Transcript Church and Technology Ingersoll Deanery

Information Systems Services
presents
Church
&
Technology
Ingersoll Deanery
Proposed Patron Saint of the Internet
St. Isidore of Seville
• proposed patron saint
of the internet
• lived in 7th century
• created world’s first
database: a 20-volume
encyclopedia of ‘all human
knowledge’
• Etymologies used as college
textbook for 900 years
Prayer to our patron?
Prayer to St. Isidore
When programs crash and cursors
freeze,
with warnings: “fatal error”,
our systems drive us to our knees—
can this be cyber-terror,
or mere demoniac possession?
We need some saintly intercession!
Ah, what comfort to implore,
“Pray for us, St. Isidore!”
Prayer to our patron?
Prayer to St. Isidore
When files we’ve saved cannot be
found (not even by Outlook),
when viruses and worms abound,
and eat the address book,
when through the Windows data’s
flying,
the desperate cyber-slaves are crying,
prostrate on the office floor,
“Pray for us, St. Isidore!”
Prayer to our patron?
Prayer to St. Isidore
When “You’ve got mail!” but it’s all
spam
(or files that won’t unzip),
when all at once there’s no more RAM,
we start to lose our grip,
and filling with the foulest hates,
we would defenestrate Bill Gates!
“Our charitable hearts restore—
pray for us, St. Isidore!”
Prayer to our patron?
Prayer to St. Isidore
When downloads fail, when disks erase,
when life-work’s lost in cyberspace,
remind us in our dire frustration:
The goal here is communication.
“Oh, heed our pleas
(but don’t keep score)—
pray for us, St. Isidore!”
-— Mary W. Cox
Copyright © 2002 Mary W. Cox
Church & Technology
Who are we?
We are not
TECNOLOGICAL EVANGELIST
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Why are we here?
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“Church leaders are obliged to
use “the full potential of the
‘computer age’ to serve the
human and transcendent
vocation of every person,, and
thus to give glory to the Father
from whom all good things
come”
The Church & the Internet
Encyclical letter
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Three Es of Technology
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ENABLE
ENRICH
EMPOWER
Church
&
Technology
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Modern technology
is given by the
almighty to bring
glory & praise to
HIS name.
Church & Technology:
Is this an oxymoron?
Church & Technology
“God has spoken to humanity
according to the culture proper to
each age. Similarly the Church,
which in the course of time has
existed in varying circumstances,
has utilized the resources of
different cultures in her
preaching to spread and explain
the message of Christ”
Pope John Paul II
XXIV World Communications day
Church & Technology
Sometimes the church waits a
long time before she sees the
benefit of these technologies
and begin to use them in the
mission of the Church.
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“The Church would feel guilty
before the Lord if she did not
utilize these powerful means
that human skill is daily
rendering more perfect. It is
through them that she
proclaims ‘from the housetops’
the message of which she is the
depository”
Evangelii Nuntiandi, 45
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The Role of Technology
in
the Mission of the Church.
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Role of Technology
 Process Automation (PA)
 Objectives Advancement (OA)
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Process Automation (PA)
Processing financial statements
Processing of bills & payments
Producing mailing labels
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Process Automation (PA)
Process automation
must begin
with
Process Re-Engineering (PR).
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Process Re-engineering
As users of technology we must identify time
consuming, repetitive tasks and look for ways to
improve the process.
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Process Re-engineering
►First and foremost we must eliminate processes
which are not adding value to the end result and/or to
the objectives of the organization at large.
►Secondly we must streamline processes.
►Thirdly we must consider using technology to
improve and/or automate the process.
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Process Re-engineering
Automating a badly defined manual process is like
throwing good money after bad.
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Objectives Advancement (OA)
Communication
Evangelization
Outreach
Stewardship
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Objective Advancement (OA)
Let us challenge ourselves and look for
opportunities to use technology tools to improve
processes and to advance the mission of the
Church.
Let us think outside the box
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What is the mission of the Church?
Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ
our Lord and Savior.
“Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and
earth; go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations.”
Matthew 28:18-19
Church & Technology
It means
Communication
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The Church, formed by the Word
of God ,nourished by the Word,
and given life by the Spirit, seeks
through her communication to
make real the desire for
communion, the formation of
community, the proclamation of
God’s word, and the voice of
God’s little ones.
