will be mailed out free to thousands of past and prospective CRE visitors, backed up by an extensive online campaign through email and social media.
‘We are grateful for your support of CRE at this unusual and stressful time and look forward to playing a part in resourcing thousands of churches over the next few months and years,’ said Brett.
Struggling for music? We’re at your (streamed) service
A live music option is now available for churches streaming services during lockdown.
Well-established agency Ministry of Music are making musicians available to lead worship in a variety of ways.
‘One of our artists can perform or lead worship live at home and their feed is streamed by a church as part of its YouTube/ Facebook/ Zoom service or event,’ explained the agency’s founder Mike Maidment.
‘Alternatively, they will prepare a short video at home which churches can stream, or perform and lead worship live at home on their own YouTube Live or Facebook Live session – at a date and time requested by an event host.’
Artists available include many who have recently performed at CRE including Christine Asamoah and Tremaine. Already fellow artist Bean Baker (pictured above) has led worship through Zoom at Havering Day of Prayer and Solid Rock, Derby.
‘Although this service is free, any donation will support our ministry and the artists we work with during these challenging times,’ said Mike.
For more information click here
Showing you care when you can’t be there
Churches can sustain relationships in lockdown with fresh resources available to help in funeral, wedding and baptismal ministry.
‘The idea is to enable people in isolation to be part of funeral services they can’t attend, for example, because of restrictions on numbers and travel,’ said Cathy Myers, the C of E’s Life Events Resources Manager.
The new range includes:
• A prayer card for when you can’t be at a funeral
• A simple service to say at home on the day of a funeral – soon to be available in large print, too.
• Social media-sized graphics and posters to alert people to a ‘Light A Candle’ tool online.
Also available is a range attractive cards to send to colleagues in the death care industry – to reassure them of your prayers during a very stressful time.
‘Our latest product is a straightforward, cheerful postcard to share with Messy Church contacts, grandparents in your congregation, families you have met through baptisms or school services,’ said Cathy. ‘The postcard reads “Loving God, bless my family today” and is a reminder that God holds their family in his love, especially when extended families can’t be together.’
The full range can be viewed here
BySimon
Gospatric Home
Gospatric ‘Gos’ Home, who died on Easter Saturday (11 April 2020) aged 87, will be best remembered for creating and developing the Christian Resources Exhibition which, under his direction, became the largest annual show of church-based resources in Europe.
The son of a renowned author and artist, Gos undertook his national service as an officer in the Royal Fusiliers, City of London Regiment, which included fighting in Korea. He studied modern history at Pembroke College, Oxford, before embarking on a distinguished career in commercial publishing and exhibition management. By the 1970s, he was IPC’s international director before becoming managing director of Argus Press’ exhibitions companies.
In 1979, he spoke of his and his wife, Diana’s turn from ‘passive church goers to pro-active Christians’ at a Marriage Encounter weekend in South Wales, following the birth of the final of their three children. So it was that a few years later, recovering from a hip replacement operation in 1984, he heard someone say ‘pick up and read’ – the same words given to St Augustine. But where Augustine picked up the Bible, Gos took hold of the UK Christian Handbook!
‘It wasn’t the voice of God but Ernie Barnett, owner of a chain of St Andrew’s Christian bookshops!’ he recalled. ‘Laid up for days on end, Ernie suggested I read the UK Christian Handbook. I did – from cover to cover.’ Its 5,000 entries spanned publishers, charities, architects, missions, newspapers, magazines, bookshops and much more. Gos had already been prompted to run an exhibition for church leaders and officers by his wife, Diana, who believed her husband’s experience in the secular exhibition world was preparing him for what would become CRE.
He took the plunge and the first exhibition, held at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London in 1985, featuring some 120 organisations, was attended by 8,200 church leaders, including Archbishop Robert Runcie, Cardinal Hume and church members from all over the country. Revd Richard Chartres was chaplain at the first exhibition.
