small ritual

diwali

right now it sounds like a major battle is raging in west london - a cannonade of gunfire and explosions and flashes in the sky, hour after hour unceasing. i'm reminded of accounts of the somme, or waterloo as heard from brussels. in fact it's diwali tonight and every asian in west london [and that's a lot] is setting off fireworks. the greatest contributor to the din is the suburb of southall a couple of miles away, which erupts with huge displays, but there are five or six domestic versions going on within sight of my windows here - not close enough for my liking, sadly. i can hear more than i can see, and i can't see southall at all from here. one year i must go, or at least find somewhere i can see across the rooftops.

this video from last year captures something of what you can't see. imagine five or maybe ten displays like this going off a mile away... i love the surreal patter of the fairground stall guy.

diwali can vary widely in date across october and november, which extends the local firework season for weeks. guy fawkes night is eclipsed, its displays few and brief by comparison. the availability of large powerful fireworks for domestic use round here has contributed greatly to the Grace annual firework party. at the moment we're still using guy fawkes as an excuse.

it really is noisy out there.

howies shop

walking down carnaby street today i saw the howies staff getting the shop ready. here's dave hieatt and ade:

wanted to say hi but couldn't think of anything intelligent to say. i feel like i know these people well, but i don't. such is the power of blogs and marketing. maybe if they'd not been busy setting up i would've said hi anyway.

tools for evangelism

gracelet is the name of grace's smaller monthly service. gracelet is also the name of a tool for personal casual evangelism. i am speechless. what is worrying is how close it is to some of the stuff we have done in grace services - and my 'what's in your pocket' schtick. but we don't charge. and our typography is better. i wonder if jonny will make it a worship trick? :|

connected to this in a roundabout way is this interesting site [are you prepared for a pandemic?], also featuring the silent witness art print:

The "Silent Witness" is an ongoing statement of your faith and your continuing desire to bring souls to the Lord thy God before, and yes, even after the rapture occurs. What make the 'Silent Witness" so unique is its personal testimonial design.  It is to be signed by you and other Christians of your choice to attest to the reason we have all disappeared.

[hey, maybe we've been having the rapture in england very slowly for the last forty years or so]

'Multicultural Marketing-THE FAITH BASED WAY!'

some things are beyond parody. this email somehow evaded my junk mail filters and dropped into my inbox tonight. i'm grateful, because now i can share it with you. i reproduce it without alteration.

You are invited to the 2nd Annual Faith Based Marketing Summit, April 10 and 11 in Dallas Texas. Here is a taste of what will be presented..

The church has always been considered as the very heart of the African American Community. Now, Hispanic consumers are converting from Catholicism and joining non-traditional churches  by the hundreds of thousands each year.

Learn how to effectively and respectively  target faith based African-American & Hispanic markets inside  and out-side of the church walls.   
Secure Corporate Sponsorship from Fortune 500 companies by  showing them the value of  the multicultural faith -based consumer  market. 
Learn about current industry trends and initiatives that are  changing traditional faith based marketing methods 
Transition a current campaign to appeal to different ethnic  groups 
Utilize different medium channels to effectively promote  church, products or services to this audience Gain valuable insight about  how consumers prefer to be accessed and addressed
Learn from the very best!
`
Veda Brown:
Commonly referred to as Faith Based Viral Video Vixen, Veda has transformed the way the Black Church communicates.  In the past five years, Veda's company, Black Gospel Promo, has managed to take the African-American faith based community from the pulpit to the pc.  Instead of thumbing through church bulletins for info, people now look forward to Black Gospel Promo’s e-mail blasts.  Veda Brown will teach you how to effectively and efficiently market your ministry, book, artist, product or service to the Christian consumer.  Brown has worked with everyone from independent and major record labels to Mega-Churches to corporate giants like Kraft and Lions Gate Films. 

Melanie Few
A trailblazer in Urban Faith Based Multicultural & Corporate Marketing, Melanie Few will share with you the latest insights in reaching this valuable target audience. Find out why Melanie's Agency has been named the leading resource faith based corporate marketing resource by Advertising Age and The American Marketing  Association.

Check out some insight full case studies and see what the Coca Cola Company, The National Football League, Revlon, General Mills, Motorola, St. Joseph Aspirin,  Hallmark Cards, Loreal, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Church’s Chicken, Turner Broadcasting Systems, Fox Searchlight and Paramount Films all have in common. They have all turned to Melanie to build their brands with Faith Based Marketing programs.

To learn more and sign up, go to http://christianmusicupdate.com/dbm83/l.php?37750&10595

follow the link for more entertainment...