Taken from Pastoral Plan for Church Communication, United
States Catholic Conference.
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therefore…
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“Communication
must lie at the
heart of the church
community”
Aetatis Novae, 6
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After the family, people
experience the Church first in
then local parish, where bonds
of charity begin and where the
worshipping community takes
shape. This occurs through
communication: the sharing of
faith, the preaching of the Word,
the celebration of the
sacraments, service to the poor
and marginalized, and the union
of the larger body.
Taken from Pastoral Plan for Church Communication, United States Catholic Conference.
Church & Technology
Re-Engineering your
church communication
is as important as your
other ministries.
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Are we afraid of the word “Marketing”?
Whether we like it or not we are in the
business of marketing the Word of God
to all Nations.
“Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and
earth; go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations.”
Matthew 28:18-19
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Common Mistakes
of
Communication
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Be Clear.
Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate.
Publish it frequently
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Not every one is in the club. Try
to use “Non-Churchy” language
as much as possible.
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●Tell stories. Make connection to
their day to day living.
●Try to communicate to their
head and well as to their heart.
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●Understand your audience.
●Try to use tools and
methodologies that are
appropriate for your audience.
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●Publish your vision frequently.
● Explain
your vision frequently.
● Connect your vision to your
local ministries.
● To be successful your
parishioners have to own your
vision .
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Do not go from
Vision to Action.
This will be a
failure.
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Vision
Communication
Action
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What is the first piece of
communication people receive when
they walk into your Parish?
Parish Bulletin
What is the average life cycle of a
Parish Bulletin?
3 days
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What percentage of Parishioners read
the complete Bulletin?
0.3 %
How frequently do Parishioners
attend the Sunday liturgy?
20-30-20-30
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Do you take into consideration that
your Parish Community is very diverse
in terms of age groups, ethnicity, etc. ?
In most cases NO
Is your parish bulletin faith friendly to
visitors and people from other faith
communities?
In most cases NO
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►Stop making assumptions such as
“everyone knows”, etc.
►Be specific about upcoming events. If
possible have a separate insert for
upcoming events in the form of an event
calendar.
►Use non-traditional ways to distribute
your bulletin. Remember not all your
parishioners come every Sunday.
►Keep in mind you are communicating
with people of all back grounds, all ages,
both genders, etc.
► Use appropriate tools & methods.
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►Establish an annual communication
budget
►Form a communication team. Make sure
you have representation from all groups
►Use your regular parishioners to do part
of the communication work for you.
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Five Steps of effective
ministry communication
INSPIRE
INSTRUCT
INCLUDE
INFORM
INVITE
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Modern society increasingly
defines itself by communicationnewspapers, magazines, books,
telecommunications, radio,
television, film, internet,
electronic mail, digital media.
etc.
Taken from Pastoral Plan for Church Communication, United States Catholic Conference.
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“Since the very evangelization of modern
culture depends to a great extent on the
influence of the media, it is not enough to
use the media simply to spread the
Christian message and the Church’s
authentic teaching. It is also necessary to
integrate that message into the ‘new
culture’ created by modern communication.
This is a complex issue, since the ‘new
culture’ originates not just from whatever
content is eventually expressed, but from
the very fact there exist new ways of
communicating, with new languages, new
techniques, and a new psychology”
Redemptrois Missio, 37
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Medium is the message
Marshall McLuhan
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Using the Internet/Email
to
COMMUNICATE
with your parishioners and others.
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PARISH WEBSITES
How important?
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The faithful are rushing online to
commute, debate and share.
Almost overnight the World Wide
Web has become a high-speed
spiritual bazaar that is altering
the character of the Internet and
could even change our ideas
about God.
RitaMary Bardley, sfcc
Religion in Cyberspace
Church & Technology
Cyberspace is not going to
destroy religion. It energizes and
illuminates it. It brings into focus
all the teaching and
communication tools of the past
and enables us to use them in
dynamically new combinations.
