Communications and Editorial

This committee is responsible for the setting and maintenance of standards of all publications. It acts as the Editorial and Management Board of Reform and is responsible for all media relations.

Committee Members

Convener: Revd Martin Hazell Secretary: Mrs Carol Rogers

Editor of Reform and Media Officer: Revd David Lawrence

Mrs Elizabeth Bruce-Whitehorn; Ms Eleri Evans; Mrs Melanie Frew; Mr Peter Knowles; Mr Phil George;

Revd Bob Maitland; Revd Peter Moth; Revd Martin Truscott; Revd Martin Whiffen.

1. Introduction

1.1 Communication is at the heart of the Gospel and without communication the Church will die. We communicate with one another within the church to encourage, share, and revitalize. We communicate with the world, challenging it, changing it and sharing the love of God with it. The world communicates with us, challenging us and changing us, too. We communicate with God and God communicates with us.

1.2 Now, the message can be conveyed through a staggering number of new methods and each day brings with it another brilliant piece of technology. That technology not only changes the way we do things; it can change the message too. Texting, for example, creates a new language and by doing so, changes the message. No longer is it thought ‘high-tech’ to fax, electronic communication – from internet to mobile phone – is changing lives at a phenomenal speed. Families can have small children easily learning the skill to ‘surf the net’ putting the older members at a distinct disadvantage. Churches can communicate through emails with sister churches around the world in an instant. Possibilities abound.

1.3 Many of us in the church are only just realising the implications of all this new technology, some are fearful and some have grabbed it with both hands, drawing on the mass of new material so easily available. Some of us still like to pick up a book; others take a handheld computer to work with six books contained on a minidisk. The challenge for the church is to keep up with this technology and also retain more traditional forms of communication.

1.4 The Committee believes that this new technology can serve the church well, opening up communication and helping all our members to be heard. This openness will challenge us and inspire us. It doesn’t mean losing the traditional methods of communicating and you will read here of the many published books that have come from Communications and Editorial. The bookshop, an essential visit for those near to Church House, or at our Synods or through the webpage, continues from strength to strength providing an excellent service to all our members and to those outside our church – the number of books purchased from overseas through the cyber bookshop is incredible. Reform – probably the smartest monthly church magazine in the country – remains the best contact for the average church member with issues of the day, both inside and outside the church, in the UK and across the world. All these give the church its identity and a way of reaching out. But in a global context, we need to learn to reach further.

1.4 This report comes at a time when we are on the edge of that new world – serving a broad church in the broadest way we can!

2. Publishing and Publications

2.1 The annual publication of the United Reformed Church Year Book, Diary and Prayer Handbook continues, together with new promotional material.

2.2 During the past two years there have been several new publications. 2003 saw the publication of the first part of a new service book, Worship – from the United Reformed Church. The first print run sold out with 4 weeks of publication and the second part will be published in time for General Assembly. Being Biblical by John Campbell and Reformed Ministry by Tony Tucker were added to the series on the Reformed tradition and this will be added to in 2004 with the publication of Daughters of Dissent by Elaine Kay, Kirsty Thorpe and Janet Lees. These titles have received considerable interest from ecumenical partners. Under the Granary Press imprint Take, Bless, Break, Give by Vaughan Jones was published in 2003. Forthcoming titles include Wholly Worship Too, A Place for Us, an anthology by Geoffrey Duncan, and Credo by Edmund Banyard. A Gift Box : a box of resources to develop Christian Faith and enlarge understanding of the United Reformed Church is now available.

2.3 The design and production of material continues to be of a very high standard, thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication shown by the two staff members in this area, who continue to produce excellent results despite others constantly missing deadlines and severe difficulties of limited space for equipment and storage.

3. Bookshop and Distribution

3.1 The Bookshop must be seen as an asset to the church. The Books-on-Line operation has increased sales and it is encouraging that many of these are from overseas. The Assembly Bookstall is always well received. Material has been provided for many events including CTE Forum, and following General Assembly, the Bookshop at the World Convention of the Churches of Christ will be provided by the United Reformed Church.

3.2 The range of stock carried and the speed of turn round of orders is favourably commented upon regularly. The number of customers who visit the shop is relatively small, but the mail order operation is of a very high standard.

4. Website

4.1 In our last report in 2002, we noted that usage of the United Reformed Church’s website continued to increase. That trend has continued unabated and it now seems clear that in the foreseeable future the website and associated electronic services will become the primary means of disseminating information within the Church.

4.2 Since our last report there has been a substantial increase in the amount of material held on the site. At the same time, design has been standardised throughout the majority of the site, making it easier for users to navigate the material. Recently, a new secure section has been added for synod moderators to exchange material and further such specialist sections are being investigated.

4.3 Technically, the main URC site has made little progress in the last two years. There are a number of urgent matters that require attention in order to ensure the full potential of the site can be realised. However, the intention is to review the present situation and explore possibilities by the summer of 2004 in order to be ready to move forward on an exciting programme of ideas, which, as the resolution to Assembly makes clear, will improve and expand communications, disseminating material more widely, and in ways that are readily accessible.

5. REFORM

5.1 Though Reform continues to achieve remarkable percentage sales in its target market – a percentage which implies that in a larger denomination it would generate a significant surplus for the Church – it has not been immune to the continued decline in membership over the last two years. It is a truism of the magazine world that the vast majority of the costs of publication fall on the first copy and the profits, if any, come from the last copies off the press. The decline in sales, which appears now to be matching the shrinkage in membership, inevitably means that the shortfall in the magazine’s finances has increased. The Committee will continue to make strenuous efforts to control costs but it must be understood that many major costs, such as postage and the price of paper, are beyond its control.

