How happy are you? Plus top tips for creativity & more

Not everyone is talented or lucky enough to work in the media (that is what we think isn’t it?). Some people have to make do with being doctors, or lawyers… or professional footballers. But they also have groups like themedianet helping them to connect their faith and their work. I've had a couple of chances in the last week to talk with people supporting and connecting groups like ours. Ros Turner at Transform Work UK is helping employers to see the value of enabling workplace groups, and creating faith-friendly environments. And yesterday I met with Tracy Cotterell, MD at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. LICC was started over 30 years ago by John Stott, whose book ‘Issues Facing Christians Today’ had a real influence on me as a student. 
 

They too have a major focus on the positive difference Christians can make in the workplace, and plenty of stories to back it up. Like the lady who persuaded one of the big 4 banks to allow call centre staff much more time to talk to people struggling with debt. The result was a massive reduction in bad debt for the bank, and a better result for the customers too. Want to know more? Why not sign up for one of their regular emails?

On November 23rd The Catholic Church in the UK has it’s annual focus on young people. Their theme for this year, ‘How happy are you?’ aims to knock on the door of our heart and challenge us to look at what really brings happiness. Inspired by Matthew 5, their eight Be Attitudes come with prayer and video resources, and more.

Need some ideas to get the creative juices flowing? The second of Ru Jackson’s pieces on creativity went live on our new site yesterday. It’s all about how to come up with interesting ideas. Whether your medium is the written word, audio or video, there’s a lot in there which should help you come up with the next project.

Tech team OneSheep have done a great job with revamping themedianet’s online presence. They’re now working on a great sounding app that harnesses the power of prayer. They really seem to have thought through what people would want here, from confidentiality of sharing, to being notified when someone prays for you.

Just seeing their mocked-up screen shots here makes me think what a great notification that would be to get. It certainly beats ’O2 want to sell you something', or 'Your train is late’ which seem to be my most common ones. If you want to support the project either financially, by spreading the word or, of course, through prayer all the details are on their website. They're also looking for volunteer coders, if you have that skill and a few hours a week to spare.

The scramble to finalise Radio Academy Awards entries has been part of my working life for over ten years now. It’s taking a while to get used to the thought that there will be no awards next spring, or festival in the autumn. There’s more here. 

Opportunities

This week I’d like to highlight some ways in which you could really easily help to grow themedianet:

Send this email to a friend. So many Christians working in radio, TV, print, PR and comms haven’t heard of us. Help to spread the word.

Host an event. Want to get together with local Christians in your area? It can be as simple as nominating a pub and a time, and we can help to let people know and maybe suggest someone who could share their work for 15 mins or so. Interested? Just drop me a line (hello a_t themedianet d_o_t org).

Write for us. You’re a creative bunch. Can you pen two or three paragraphs about something you think medianeters would find interesting or inspiring? We can post it to our site with a link back to you. Again, just let me know by email(hello a_t themedianet d_o_t org), or call 07941 356026.

Finally, it seems appropriate on the day after Armistice Day to finish with a prayer for peace.

Almighty God,
from whom all thought of truth and peace proceed:
kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all, the true love of peace
and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who take counsel for the nations of the earth
that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward,
till the earth be filled with your knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. †

Paul Arnold
Coordinator, themedianet

† Prayer © https://www.churchofengland.org

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