RitaMary Bardley, sfcc
Religion in Cyberspace
Church & Technology
“The Church sees these media as
‘gifts of God’ which, in
accordance with his providential
design, unite men in brotherhood
and so help them to cooperate
with his plan for their salvation”
Pope Pius X11, 1957
Encyclical letter
Church & Technology
“The Internet is relevant to many
activities and programs of the
Church—evangelization including
both re-evangelization and new
evangelization and the
traditional missionary work. ”
The Church & the Internet
Encyclical letter
Church & Technology
“The Internet is relevant to many activities and
programs of the Church-evangelization,
…catechesis and other kinds of education, news and
information, apologies, governance and
administration, and some forms of pastoral
counseling and spiritual direction. The virtual reality
of cyberspace.., can attract people to a fuller
experience of the life of faith, and enrich the
religious lives of users. It also provides the Church
with a means for communicating with particular
groups-young people and young adults, the elderly
and home-bound, persons living in remote areas,
the members of the other religious bodies-who
otherwise may be difficult to reach”
Pontifical Council For Social Communications, Ethics In Internet
Church & Technology
“Church leaders are obliged to
use “the full potential of the
‘computer age’ to serve the
human and transcendent
vocation of every person,, and
thus to give glory to the Father
from whom all good things
come”
The Church & the Internet
Encyclical letter
Church & Technology
Church & Technology
Church & Technology
The faithful are rushing online to
commute, debate and share.
Almost overnight the World Wide
Web has become a high-speed
spiritual bazaar that is altering
the character of the Internet and
could even change our ideas
about God.
RitaMary Bardley, sfcc
Religion in Cyberspace
Church & Technology
Cyberspace is not going to
destroy religion. It energizes and
illuminates it. It brings into focus
all the teaching and
communication tools of the past
and enables us to use them in
dynamically new combinations.
RitaMary Bardley, sfcc
Religion in Cyberspace
Church & Technology
“The Church sees these media as
‘gifts of God’ which, in
accordance with his providential
design, unite men in brotherhood
and so help them to cooperate
with his plan for their salvation”
Pope Pius X11, 1957
Encyclical letter
Church & Technology
“The Internet is relevant to many
activities and programs of the
Church—evangelization including
both re-evangelization and new
evangelization and the
traditional missionary work. ”
The Church & the Internet
Encyclical letter
Church & Technology
“The Internet is relevant to many activities and
programs of the Church-evangelization,
…catechesis and other kinds of education, news and
information, apologies, governance and
administration, and some forms of pastoral
counseling and spiritual direction. The virtual reality
of cyberspace.., can attract people to a fuller
experience of the life of faith, and enrich the
religious lives of users. It also provides the Church
with a means for communicating with particular
groups-young people and young adults, the elderly
and home-bound, persons living in remote areas,
the members of the other religious bodies-who
otherwise may be difficult to reach”
Pontifical Council For Social Communications, Ethics In Internet
Church & Technology
As we speak,
there is a new
ministry being
created in
Churches
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Technology
Ministry
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This ministry should
be at the higher
level and directly
reporting to the
Pastor or Pastoral
Council
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“E-Ministry is a method (a technology)
approach in seeking to reach people.
Because there is so much out there,
our church leadership felt the need to
develop a ministry to be used as a tool
to facilitate the various needs of all
ministries”
Rev. Wayne Cole, Executive Pastor
Riverland Hills Baptist Church
Columbia, SC
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“E-Ministry allows each ministry in the
church to continue with their focus,
but this helps take some of the
demands off. It seeks to express the
entire congregation through website,
mass media and other ways that will
allow members to gain more
understanding and knowledge of all
ministries that are taking place in the
life of the Church”
Rev. Wayne Cole, Executive Pastor
Riverland Hills Baptist Church
Columbia, SC
Church & Technology
If the apostle Paul was
living in this era, he
would be using all of
these technologies in
his communication.
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Are U ready?
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We at ISS can
help you
establish this
ministry in
your Parish.
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We deliver…
What we promise
Sounds like Sears commercial?
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Modern technology
is given by the
almighty to bring
glory & praise to
HIS name.
Technology is a means to an end, not an end in
itself.
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“We accomplish in our lifetimes
only a tiny fraction of the
magnificent enterprise that is
God’s work. …We plant the
seeds that one day will grow.
We water the seeds already
planted, knowing that they hold
future promise.”
From the prayer of Archbishop Oscar Romero
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Thank you