Over the course of the last few months I have been asked this question from a number of people.
The quick answer is ... aye why not? Millions of people are communicating in Facebook so why not have a local church presence.
The longer answer is ... yes but be careful.
A few questions about this
What info are you putting on? Who are you going to allow to access it ... Fully Public ... friends only? ... who is going to administrate it? Are you going to update it regularly?
The other thing is youth (i.e. Under 18's) on facebook ... This is a whole area of problems as there needs to be safeguards and parish policies as to electronic communication. It needs well researched and have completely transparent procedures in regard to emails and facebook messages.
As far as I am concerned I will never add an under 18 as a friend to my personal facebook friend group. All emails that I send out to our youth group are all sent out on the parish email account which the Child Protection Panel(CPP) in the parish have access to. Our parish facebook account similarly has been set up so that the CPP have access to the username and password allowing them access to all communication methods.
Having said all of this ... if people are using facebook why not use it to communicate with the church. Just ensure that everything that you do has safeguards in place
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
The Church and Information Communication Technologies
The church has been at the cutting edge of technologies as they have developed. The printing press etc etc. Whilst at University I was involved in discussions & training with Bible Translators in the use of new technology to standardise bible production in new & established languages.
As the world wide web becomes more and more mobile - through the use of mobile devices, as individuals get together on-line, as more and more of education becomes e-learning the possibilities for ministry & building community beyond the bounds of parish become possible.
The community inside & outside the church is internet savvy, people can speak the lingo of facebook, rss, twitter ... the list is infinite.
How we do communicate is so important. None of this of course overthrows face to face pastoral contact but we do need to speak into culture & that culture is one of connectedness & networks.
Yes we do have parish websites which are improving all the time ... but one wonders if there are people who are looking into where communication could go in the future of the church and if there are examples of good/best practice when it comes to communicating online with parishioners/ young people?
So for anyone reading this ... are there examples?, anyone want to share? any problems?
From somebody who is computer literate but would like to develop things further.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
A Bit of a Rant about the church
This entry is written in order to get my thoughts prepared for a history essay as part of my final year History Course - necessarily it includes some perspectives of the current affairs. The Title is the "Place of the Church of Ireland in the NEW Ireland"
The Church of Ireland stands in a prominent position on this Island - touching some 450 parishes units North, south, east and west. Some 500 stipendiary clergy minister to some 390,000 people. It has a huge stock of estate in all arts and parts of the Island.
Organized as an Episcopal church split into 12 Dioceses with 2 Provinces and a synod to pass legislation. It is fair to say that we are a diverse church, with conceivably all shades of theological and indeed political opinion in our pews. We have evangelical, conservative, charismatic, anglo-catholic, liberal, unionist, nationalist, loyalist and no-doubt republican.
We stand as a church in an exciting postition due to our history recent and beyond which has indeed had its problems but with hindsight we need to be ready to face challenges of the present and future in faith and indeed hope as we minister to a new, modern, 21st Century Ireland with all its problems and diversity. Within this essay my aim is to discuss some of the current trends we find in this so-called “new” Ireland and look at how the church over the last Century has developed.
Ireland (North and South) is completely different to what it was even 20 years ago. The North has given up its troubles, the South its Punt, The Island as a whole is now more commercial, less concerned with religion and more about consumerism. Society today, as economist David McWilliams comments is bigger, more expensive and partying like mad. Throughout the island we are more aware of the world with immigrants wanting to come to Ireland for work. We are taking more workers on than any other nation in Europe. The population is changing its priorities and the church of the new Ireland needs to respond to that.
As a Church we have set up committees such as Hard Gospel, Board of Social Responsibilities, we are welcoming priests from around the Anglican Communion to minister to minority groups within our population. Having brought these positive things to the table there is also a lot more that still needs to be done. As we look back over the century there has been a complete change within the Island which we must remember there are still those within our number who have seen this whole change:
• People who remember their parents speaking about the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland.
• Those who were affected by the two world wars
• Those who saw the partition of the island of Ireland
• Those who were affected by the troubles in Northern Ireland
• Those who have raw emotions of hatred towards the “other side” within the conflict
We also must remember that as a church 150 years ago we were the church to whom tithes taxes were payable to – hated by both Catholics and Presbyterians alike.
The Church here in Ireland is showing signs of becoming stronger in its prophetic voice, however as the world becomes more commercialized and secular we are in danger of losing that distinctive Christian voice and thus becoming one among many rather than one.
