THE diocese of Carlisle and the Methodist Church have joined forces to hire the head of Christian Aid Week to run a new online evangelism project, BigReach.
Eleanor Ledesma, who is originally from Cumbria, will take up her post as BigReach Innovator early next year. It will involve using social media to connect with people who do not currently attend church, or have any faith background.
She will join staff working on “God for All”, an ecumenical project jointly run by the diocese and Methodist churches in Cumbria.
Ms Ledesma said: “Most people in Cumbria are digitally engaged, and we will be looking to meet them through the online space and social media.”
The God for All vision aims to enable people of every age and background in Cumbria to have had a chance to “discover . . . God’s purpose for their lives” by 2020.
The Bishop of Penrith, the Rt Revd Robert Freeman, who chairs the God for All steering group, said that the innovator’s job was “challenging”, and that it was through “pioneering posts such as this that we will bring God to new people in new ways”.
The appointment comes shortly after Adrian Harris began work as the new head of digital for the Church of England, at Church House, Westminster (News, 25 November).