A truly ecumenical event, successive exhibitions were attended and opened by luminaries that included several more archbishops, among them Desmond Tutu, Princess Anne and celebrities such as Sir Cliff Richard, Roy Castle and, more recently, actress Sally Phillips. He started several other exhibitions in this period including the Education Show, the Natural Stone Show and the Library and Information Show. Still devoted to his first creation, even in his late 80s, he attended National CRE as honorary president in October 2019 at Sandown Park in Surrey.
His greatest achievement, however, is largely unknown to most people. In 1963, aged 30, and with initial capital of £64, he founded Quadrant, a not-for-profit housing association, in partnership with Revd Nick Stacey, Rector of Woolwich. The two men sought to understand the difficulties of London’s poor and homeless by visiting them in person. On one such visit, to a homeless hostel that smelled ‘like cabbages and stale urine’, a mother showed them the basement where her children slept. Her four-year-old daughter had suffered a rat bite to her cheek. This was the other side of London in the ‘swinging 60s’.
‘We didn’t have any qualifications in housing management,’ recalled Gos. ‘This meant we weren’t stuck in our ways. We were more adventurous. We did everything ourselves in our spare time.’ Now called London & Quadrant, the association currently holds a £34 billion property portfolio and houses hundreds of thousands of Londoners in some 110,000 homes, with 100,000 more in the pipeline, including Barking Riverside, an enormous brownfield site on the River Thames. He was involved on the L&Q board until 2000.
‘Our business model was, and remains committed to both social and commercial principles,’ said L&Q’s CEO David Montague, who worked alongside the two late founders for many years. ‘It really is an extraordinary story.’
Over the years, Gos also played an active role in his local church, St Mary’s, Princes Risborough, where he chaired the committee to develop the church, and was chair of governors at the local CE primary school. In retirement, he pursued his love of family, place and history and chaired the committee forming Britain’s first museum about the history of the Huguenots in Rochester and in various roles related to his Scottish Clan Home.
Those who knew him well describe Gos as having the heart of a lion and the tenacity of a terrier. Above all, he was a gentleman, a man of his word, unassuming and modest, one of the ‘old school’. Devoted to his family, he was at his happiest at home in the Chilterns where he lived for nearly 43 years – surrounded by Diana, his son, two daughters and grandchildren.
In thousands of homes and churches throughout the UK, many people are, unknowingly, benefitting from one man’s passion and determination to make a genuine difference.
Gospatric David Laurens Reston Home
21 February 1933 – 11 April 2020
Discovering church resources for lockdown
There is nothing good about this virus – but that does not mean good cannot come out of it. So said Rev Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop-designate of York, recently. With a prime minister in intensive care, millions at home on furlough, NHS staff under intense pressure and major religious, social and sporting events cancelled – this year’s Holy Week finds us all in unprecedented territory.
However, lockdown hasn’t meant a let-up in local ministry. Video conferencing has been available to churches for many years but until now has been taken up by relatively few. Now hundreds are reaching out beyond the church walls through Zoom – and doing worship and mission in a new and creative way.
We think this exciting wave of innovation deserves to be highlighted, so we’ve produced the resource list below, featuring initiatives from our exhibitors to help you and your church during lockdown. Follow the links for more information – and if you use the resources, please let the providers know CRE sent you!
Church resources for lockdown
Need help webcasting or streaming your services? Novum AV will be more than happy to help!
You can now stream or webcast services legally, thanks to CCLI. Previously, it had only been possible to stream or webcast audio that included copyrighted songs.
Churches are invited to use iKnow Church at no cost until 30 Sep 2020 – to communicate more effectively with members, communities, accept online donations, message small groups and much more.
Stewardship are answering key questions currently facing churches concerning finances, paying staff, Gift Aid and emergency help to those in need.
Access Insurance are working with insurers to relax the normally very specific policy conditions where church buildings are not in regular use.
Youth for Christ have released videos specifically designed for 7-11s, 11-18s and families – to help us ‘stay in continuous communication and togetherness’.
For those facing social isolation, the Open Bible Trust have made 100 Bible puzzles available free of charge.
CPO are offering a list of links to resources, ideas and tools for use during the lockdown.
Forge Leadership Consultancy are running a series of six webinars at 3pm every Thursday until 7th May to help relationships thrive during social distancing.
