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Inspire mark: There have been a total
of 10 Inspire mark awards in the region to date – the latest
include the innovative Extraordinary Cycles in Leamington, the
irreverent Knickers and Vests in Coventry, the enterprising Pitch!
in Burton-on -Trent and the MLA’s storytelling programme for Open
weekend.
Artists Taking the Lead: The announcement of
the West Midlands’ five shortlisted candidates for this major
project has been made: http://www.artiststakingthelead.org.uk/westmidlands
The final decision of which project will receive the £500,000
commission will be made in October 2009.
Evaluation programme: Lauren Amery, WM Cultural
Research Analyst, is delivering a comprehensive programme of
research and evaluation for the West Midlands culture programme.
Members of the public participating in events are being encouraged
to complete online surveys, and there will be a programme of
telephone research to document the impact of the Olympiad. The plan
is to produce 6 monthly updates of what has been achieved, and
progress towards objectives, in much the same vein as the Liverpool
Impacts 08 research. See the regional Website for more information:
http://www.wmfor2012.com/
- Church Outreach Programme: (July 23
2009): More than 300 Christian leaders from across the
denominations have begun the task of mobilising the church for
outreach programme during the London 2012 Olympics.
- A special conference has been held at Wembley, which
was opened by Lord Brian Mawhinney, the chairman of More Than
Gold, the organisation spearheading plans for outreach at the
London Olympics.
- Mawhinney, who is also chairman of the Football
League, said More Than Gold was about “helping other
organisations to do their thing”.
- He stressed partnership over centralised power, and said he
wanted More Than Gold to act as a “catalyst for new ideas, offering
support where necessary”.
- He said: “We are restricted only by our imagination and
willingness."
- Graham Daniels, the general director of Christians in Sport,
said the sporting world remained a place of great mission, pointing
to the 10 million adults across the UK who belong to a sports
club.
- He challenged Christians to “serve with a compassionate heart
in the power of the Spirit” during the Olympics.
- More Than Gold has been leading evangelistic efforts at the
Olympics since the Games in Atlanta in 1996, when local churches
distributed more than three million cups of water across the
different Olympic venues.
- In Sydney in 2000, churches provided more than half of the
accommodation needed to house the families of competing athletes,
and in Athens, churches joined up with the city authorities to
stage the first and largest outdoor Christian concert ever held in
Greece.
- Dave WIlson, the chief executive of More Than Gold, said: “The
role of More Than Gold is to cast a vision of authentic outreach
and service that every church can engage with and see
realised.
- “[London] 2012 offers an opportunity never seen before in the
history of the UK for the churches to connect and to coordinate in
a united mission that brings Christ’s love not just to this land,
but to those from every corner of the globe.”
- The Archbishop of Canterbury and Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Westminster have already giving their backing to the initiative, as
has Olympics minister Tessa Jowell.
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