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Written by Angela Kessler
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Saturday, 21 November 2009 00:00 |
European bishops gathered together Nov. 12-15 to discuss “The Internet Culture and Church Communications.” According to a story by Catholic News Service, the bishops met with representatives from Facebook, Google, YouTube and Wikipedia and others to learn more about how the organizations work and discuss how the church can use these tools.
The story quoted Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco Leandri of Gap, France, as saying, “The Internet is as important as the invention of the printing press.” He said the Internet can make the Gospel accessible to everyone
who uses the Internet, just as the printing press helped make the Bible accessible to those who could read. The bishops see the Internet as a useful way to evangelize to a worldwide audience and are trying to figure out how to use this tremendous tool to keep or get people connected to the Gospel message.
Using social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter make it easy to evangelize online. Just as missionaries travel to different parts of the world to proclaim the Gospel, we can get our message to people who participate in a variety of communities online.
Certainly, the church can (and already does) take an active role in communicating in these various environments. Here, in the Diocese of Toledo, there are several organizations active online. Most parishes and schools have established Web sites to communicate with their parishioners and students.
Organizations throughout the diocese are also active on the social networking site Facebook and some are active on the microblogging Twitter community. Some that immediately come to mind include the Diocese of Toledo, Catholic Chronicle, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Equal Access Ministry, Toledo Central Catholic High School, Oregon Cardinal Stritch High School and the Sisters of Notre Dame.
As we all know, evangelization is the work of all of the faith community, not just the priests, employees of the church and official church organizations. And evangelizing can come in many forms. The Sisters of Notre Dame do a great job with their Facebook posts. While the sisters do use the site to promote vocations and events, it is well balanced with thought-provoking questions and Bible verses.
But beyond the “official” work of organizations like these, individuals also have a great opportunity to evangelize by using the Internet. I can’t even begin to count the number of people I have prayed for over the past few weeks that I would not have otherwise known needed prayers if it weren’t for Facebook. I also found a unique opportunity to join a conversation in which friends were saying they left organized religion because they felt there are too many people who quote and preach the Bible while acting in un-Christian ways.
Even if you’re not into social networks online, simply passing along a link to a story found on the Web is a great way to evangelize. Most newspapers have online tools available that make it easy to share stories via e-mail and social networks with just a click of the mouse button. For introverts, the Internet makes sharing your faith a lot less intimidating than talking to your neighbors and friends about your faith.
To help you get started, why not spend just 10 minutes a day on either the Diocese of Toledo (www.toledodiocese.org) or Catholic Chronicle (www.catholicchronicle.org) Web site to find information or a story that really speaks to you and share it either via e-mail or a social network post.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 21 November 2009 00:00 |
