Help your parish priest with new media
5 things to keep in mind when you introduce someone to Catholic new media.
A few weeks ago, I gave an introduction about Catholic new media and evangelization to a group of priests. A couple of days later, I received an email from one of them. He gathered from my talk that it was important for the Church to use new media to reach out to people, but he had no idea where to start.
I assumed from his question that he had little experience in using new media for pastoral purposes or for evangelization. He might use the internet for email and to find information, but he probably has no experience with social networks or with new media production.
Cradle-new-media-Catholic
I have been using computers since I was 12, and over the years have become very familiar with the possibilities of new media. As a ‘cradle-new-media-Catholic’, it is sometimes difficult for me to look at new media through the eyes of a newcomer.
If your parish priest is among the people that go to their local bookstore or library to get “one of those Facebooks young people seem like so much”, or that visit a pet store to get more information on how to Twitter, what can we do to help?
In many ways, introducing someone to the world of media and new media is similar to the process of introducing someone to the Catholic faith. Here are some important things you need to remember:
1. Offer guidance
You can’t expect someone to just read the Catechism from cover to cover to prepare for baptism. People love RCIA, because it gives them guidance, other people that join them in their journey. They can ask questions, advice, share experiences. In the same way, you can’t just give your new media illiterate parish priest a laptop and tell him to “just look around on the internet”. Offer him to introduce him to the basics of new media in a couple of meetings.
2. Provide tools
If you want to become a Catholic, you need to have a few basic tools. A Bible, the Catechism, perhaps a rosary, a prayer book.. Make sure that your parish priest (or anyone else who asks for your help) has access to a few basic tools: a well-configured computer with a browser and up-to-date virus protection.
3. Keep it simple
In RCIA, you don’t introduce people to the intricacies of Canon Law in the first few lessons. Too much information at once will overwhelm them. You start with the basics. Similarly, when introducing your parish priest to the world of new media, keep it simple. Ask what he already knows about new media, and focus on a few topics. If he doesn’t know how to use a browser, start with that. If he wants to know more about social networks, show him Twitter or Facebook.
4. Start with personal interests
Sometimes a person might be wary of new media. “Why would I use something like Twitter?” “What’s wrong with books made of paper?” “I just want my phone to make phone calls, I don’t need all that other stuff”, “our parish bulletin is good enough, we don’t need a fancy website”.
If you feel that you need to convince someone of the importance of new media for the Church, it’s not enough to say: “the Pope says we should use new media”. Don’t “force-feed” Twitter just because YOU think it’s the greatest thing. Ask yourself what your parish priest is interested in, and start with that.
An example: To convince my former bishop of the usefulness of the internet many years ago, I showed him how he could read St. Augustin, Thomas Aquinas and other Catholic authors on a laptop anywhere in the world. No need to carry around heavy books anymore if he had to go to Rome for a conference. I tried to demonstrate how new media were relevant to his personal interests.
A couple of years ago, my parents didn’t see the need for a computer or internet connection. Today, my mom uses her Mac to read about Papillon dogs, my dad uses his laptop to read weather forecasts and news. The motivation to use new media has to come from personal interests.
5. Point them to this website 
The Catholic Media Guild is meant to help the Church use new media to reach out, to teach, to inspire and to build community. Even when someone has just been baptized, their faith will grow through active participation in a local parish community. The same thing is true for Catholic media. The Catholic Media Guild is hopefully growing into a community of people that share their experience in using and producing Catholic media; a place where you can get to know other people eager to improve their communications skills and where you can find answers to your questions.
Did you ever help a priest or a fellow Catholic with new media? How did it go? Share your stories in the comments!
In the couple of meetings I’ve had with my pastor to encourage use of new media in our parish, my two most powerful words seemed to be “young adults”.
Anytime I mentioned how young adults–inside and outside the Church–speak the language of digital culture, and that we as the Church must speak their vernacular to attract them into her arms, his eyes lit up.
Regardless of all its other benefits, new media has a particular power to lure the ‘missing demographic’ to the parish, and, in my experience, this alone perks up the ears of pastors.
That’s an awesome tip, Brandon. It’s an argument that I also use a lot in case I need to convince colleagues that it’s worth investing in new media.
However, sometimes parishes think that it’s enough to have a website to reconnect with a massive crowd of young people. But as we know, it takes more than just a parish website to accomplish that
Hi Fr. Roderick,
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on priests blogging as a way to share what the pastor is interested in so to help strength the people of God. You’ve obviously embraced new media to connect your passions with your faith and vocation.
A parish priest who embraces blogging as way to share with his parish his passion for, lets say, the updated GIRM might help fend off critics and also help a community embrace new changes. Perhaps blogging (and Twitter, Facebook, etc.) biggest strength is that it furthers the translating and participation of faith beyond Sunday into the rest of the week.
Thanks for the good work you’re doing.
-Ryan Miller