Claudia+Wiki+Assignment+2

Assignment #2
Expected time to complete this assignment: 30 minutes

Read the entire statement from the USCCB Communications Committee report to the 2011 Fall General Assembly. It's not very long.

Social media: Friend or Foe, Google or Hornswoggle? []

While you are reading, be aware of words of phrases that might apply to our topic of wikis. Now post a short reflection about what impressed you the most in the USCCB statement. If you would like to reference or other Church documents or statements, please do. If you can create a hyperlink to the document, even better!

Example: I was impressed that the bishops recognize the evangelization opportunity created by social media. That could apply to wikis, too. If wikis allow ANYONE to contribute, maybe I could set up a wiki for two Catholic schools to collaborate in a project. I think my junior high students might enjoy that. I have been searching for a project where they can articulate their faith in a new way. -posted by Claudia


 * POST YOUR REFLECTIONS ON YOUR COACH'S PAGE. **

Example: It is really wonderful to see that the Bishops are seeing the value in using digital media. I think there is a lot of values in using all the social media tools and I feel that we just need to find what works best in our churches seating and start enhancing our ideas and sharing more. Susan Noble

I think most of us can agree with Bishop Herzog's statement that social media is a force to be reckoned with. I think that the biggest obstacles at parishes, my parish is having others see that. I had a gentleman on staff say he did not think there was a need to use twitter, when I had suggested as a form to have the priest answer some questions during an event we held. The Pastor was okay with it, but is not literate in technology, but understands the need. The gentleman who opposed it, does not think there is a need for it and feels it would take away the community atmosphere. Therefore, we need help others see that "we need to respect the culture of the Twitterers, and Facebookers, and to engage on their terms to bring Christ into their new world." "That if the church is not on their mobile device, it doesn't exist. We do not have to change our teaching, just the way we deliver it." We need to devote more time, expertise and and awareness of the benefits of social media to our staffs and parishioners. Kellie De Leo

I have followed some of the posting by the Pope and other Bishops and I think they know the extreme reach that can be made using the tools of social media. I could post a reflection on a Sunday reflection and just watch where it goes. Comments could be from all ages and part of the world even. Many of our youth already use tools like wiki to do their homework and project. I could also see using it for small groups projects that could be worked on by the group without being in the same space. Wiki's could be used for Confirmation sharing too (even between sponsors). Linda Anderson

Reply to Linda's post (Jan Von Handorf) What great suggestions! Just within the last couple of years we have seen more and more bishops/clergy/lay ecclesial ministers using social media as a way of inviting people into the conversation. The possibilities for evangelization are limited only by our imaginations. As you continue with DDBC it may be helpful to keep a "notebook of ideas" for effective ways to include digital media in your ministry.

The statement that jumped out to me was "We digital immigrants need lessons on the digital culture, just as we expect missionaries to learn the cultures of the people they are evangelizing. We have to be enculturated." this is the reason I am taking this course. As Church we have been out of touch more than once in our history. Bishop Herzog drives that point home as well. Reading more from the USCCB Communications office is this 2012 article and research you may find interesting - focuses on demographics and use of social media..[|USCCB Communications office] KKHuey

The statement "On the Digital Contintent, "if you build it, they will come" does not hold true". For me that is one of my largest concerns, that what I build is not used or valued. I still have several families and one catechist who do not even use email so I know they won't come. I'm not trying to be negative, I do believe that we need to develop and tap into current means of communication; its just the realization that not every one is there yet.(Carrie Sallwasser)

What struck me most was the paragraph... "//Although social media has been around for less than 10 years, it doesn't have the makings of a fad. We're being told that it is causing as fundamental a shift in communication patterns and behavior as the printing press did 500 years ago. And I don't think I have to remind you of what happened when the Catholic Church was slow to adapt to that new technology. By the time we decided to seriously promote that common folk should read the Bible, the Protestant Reformation was well underway//." While I might quibble about his time line regarding when the church finally got around to promoting reading the Bible ( well after the reformation), I think the point is that social media **__is__** reflective of a fundamental shift in how people communicate with each other and even how we evangelize especially for those of us who work with young people. People such as Frank Mercadante who wrote "__Engaging a New Generation__" talk about the ways in which most young people are no longer looking for systematic explanations of our faith partially because they are used to being able to quickly look up the factual answers they think they need. He points to this as a reflection of the media age they are growing up in. At the same time they long for "real" relationships that are more substantive than social media "followers and friends" They don't just want to know about Jesus what could be called the head stuff of our faith. They want to know Jesus and know people who have a real relationship with Him and people who will really love them as they are. (The heart stuff). In some ways it seems a double edged sword. The technology is creating a generation who longs for something more than the technology itself. It is creating a generation who wants what we can in fact offer the real presence of Jesus in our midst. The questions is how will we balance using the technology and the real human relationships that will bring our young people closer to Christ. ( Maura L. Sweeney)

