STRATEGY: As part of its on-going brand initiative to develop audiences for Episcopal Digital Network properties, Sermons That Work, a popular site for church and thought leaders who preach regularly and lead worship, will carry season two of the Episcopal Church’s “Transforming Churches” series. The first church to be featured is Thad’s in Santa Monica, California, a start-up congregation pitching the gospel to “studio heads, script writers and actors.”

MEDIA: Online, Facebook.

THE CREATIVE:

Properties:
episcopalchurch.org
Episcopal Cinema / Facebook
Sermons That Work / Episcopal Digital Network

Flights:
May 20-June 21, 2012 on Episcopal Cinema
May 22, 2012 in Sermons That Work

Spot: “Transforming Churches: Thad’s, Santa Monica, CA”
Director: Mike Collins
Executive Producers: Anne Rudig, Bob Honeychurch
Producer: Nick Greene
Editor / Colorist: Nick Greene
Consultant Editor: Olivia Silver
Cinematographer: Mike Collins
Cinematographer: Kira MacAlpine
Cinematographer: Christian Mazza
Sound editor: Jeff Seelye
Sound recordist: Michael Henrichs
Production Assistant: Karol Escobar
Music: Andrew Belle, “The Ladder”
Digital Marketing and Advertising Sales: Jake Dell

Filmed on location in Santa Monica, California, February 10th – 12th, 2012.

Shot on the Canon EOS C300, Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS Rebel t2i. Edited in Final Cut Studio. Color Graded with Magic Bullet.

Sermons That Work, the popular and heavily utilized offering for clergy and lay leaders from the Office of Communication, is expanding to provide additional services.

Launched on Ash Wednesday, February 22, the expanded Sermons That Workwill continue to offer ready-to-preach sermons and weekly Bible study, while now providing book reviews, special reports on church leadership, preaching tips and other key elements.

Sermons That Work  http://sermonsthatwork-rcl.com

“The idea of supplying congregations with sermons or homilies dates back to the English Reformation,” noted Anne Rudig, Director of Communication. “Carrying on that tradition, the Episcopal Church has been offering Sermons That Work online since 1995. Now, with additional content, our clergy and lay leadership have additional tools to assist them with their preaching and spiritual responsibilities.”

Originally designed to assist small congregations and missions without full-time clergy, Sermons That Work supplies fresh sermons in English and Spanish each week for lay readers based on the Revised Common Lectionary readings for Sundays and selected feast days.

“Sermons That Work allows those who preach regularly and lead worship to use the comprehensive, lectionary-based archives for research projects, sermons, presentations and small groups,” noted Sarah Johnson, editor of Sermons ThatWork. “Now, clergy and laity will have additional information from which to choose.”

Upcoming special reports on Sermons That Work include: Vacation Bible Schools That Work; Newcomers and Converts; Transforming Churches (Season 2); The Digital Parish.

Recognizing the value of Sermons That Work as a source of inspiration for preaching, the Episcopal Church offers all the sermons up into the public domain, free from any copyright considerations, with only the request thatproper credit is given to the sermon writers for the use of their ideas and words.

Sermons That Work, along with Episcopal News Service and Wayfarer, is part of the Episcopal Digital Network, a digital publication network that delivers news and feature stories to church leaders, members and general audiences.

The Episcopal Church Office of Communication has launched its first iPad app, Wayfarer.

Available as a free, quarterly iPad app downloadable at iTunes, all the content can also be viewed in an Internet browser here or http://WayfarerStories.com.

“Wayfarer features compelling stories told through video, photographs and words,” noted Lynette Wilson, Wayfarer producer.

Wilson, who is also an editor/reporter for Episcopal News Service, addressed the appropriateness of the name. “We chose to name the app Wayfarer because we intend to tell a wide spectrum of stories about people, possibilities and action across a broad landscape,” she said.

“This is an exciting moment – it represents our entry into mobile content, appealing both to Episcopal and broader audiences,” noted Anne Rudig, Director of Episcopal Church Office of Communication. “As the title suggests, each issue of Wayfarer has been shot in a different far-flung location.”

Kivalina

The first issue is Kivalina, which chronicles the story of Indigenous Alaskans faced with having to move their entire village to higher ground because of rising sea temperatures.

Wilson and two cinematographers, Cristina Valdivieso and Jon Connor, spent a week in Kivalina, AK, an island village some 80 miles above the Arctic Circle, reporting on and documenting the impact of climate change on this indigenous community.

Kivalina unfolds over nine chapters, covering whaling, indigenous beliefs, village life and the village’s potential relocation.

In the coming months, Wayfarer will release an issue on four Episcopal nuns, who had no previous farming experience and planted an organic garden in a move toward food self-sustainability.

Wayfarer, along with Episcopal News Service, are part of the Episcopal Digital Network, a digital publication network that delivers news and feature stories to church leaders, members and general audiences.

