Christmas Blessings: He's on His Way

BABY SCAN JESUS

AN ICONIC POSTER published by a U.K. organization called ChurchAds launched a Christmas billboard and advertising campaign called “Christmas starts with Christ,” using an image of an ultrasound of a baby in utero with a halo circling the child’s head.

Statement from the Trustees of ‘ChurchAds.net’

Our on-going campaign theme is that: ‘Christmas Starts with Christ’. The ‘Baby-scan Jesus’ poster communicates this by cleverly placing the historic birth of Christ in a modern context and providing an arresting and thought provoking image for the public in the run-up to Christmas. It announces the imminent birth of the Christ child in the way that many modernday parents choose to announce the coming birth of their own child.

Theologically, we aim to convey something of the humanity and the divinity of
Christ, while pointing to his relevance for today. In the light of some misleading items in the media, we would additionally like tostress that the poster is not, in any way, designed to either support or campaign against abortion.

Statements from the ChurchAds.net Council of Reference

“For many parents pregnancy gets real when you see the image from the ultrasound scan. It tells you something is actually kicking off. We've got so used to the tinsel wrapped cosiness of the carefully packaged 21st century consumer-fest Christmas, that its astonishing reality - an actual pregnancy, a God come down to earth - is easily missed. But this image demands attention. So does this child. He's on his way”.
Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading

“This poster is designed to arrest the attention of the usually disinterested. It is aimed at awakening the imagination, teasing the curiosity and provoking fresh consideration of the heart of Christianity – precisely what Jesus did with parables, images and stories. No, it doesn’t cover all the bases and deal comprehensively with every theological nuance; but it gives a huge kick start to thinking about what
Christmas is all about”.
Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon

“Our society is trying to airbrush Christ out of Christmas, but this imaginative poster reminds people that Christmas is all about Jesus. I encourage every church in the land to join me in supporting this exciting campaign, and buy a poster site in theircommunity to get people thinking about Jesus this Christmas”.
Mark Russell, Chief Executive, Church Army Member, Archbishop’s Council

“I really like the ad and I think the execution is strong; it’s a super ad”.
Mark Greene, Executive Director, London Institute of Contemporary Christianity

‘Christmas for me starts with Jesus Christ, who is not just a historical reality but a present experience in the midst of the contemporary world. As a scientist and a Christian, this poster reflects in a brilliant and provocative way my belief that Christ was born as a real human being, but is of relevance to every human being today. I’m excited to be able to commend this campaign’
David Wilkinson, Principal, St John’s College, University of Durham