Home schooling? Check out a list of Easter-based resources from Meaningful Chocolate.
CRE in 2020 and 2021
As for the exhibition itself – we expect CRE National 2020 (13-15 October, Sandown Park, Surrey) to go ahead as normal, but are reviewing the situation continually and expect to make a final decision sometime in June, based on government advice. Your thoughts and prayers for the team at a difficult time are appreciated.
Whatever happens, CRE will stay in business – whether our next exhibition is at Sandown Park in October, or at Westpoint, Exeter, on 17-18 March 2021.
As Bishop Stephen rightly says – great things come out of situations that seem hopeless. But isn’t that what Easter is all about?
Photos by BRUNO CERVERA and Annie Spratt on Unsplash
ByCRE
Is Covid-19 driving you up the pole? You’re in good company
Simeon the Stylite (who died on 2 September 459 aged 68) was a big fan of self isolation. He spent 37 years alone on a platform one metre square, at the top of a pillar 50 feet high in Telanissa (modern-day Taladah in Syria). Boys from the nearby village would pass him parcels of bread and goats’ milk and he spent the days praying and talking to visitors brave enough to climb the ladder.
We may consider Simeon’s self-imposed asceticism as eccentric but it is said his preaching ‘conveyed temperance and compassion and was marked with common sense and freedom from fanaticism.’ Perhaps Simeon’s isolation meant he discovered truths impossible to acquire in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
While we all wish for a swift end to these unprecedented times, we would do well to see such trying circumstances as an opportunity to learn important lessons about ourselves – and in so doing experience the grace of God anew (see James 1:2). In turn, we will become a richer blessing to others.
As a team, we’ve practised intense social isolation since taking over CRE four years ago! None of us lives within 40 miles of the other and, working from home, we use all methods of electronic communication currently available to us. However, we are well aware that for many individuals and organisations it is a very different story. The Coronavirus crisis has put many endeavours at serious risk, long-term. We expect CRE National 2020 (13-15 October, Sandown Park, Surrey) to go ahead as normal, but we are reviewing the situation on a daily basis and expect to make a final decision sometime in June.
Whatever happens, CRE will stay in business – whether our next exhibition is at Sandown Park in October, or at Westpoint, Exeter, on 17-18 March 2021.
It’s been encouraging to see several of our exhibitors going out of their way to help local churches in these extraordinary times. Novum AV and Church Edit, for example, have introduced special facilities to enable churches to communicate more effectively, by way of improved websites and broadcasting services. We will be publicising similar initiatives over the next few weeks – so check back often!
In conclusion, we would like to thank you again for your continued support. We are especially mindful of people attempting to work from home who have young children around their legs and, like Simeon the Stylite, are also going up the pole!
With every blessing
Steve Goddard
Owner/MD
Christian Resources Exhibitions Ltd
Beat the gremlins with Novum’s sound advice
The end of the one-man, sound-system operation in churches could be on the cards – along with dated installations which need a regular check.
An annual MOT of your church’s acoustics, along with emergency repairs and training for several volunteer operators, is part of a new package being offered by sound and vision experts Novum AV, a Tamworth-based company.
‘We are instituting silver, gold and platinum packages for sound and vision systems in any church with the option of a thorough check of the system on one, three or five-year contracts for which we make sure the system works and that any hiccups are dealt with quickly on an emergency phone call system,’ said David Sharpe, Novum’s installations manager. ‘All this will mean that churches can trust their system to be problem-free, but if unexpected problems do occur, we provide expert help to sort out the issue. We can also offer training facility in churches in which we use the particular system to help provide extra helpers or cover when the one expert is on holiday or ill.’
One of the constant cries from those who volunteer to operate the many different sound operations in churches is ‘There are gremlins in the system’.
‘Our Beat the Gremlins scheme will be on offer at Midlands CRE,’ said David, ‘where I will be delighted to talk to church representatives about how we can help.
• Novum AV are on stand C11 at CRE Midlands
Who’s exhibiting at CRE Midlands 2020
Book tickets for CRE Midlands 2020