Follow on Twitter @WayfarerStories

Wayfarer: http://WayfarerStories.com

iPad app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wayfarer/id465079051?mt=8&ls=

STRATEGY: Wayfarer’s marketing goal for launch is to drive traffic to its microsite and then on to the App Store, where the iPad app can be downloaded for free. The spot is a montage from the first three issues, and features dramatic footage ranging from Alaska to the Florida Keys. The copy writing and voice-over suggest a resilient narrative of human survival in the face of personal and environmental collapse. The spot ends with the Wayfarer logo, a URL and the app store logo.

MEDIA: Online, pre-roll and on Facebook.

THE CREATIVE:

CREDITS:
Property: Wayfarer / Episcopal Digital Network
Editor / Writer: Lynette Wilson

Flight: February 15-29, 2012 on the YuMe video ad network

Spot: “Wayfarer App Launch”
Director: Mike Collins
Executive Producer: Anne Rudig
Producer: Jake Dell
Editor / Colorist: Nick Greene
Copywriter: Lynette Wilson
Cinematographer: Cristina Valdivieso
Cinematographer: Jon Connor
Cinematographer: Geoff Fienberg
Cinematographer: Mike Collins

Voice Over: Jessica Bettini
Recorded At: Real Recording, Inc.
Audio Engineer: Questar Welsh
Music: Bradford Nyght, “Pantheon 7″

Shot on the Canon 5Dmk2. Edited in Final Cut Studio. Color Graded with Magic Bullet.

ABOUT WAYFARER:
Wayfarer takes its audience to where the action is by telling real, raw, true grit stories of people – individuals and groups – who have turned problems into possibilities and ideas into action. Innovative, committed people who have stood up to the establishment and the old economy and through hard work and creativity have changed their lives, the lives of others and strengthened communities.

The Episcopal Digital Network published RSS feeds for its popular free job and event boards today.

Three feeds were published, one for events and two separate feeds for clergy calls and lay jobs.

“We’re hoping that a lot of dioceses and parishes will start syndicating our feed of upcoming events and position openings on their websites,” said Jake Dell, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing and Advertising.

The Episcopal Digital Network is an ad-supported media network operated by the Episcopal Church. Episcopal Digital Network has a current reach of 125,000 monthly online page views, 33,147 unique monthly online visitors and 11,000 opt-in e-newsletter subscribers.

More information about RSS including links to the feeds can be found here.

# # #

Contact: 
The Rev. Jake Dell
(212) 716-6264
jdell@episcopalchurch.org

The Episcopal Church Office of Communication is accepting books for review for Sermons That Work, a lectionary-based preaching resource for lay and ordained preachers and worship leaders.

Titles that focus on Episcopal or Anglican subjects are especially welcomed, as well as books that discuss church leadership, effective preaching, pastoral care and church growth.

Sermons That Work connects with church and thought-leaders who preach regularly and lead worship using its comprehensive lectionary-based archives for research projects, sermons, presentations and small groups.

Sermons That Work is part of the Episcopal Digital Network, an ad-supported media network operated by the Episcopal Church. Episcopal Digital Network has a current reach of 125,000 monthly online page views, 33,147 unique monthly online visitors and 11,000 opt-in e-newsletter subscribers.

# # #

Contact: 
Sarah Johnson
Editor / Writer
(212) 716-6082
sjohnson@episcopalchurch.org

The Rev. Jake Dell
Manager, Digital Marketing and Advertising
jdell@episcopalchurch.org

Click image to enlarge or download.

Acknowledging that the rapidly changing media and communication landscape is impacting what church members are reading and seeing, the Episcopal Digital Network believes that it can deliver both general and key decision-making audiences to church and national advertisers.

“Our previous efforts added online advertising as an afterthought,” says the Rev. Jake Dell, manager of digital marketing and advertising for the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society’s Communication department, “but right from the start we wanted to create an environment that made it possible for advertisers to talk to our audiences.”

Denomination-wide reach at scale

The network is expanding its ad inventory and setting aside a portion of it to give away for free or at steep discounts to smaller church-affiliated organizations so they can broadcast their job openings or event notices. But premium, above-the-fold ad units will be saved for advertisers that want a richer, more interactive viewer experience.

By segmenting the ad inventory, Dell sees the Episcopal Digital Network as better serving the needs of different advertisers.

Flagship Episcopal News service first site to launch, others planned for 2012

Episcopal News Service is the first network property to launch. A re-imagined Sermons That Work will launch next, followed by Wayfarer, a branded entertainment experience focused on compelling digital storytelling.

About the Episcopal Digital Network
The Episcopal Digital Network is an ad-supported media network that delivers news, information, and branded entertainment to church leaders, members, and general audiences. The network creates goodwill for the Episcopal Church and receptivity to the message of Jesus Christ by providing timely, accurate, and useful information to our audiences and by delivering value to our advertisers.  Follow on twitter @EDigiNet.

About the Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

# # #

Contact:
The Rev. Jake Dell
(212) 716-6264
jdell@episcopalchurch.org