An excellent article/statement...made almost 4 years ago. I think we are well on our way. What stuck me most was " We have to be enculturated. It’s more than just learning how to create a Facebook account. It’s learning how to think, live and embrace life on the Digital Continent." While much of what we are learning (i.e. how to create a

Facebook account, wikis, etc.) is critical, it is just as critical to "enculturate" and look at how what we are using can bring people into personal encounters with Christ. Technology is a tool...a potentially great one, if used well, to evangelize, communicate and create the hunger for more. We are missing the boat if we don't give it the time and attention it needs so that we can utilize it appropriately. I am encouraged that our pope and bishops are contributing time and resources to it. My pastor may even buy his first "smart phone" ever before the end of the summer. One small step for the church, one giant leap for him. :-) (Mary Smith)

I truly enjoyed the article. It is an eye opener. We are encouraged not to allow ourselves to be fooled. I fall into that category. I am just beginning to understand the need for embracing the “Digital Continent.” I always thought of social networking as more of a bother than a necessity, more of a burden than a tool. We are cautioned that we should invest time, energy, and finances to training and experience if we want to bring the culture of youth to the truths of the Gospel. Wikis, of various topics on faith formation is a beginning. –Dolly Vail

The first aspect of the USCCB statement that impressed me is the statement was **__written four years ago__!** The second aspect that excited me was how Bishop Herzog **__voiced the opposition's point of view succinctly__** but not in a dismissive manner. The Bible and the Sacraments are consistently reminding us that we as Church are to continue Christ's message: To communicate God's saving mercy to and for all humankind is the reason Jesus came to earth. It is the reason Jesus commissioned the eleven in Mark 15:16 "He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." Near the end of our Baptism the priest prayed that our ears and mouth "be opened" so that we may hear and proclaim the Good News of Jesus. At the Concluding Rite the deacon at my parish announces that the Mass has ended and we, the congregation of believers, are to share the Good News to all we meet. At various times adults are commissioned to proclaim the Word to the world. We communicate through our roles as Parents, Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Catechists and all those who consecrate themselves or take vows as religious sisters or brothers, deacons or priests. Our message and our actions are to demonstrate to others how much God loves each and every human being.

Linked Church Documents about Social Media __**// [|INTER MIRIFICA] //**__ [|DECREE ON THE MEDIA OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS] (1963) In this first major Vatican II document of the media, states in a clear voice that: “The Catholic Church, since it was founded by Christ our Lord to bear salvation to all men and thus is obliged to preach the Gospel, considers it one of its duties to announce the Good News of salvation also with the help of the media of social communication and to instruct men in their proper use.“ Fifty plus years later, Pope Francis is echoing these words in his book, **The Joy of the Gospel**. In our lives today we Catholics are repeatedly hearing the message of using the media to evangelize the world. The impetuous of the forward thinking begun by Second Vatican Council is being manifested though various social media today. PASTORAL INSTRUCTION **[|COMMUNIO ET PROGRESSIO]** [|ON THE MEANS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION] (1971) Quotes from this document:
 * "More than ever before, the way men live and think is profoundly affected by the means of communication."**

" 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**." (Barbara Flora) Social media is here to stay. The Church must join the digital continent to evangelize in the spirit of the new evangelization. The survey that the USCCB conducted on the use of social media resulted in MyUSCCB digital media center. The USCCB facebook page membersship has grown from 25,000 to 127,000 since it started. This ought to make a statement about the role of social media in catechesis and evangelization. This very true for those int he military settings to learn the faith but also to stay connected with family and friends around the globe. -Jose Amaya

Return to Assignments