News Archives

Times Square billboard will show United Methodist message

10/16/2003 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn

A photo illustration is available.

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
"Open Hearts. Open Doors. Open Minds." The United Methodist Church's welcoming message will be featured on the 7,000-square-foot billboard in New York City's Times Square beginning Nov. 15. UMNS photo illustration by James Stephens, Photo number 03-368, Accompanies UMNS #496, 10/16/03


LINK: Click to open full size version of image
Igniting Ministry. Photo number W03046, Accompanies UMNS#496
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Church's message of "open hearts, open minds, open doors" will be featured on one of the world's largest electronic video signs in New York City beginning Nov. 15.

The welcome message and images from the denomination's Igniting Ministry media initiative will be seen on the 7,000-square-foot multimedia billboard in Times Square through the end of November. The Times Square display spans 28 floors of the Reuters and Instinet building.

"The Times Square billboard will help to tell the world that the United Methodist Church talks to people at street level. That concept - reaching people where they are, not just on Sunday, but every day - is core to United Methodist beliefs," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of United Methodist Communications, which administers the Igniting Ministry initiative.

"This is one more way we can reinforce to all people who see the sign that the United Methodist Church is about open hearts, open minds and open doors," he added.

Both the location and the dates of the display are significant, Hollon said. "Times Square represents, for many, the cultural epicenter of the world, and the run encompasses Thanksgiving Day, when the Macy's parade passes by."

The most recent United Methodist television ad, "The Gift," will run on the display's central portion in a 30-second format 10 times daily between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m., for a total of 144 times. Additional images from Igniting Ministry print ads also will be featured.

The new display is not the first such Igniting Ministry venture in New York. The campaign erected an outdoor billboard with the theme, "Fear is not the only force at work in the world today," a block from Ground Zero, soon after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
United Methodist Communications launched Igniting Ministry in 2001 to raise awareness of the denomination through a series of national cable television commercials. The campaign also includes radio spots and non-broadcast ads, matching grants, training resources and a Web presence. The church's top legislative assembly, meeting in 2000, approved funding the initiative with almost $20 million for a four-year period.
"Igniting Ministry is about more than television," Hollon said. "It is aimed at creating an awareness of who we are as United Methodists. This new opportunity builds on the success the campaign has achieved in the past two years."

Since Igniting Ministry's debut, more than 92 million people have seen the "open hearts, open minds, open doors" messages, according to the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, a
UMCom staff executive who leads the effort.

Details on the Igniting Ministry campaign are available at www.IgnitingMinistry.org.

# # #

This story was adapted from a United Methodist Communications press release.

Back : News Archives 2003 Main


Contact Us

This will not reach a local church, district or conference office. InfoServ* staff will answer your question, or direct it to someone who can provide information and/or resources.

Phone
(optional)

*InfoServ ( about ) is a ministry of United Methodist Communications located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 1-800-251-8140

Not receiving a reply?
Your Spam Blocker might not recognize our email address. Add InfoServ@umcom.org to your list of approved senders.