We do as a church have something to say to society in regards to – Morals, environment, politics, values, education, ethical debate, poverty, community relations, prevailing culture, consumerism ... We do have a role in this society and if we are to fulfill that call we must speak out with clarity and ask the difficult questions of our politicians, leaders, society and of course ourselves. If we are not the salt and light in the world what good is there being here in the first place.
In the 19th Century the church of Ireland was at the centre of Government, its Bishops sat in the House Of Lords, many of its members were in parliament, this of course was good in terms of being heard and being there in the debates and the decisions that were made. However this privileged position is no longer there, in many ways this is advantageous to the church as we do not have to be directed by the government, we do not have to do what they say. However, it also means that our influence upon policy and law making has diminished but as a body representing our members we do have distinctive voices which need to be heard on the issues of the day.
From our 450 pulpits we have the privilege of being able to teach the Christian message and gospel, to many, many people. We have within our congregations a huge diversity of people working in all corners of the economy. As a church we have huge influence – yes we are no longer the established church but we have a network of individuals most of whom are baptized and have links which span the length and breadth of this nation. This must be one of the most exciting times to be going into church leadership.
There are huge problems – indeed there are:
- Debt is rampant
- Alcoholism and marriage break-up are widespread
- Church going is at an all time low
- Drug abuse is so high
- Criminality is round the corner
But there are glimmers of hope, where the church is working with the local communities, where the church and government bodies are working together, where people can see Christians really caring for their needs, churches are growing, where churches are growing they are investing their resources in providing what the communites need. In return where needs are met – the gospel is being preached and lives are being completely turned around.
It is sad indeed to see churches being closed, converted or even demolished.
In an Island which has seen so much conflict which to the untrained eye was all about religion and protestants fighting Catholics, we have so much of what could be termed as “religion” do need to get back to the basics and ask what the church is actually here for.
The place of the Church of Ireland in the new Ireland is and needs to be is right in the middle of it. Involved at all levels of society. We need to be reaching out to those at all strata’s of society.
To the poor and the marginalized we need to be saying we are here with you – we will assist you in your dealings to get you a fair package of help when you need it.
To those who are having problems with addictions we need to be saying we will help you to overcome
To those who have arrived as immigrants we need to be saying – welcome and offering a place to belong
To those who are struggling to make ends meet financially we need to say we will give you advice
To all who are OK we need to say – the church needs you as it does everyone
We as a church need to be continually reaching out with the good news of Christ to all in this new Ireland, seeking to move beyond our comfort zones into what can only be described as our mission field. In the past when churches spoke about missionaries the widely held view was that of empire and bringing Christianity to Africa with pith hats and Bibles in hand. However on our doorsteps across the Island today we have people who have either a very negative view of the church or those who have no idea what the gospel is all about.
It is in these areas the church needs to be stepping out in faith and proclaiming the good news and expecting things to change for the better.
Are these things the churches responsibility – well I would argue yes! IF we are to be missional and intentional about our proclamation of the gospel – yes we are to preach the word through the power of the spirit. It is the empowerment of the community of faith to ensure that as many as possible are brought into hear that word, and if possible we should bring the gospel out to the people wherever they are.
The church, I have heard it described as being simply one hungry beggar, telling another hungry beggar where to find food. That is all the church can and should be doing! That is where we should be.
This has turned into a bit of a Rant – it will be refined into a much more reasoned argument as part of an essay – but hey – it makes for a bit of a Blog anyway!!
The Church of Ireland stands in a prominent position on this Island - touching some 450 parishes units North, south, east and west. Some 500 stipendiary clergy minister to some 390,000 people. It has a huge stock of estate in all arts and parts of the Island.
Organized as an Episcopal church split into 12 Dioceses with 2 Provinces and a synod to pass legislation. It is fair to say that we are a diverse church, with conceivably all shades of theological and indeed political opinion in our pews. We have evangelical, conservative, charismatic, anglo-catholic, liberal, unionist, nationalist, loyalist and no-doubt republican.
We stand as a church in an exciting postition due to our history recent and beyond which has indeed had its problems but with hindsight we need to be ready to face challenges of the present and future in faith and indeed hope as we minister to a new, modern, 21st Century Ireland with all its problems and diversity. Within this essay my aim is to discuss some of the current trends we find in this so-called “new” Ireland and look at how the church over the last Century has developed.
Ireland (North and South) is completely different to what it was even 20 years ago. The North has given up its troubles, the South its Punt, The Island as a whole is now more commercial, less concerned with religion and more about consumerism. Society today, as economist David McWilliams comments is bigger, more expensive and partying like mad. Throughout the island we are more aware of the world with immigrants wanting to come to Ireland for work. We are taking more workers on than any other nation in Europe. The population is changing its priorities and the church of the new Ireland needs to respond to that.