5.2 On the brighter side, Reform continues to attract favourable comment, both from within and without the United Reformed Church and provides an invaluable national forum for information and debate. Its contribution to ensuring widespread awareness of the Catch the Vision process has already been considerable and will, hopefully, be maintained over the subsequent years of that process. The recent redesign of the magazine’s layout, intended to provide a more contemporary feel and to improve accessibility, appears to have been well received. As a result, Reform continues to be the single most effective means of mass communication within the United Reformed Church.

6. Press and Media

6.1 The Church’s relatively small membership and lack of name recognition continue to be a dominant factor in relations with the media – for both good and ill. Lack of media interest in stories relating to the United Reformed Church has been a continuing theme – at times a frustration when the Church wishes to be heard but somewhat of a blessing on the relatively rare occasions when more salacious stories involve the Church’s name. The Committee continues, through the work of the Press Office, to seek to raise the profile of the Church and discussions have been undertaken with a view to enhancing the Church’s ability to make timely responses to national events and stories – a particular difficulty in a denomination which views personal authority, and therefore the ability to speak on behalf of the Church, with suspicion.

6.2 Despite these obstacles we continue to see success stories such as the coverage of Claire Short’s speech to Assembly in 2003 and the favourable response among the ethnic minority media to the recent resolution of Mission Council on the issue of Christianity and racist politics.

6.3 As always, the Committee would like to stress that the press officer is there as a facility for all who find themselves – whether willingly or not – thrust into the role of a spokesperson for the church by the media.

Ensuring that the Church’s point of view is heard clearly and unambiguously is often not easy and the Committee has been encouraged by the increased willingness of both synod moderators and others who may find themselves in the media spotlight to seek advice and support from the press officer. Equally encouraging has been the positive feedback from those who have sought such support.

6.4 In January the Committee arranged for a one-day course on crisis management and the media for synod moderators. Feedback from the course, which was run by the Church of England Broadcast Training Unit together with the United Reformed Church Press Office, has been favourable.

7. CHRISTIAN RESOURCES EXHIBITION

The United Reformed Church will no longer have a denominational presence at these exhibitions, but will share in a publishing stand with other Church publishers.

8. COPYRIGHT

In co-operation with Christian Copyright Licensing International work continues to help local churches to understand and work within copyright regulations.

9. ECUMENICAL WORK

Churches’ Media Council

The United Reformed Church through the Revd Martin Hazell continues to support the work of the Council.

 Church Publishers Network

The Secretary continues to serve as a member of the Church Publishers Network. Her period of service as Convener ended in March 2004.

ROOTS: Worship and Learning for the Whole Church

Now in its second year, Roots continues to thrive and grow. The Secretary serves as a member of the Board of Management.

10. THANKS:

Since the Committee last reported in 2002, the following people have completed their service with the Committee: Graham Cook, Convener, John East, and Richard Lathaen, and in July 2004, Mel Frew, Elizabeth Bruce-Whitehorn and Peter Moth will also complete their service. We are grateful for all that these people have given to the Church through their work with the Communications and Editorial Committee.

Thanks is due too to the staff of Communications, all of whom work with dedication and interest.

Resolution 21: Communications

General Assembly recognising that Communication is at the heart of the Gospel reaffirms the commitment of the United Reformed Church to openness and accessibility in all its discussions and decisions. Accordingly General Assembly instructs the Communications and Editorial Committee, in co-operation with the other committees of General Assembly, to work towards:

a ) providing open access to all documents and resources not considered to be confidential;

b) the facility for interest groups within the church to engage in discussions at a distance;

c) a framework of common email addresses throughout the church.

1. One of the exciting possibilities raised by the advent of new technologies is that the Church can be brought closer together and our sense of community reinforced. The limited resources of the Church sometimes make it difficult to work at the technological cutting edge but there are practical ways forward which are within our means:

a) One gap which new technology can help the Church to bridge is the sense of distance between members at the local level and those who make decisions within the Church. The Committee believes that it would be in accordance with the ethos of the United Reformed Church to use the new technology to re-affirm and extend a policy of openness and accessibility. The wealth of information produced within the Church can, for the first time, be made more widely available through the addition of internet access. Such a policy requires a presumption on the part of all those who serve the Church that the information they originate should be in a form suitable to be communicated widely.

b) As the membership of the United Reformed Church has become more sparsely spread geographically, those with shared interest often find it more difficult to communicate freely with each other. Through the medium of devices such as email lists and bulletin boards, groups – such as children’s workers or CRCWs – can be enabled to carry on conversations and share information at a distance. Such a development could make a major contribution to reducing a sense of isolation and increasing the effectiveness of our work.

c) A shared system of email addresses, allowing churches, officers and individuals to participate in the ‘urc.org.uk’ domain would not only enhance our sense of identity as a national community but would, in many cases, smooth the transition when responsibilities are transferred from one individual to another.

Resolution 22: Get Noticed

General Assembly recommends to the churches the leaflet “Get Noticed” as a basis of enhancing their visibility in the community.

1. The first stage of the rolling Communications Strategy resulted in the leaflet “Get Smart” which highlighted the importance of the appearance of buildings and notice boards. The second stage produced a leaflet “GET TALKING – LOUD AND CLEAR” which emphasised the need to communicate with each other within the church. The leaflet for the third stage “GET NOTICED” is available at this Assembly. This stage concentrates on getting the name of the United Reformed Church recognised, locally, regionally and nationally to make the fullest possible use of the opportunities available in the media especially at a local level.