No snogging, no celebrity gossip: church launches magazine for teenage girls

At first glance it looks like any other teen magazine, in a glossy colour cover and in a handbag size - aimed at "girls with spirit". But don't expect to find any tips on snogging techniques. Grace, to be launched next month, is anattempt by the church to appeal to a fresh audience as attendance figures fall.

It will have its work cut out. Its launch coincides with the demise of the teen magazine CosmoGirl! and a teen spin-off fromElle.

Grace is the brainchild of Paul Handley, the editor of the Church Times, who said: "It is for girls who have got a spirit as well as a body and who think there is more to life than shopping."

One big difference, he says, is that the magazine will not contain articles about sex. "It's for 11- to 16-year-old girls, so the assumption is that they are not having sex. We say that the best place for sex is in a marriage, not in a magazine... The message of the magazine is that life at that age is about other things."

Grace is funded by a grant from the Archbishop of Canterbury and various church trusts, and 50,000 copies of the launch issue, which has a cover price of £2.50, are to be distributed free via youth groups nationally. The quarterly magazine is a mix of real-life stories, problem pages, campaigns, eco and ethical lifestyle tips, music, film and book reviews - with references to Christianity scattered throughout.

An independent focus group of 13-year-old girls from London took a look at Grace last Friday and was, broadly, in favour. Almost oblivious to the religious elements, they welcomed it as an antidote to existing fare aimed at their age group, which they felt is too sexually explicit and promotes super-thin bodies.

Churchgoing Angel Izeidi, 13, who usually buys Bliss magazine, said of Grace: "When you pick it up, the first page makes you want to read on. It's a good magazine, and it doesn't say religious stuff all the way through."

Tayra Fuentes, 13, said: "Other magazines make you feel like you're growing up too quickly - you've got to get a boy, got to wear lots of make-up. This one shows there are other things to worry about, like school and friends and sports."

Mr Handley denied that Grace is aimed at getting girls into church, but he admitted: "It's a way of saying you can be Christian and not weird."

How the rivals line up on the big issues

BOYS... 'Bliss' has the 10 kissing commandments from a boy's-eye view. 'Grace' has no mention of boys at all.

HEALTH... 'Bliss' offers advice on fake tan and sun cream. 'Grace' has healthy tips for reducing stress at exam revision time.

CURRENT AFFAIRS... 'Bliss' tackles internet grooming. 'Grace' looks at child slavery in the chocolate industry.

QUIZZES... 'Bliss': do you need a best friend upgrade? 'Grace': what kind of daughter are you, dutiful or uninterested?