As a Church we have set up committees such as Hard Gospel, Board of Social Responsibilities, we are welcoming priests from around the Anglican Communion to minister to minority groups within our population. Having brought these positive things to the table there is also a lot more that still needs to be done. As we look back over the century there has been a complete change within the Island which we must remember there are still those within our number who have seen this whole change:
• People who remember their parents speaking about the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland.
• Those who were affected by the two world wars
• Those who saw the partition of the island of Ireland
• Those who were affected by the troubles in Northern Ireland
• Those who have raw emotions of hatred towards the “other side” within the conflict
We also must remember that as a church 150 years ago we were the church to whom tithes taxes were payable to – hated by both Catholics and Presbyterians alike.
The Church here in Ireland is showing signs of becoming stronger in its prophetic voice, however as the world becomes more commercialized and secular we are in danger of losing that distinctive Christian voice and thus becoming one among many rather than one.
We do as a church have something to say to society in regards to – Morals, environment, politics, values, education, ethical debate, poverty, community relations, prevailing culture, consumerism ... We do have a role in this society and if we are to fulfill that call we must speak out with clarity and ask the difficult questions of our politicians, leaders, society and of course ourselves. If we are not the salt and light in the world what good is there being here in the first place.
In the 19th Century the church of Ireland was at the centre of Government, its Bishops sat in the House Of Lords, many of its members were in parliament, this of course was good in terms of being heard and being there in the debates and the decisions that were made. However this privileged position is no longer there, in many ways this is advantageous to the church as we do not have to be directed by the government, we do not have to do what they say. However, it also means that our influence upon policy and law making has diminished but as a body representing our members we do have distinctive voices which need to be heard on the issues of the day.
From our 450 pulpits we have the privilege of being able to teach the Christian message and gospel, to many, many people. We have within our congregations a huge diversity of people working in all corners of the economy. As a church we have huge influence – yes we are no longer the established church but we have a network of individuals most of whom are baptized and have links which span the length and breadth of this nation. This must be one of the most exciting times to be going into church leadership.
There are huge problems – indeed there are:
- Debt is rampant
- Alcoholism and marriage break-up are widespread
- Church going is at an all time low
- Drug abuse is so high
- Criminality is round the corner
But there are glimmers of hope, where the church is working with the local communities, where the church and government bodies are working together, where people can see Christians really caring for their needs, churches are growing, where churches are growing they are investing their resources in providing what the communites need. In return where needs are met – the gospel is being preached and lives are being completely turned around.
It is sad indeed to see churches being closed, converted or even demolished.
In an Island which has seen so much conflict which to the untrained eye was all about religion and protestants fighting Catholics, we have so much of what could be termed as “religion” do need to get back to the basics and ask what the church is actually here for.
The place of the Church of Ireland in the new Ireland is and needs to be is right in the middle of it. Involved at all levels of society. We need to be reaching out to those at all strata’s of society.
To the poor and the marginalized we need to be saying we are here with you – we will assist you in your dealings to get you a fair package of help when you need it.
To those who are having problems with addictions we need to be saying we will help you to overcome
To those who have arrived as immigrants we need to be saying – welcome and offering a place to belong
To those who are struggling to make ends meet financially we need to say we will give you advice
To all who are OK we need to say – the church needs you as it does everyone
We as a church need to be continually reaching out with the good news of Christ to all in this new Ireland, seeking to move beyond our comfort zones into what can only be described as our mission field. In the past when churches spoke about missionaries the widely held view was that of empire and bringing Christianity to Africa with pith hats and Bibles in hand. However on our doorsteps across the Island today we have people who have either a very negative view of the church or those who have no idea what the gospel is all about.
It is in these areas the church needs to be stepping out in faith and proclaiming the good news and expecting things to change for the better.
Are these things the churches responsibility – well I would argue yes! IF we are to be missional and intentional about our proclamation of the gospel – yes we are to preach the word through the power of the spirit. It is the empowerment of the community of faith to ensure that as many as possible are brought into hear that word, and if possible we should bring the gospel out to the people wherever they are.
The church, I have heard it described as being simply one hungry beggar, telling another hungry beggar where to find food. That is all the church can and should be doing! That is where we should be.
This has turned into a bit of a Rant – it will be refined into a much more reasoned argument as part of an essay – but hey – it makes for a bit of a Blog anyway!!
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