UK Churches Debate Jesus on Pint Glasses

|PIC1|The annual Christmas campaign from the Churches' Advertising Network (CAN) will feature an image of Jesus on pint glasses as part of a campaign to encourage young people back to the church.

A poster will show his face emerging from the froth on the sides of an empty beer glass alongside the words "Where will you find him?"

The message then points people to a myspace site myspace.com/isthisjesus, which will link to the Rejesus website that has information on the Christian faith and is supported by all mainstream UK churches.

The glass will also be featured on radio ads in which young people talk about their spiritual beliefs.

CAN traditionally creates a striking campaign carrying a Christian message in the run up to December and this year it is picking up on the public and media obsession with finding the image of Jesus in everyday objects.

This has included reports that Jesus has appeared in a frying pan and on a fish finger; that the face of the Virgin Mary was seen on a toasted cheese sandwich; and that Mother Teresa's likeness appeared in a cinnamon bun. |QUOTE|

Chair of CAN Francis Goodwin said: "For many Christmas is about drinking and partying and God is excluded. Yet many young people are interested in finding deeper meaning and exploring faith. We hope the link to myspace.com will offer a fresh venue for them to discuss their feelings and debate the issues."

But the advert prompted immediate criticism from clergy working with young people.

The Rev Tom Allen, a "mission priest" in Oakworth, West Yorkshire, who runs the popular BigBulkyAnglican website, described the campaign as sickening.

He says on his website: "On the day when a government-commissioned report suggests that rather than focus on drugs education, schools and youth work bodies should be educating young people about drink, ie, drink is much the more serious problem, CAN launch this particularly obtuse poster. And they claim to be the media-savvy ones who know how to communicate with young people."

In 1999, the then Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch condemned as "disgraceful" a CAN poster that showed the Last Supper as a boardroom meeting of multi-national companies. Judas was representing Microsoft.

On the other hand, the Christian group claims to have since sparked a trend for lively publicity campaigns.

John Carter, a member of the network and a communications officer for the Church of England's Ripon and Leeds Diocese, said: "The aim of the poster is to say simply that Christmas for many people is a time for boozing and partying. We are saying: where is God in that? Is there something deeper or more important?"

A spokesman for the Church of England said: "Advertising like this will always upset somebody, but just maybe it will reach the people other efforts cannot reach."