Amy-Deanna+Social+Networking+Assignment+2

Assignment #2
Expected time to complete reading and the written assignment: 15 - 45 minutes

Your assignment for this segment is to post a SHORT reflection paragraph about what you learned from reading ONE of the church publications listed below. Your reflection can be about anything you found interesting or relevant to your ministry in your reading. For example, you could reflect on your role as a catechist in maintaining a safe online environment in compliance with the diocesan guidelines. Or you could reflect on the themes related to moral responsibility that you read about in Inter Mirifica. Choose something that is interesting and relevant to you.


 * [|World Communications Day Message 2014]
 * [|USCCB Guidelines for Use of Social Media]
 * [|Diocese of St. Petersburg, Guidelines for Social Networking, 2011]
 * [|Inter Mirifica]

// Post your reflection paragraph below using the following format: // (Paula Penepent) __USCCB Guidelines.__ I found this document to be helpful at many levels. First it clearly defined the various means and aspects of social media. Next it gave clear directives for setting up and administering as well as posting on social media platforms. The information was practical and made an impact on the importance of maintaining a Catholic and professional presence and how to respond when one is not respectful of the Teachings of the Church or the dignity of the human person. Overall, I will go back to this document as I set up social media for the ministry I am involved in and check our Diocese' guidelines also.
 * Your name. Name of the document you read. Your Reflection. **

(Debbie Parisi) I found these guidelines very direct and practical for how to manage social media in a church environment. We have experimented in a very limited way various media options, but up until now had no real plan of how to use them effectively to reach our audience. Some of our staffers are familiar with social media (to varying degrees) while others are in the 25% category of non-users. Clearly, social media is just one of many tools that we can use to communicate with our target populations (catechists, parents, youth, etc.), and some general ground rules need to be applied across the board. There is too great a risk to the parish if these tools are not used in a transparent manner. This is very good information to share with our parish in developing procedures and protocols for administering and monitoring our social media
 * Debbie Parisi. Diocese of St. Petersburg Guidelines for Social Networking **


 * (Kelly Schreckenberger), World Communications Day Message 2014 **

"And who is my neighbour?" (Lk 10:29) I am an avid user of social media, both personally and professionally. Having been in Youth Ministry for ten years, I can honestly say that social media has changed the landscape of what we do, and where we do it. No longer do I just minister to the youth when they are in attendance in Youth Ministry programs, but now, every single time I post something I am in a sense, continuing to minister. It has also allowed me to learn about the young people that I minister too, their parents, and the extended culture in which we live. With just a short skimming of social media sites, I know what is going on in the live of those that I am connected with. I have also seen a dramatic change in the way youth grieve, which is now often publicly done on the social media site(s) of the person who has been lost. I minister to an extremely diverse group of youth--not only racially, but also their nationality, their background, and even their high school (we have 18 different high schools represented in our youth group). Social media brings people together through all of these boundaries and has, for the most part, been a positive thing.


 * Susan Leigh Baker, Inter Mirifica **

I wish I had read this a long time ago!!! What a wealth of information, guidelines, and thoughts on social media. There was a lot that jumped out at me but four main items really hit home. First that social media can be used to preach the Word of God and that as Christians that is what we are called to do! I love that the church sees this a tool to spread the word and actions of God. Second, that we have the right to news but it must be true and complete. I love that. One of the biggest concerns so many have about news organizations is their 'leaning' and how they prefer to report an angle as opposed to the facts. It takes a bit of work sometimes to find out the facts and truth rather but sometimes it is needed. The third items follows up the last item in stating that not all knowledge is helpful but it is charity that edifies. So much power in that one statement. Every time I read it I get a different idea or feeling from it. It is important that as users of social media that we make sure we just aren't giving out knowledge but charity. This is very applicable to teens who often use social media to air theirs or others dirty laundry. While what they are posting might be true and complete, that knowledge hurts and does not build up the kingdom. What a great message. The last item is that we who work with the young should help them learn self control and moderation when using social media. I try to model this with my own social media accounts so that my teens can see what it might look like!

Maureen Rotramel, World Communications Day message, 2014 While I didn't necessarily learn anything new from this message, it articulated in a way what I have been trying to convey in our parish for some time. While I have tried to embrace social media (in some ways more successful than others), many on our staff don't see the importance or relevance or they think that it is only important for those of us in Youth Ministry. We have even had someone say that Jesus didn't use Facebook, why should we! Pope Francis' use of Scripture showing the need to dialogue as Jesus did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus in a way that is relevant to all people, young and old, needs to be heard by all of us who work in the Church. As Pope Francis so eloquently says, "Communication is a means of expressing the missionary vocation of the entire Church; today the social networks are one way to experience this call to discover the beauty of faith, the beauty of encountering Christ." While certainly not the only way, it is an important component of evangelization in the 21st century; to leave it to only one segment of the Church would be closing doors on amazing opportunities to spread the message of the Gospel "to the ends of the earth."

Jonathan Sansgaard, Inter Mirifica, July 9, 2014 The first thing that struck me in this article was whether or not my Lutheran denomination has a similar kind of resource. Although I don't see this as denominationally specific, it would be interesting to know their perspective. At any rate, one of the first points that was made is something I have been trying to hone myself, namely, matching the medium with the message. I have been told that blogs are for longer posts and should relate to subjects about which you are passionate and/or knowledgable. Facebook is for shorter postings, preferably with pictures, and possible links to other media you steward. Texting and Twitter are for quicker bits and timely announcements, etc. Most of the rest here was content I had heard before, but I thought the attention to keeping parents informed of contact with their kids was helpful. Generally I make parents aware of my contact via social media, but I think I may need to be more attentive and systematic here.

Carolina Helsel - **48**th **World Day of Communications, 2014** Very well written. Over and over it is emphasized that social media is wonderful if used correctly. We are to use it as a means of spreading the gospel and sharing the Good News. It is a simply a quicker and easier way to make disciples and begin dialogues. The article reiterates the necessity of seeing others, our audience, as our "neighbors." We should not renounce others because of their differences, but encourage a conversation that answers questions and initiates discussions, without letting go of any of our own core beliefs. We are to go out and be the Good Samaritan in our daily lives by opening ourselves to others and their needs. Social media allows us to reach people globally, but we must remember to do so in a respectful and gracious manner.

Theresa Franks - **48**th **World Day of Communications, 2014**

This document is very important for understanding the spiritual and relational consequences, both good and bad, of modern day communication technology. Paragraph 2; " The world of communications can help us either to expand our knowledge or to lose our bearings. The desire for digital connectivity can have the effect of isolating us from our neighbours, from those closest to us" is, in a nut shell, what we should keep at the forefront of our minds. //Is what I am doing with social media expanding my knowledge, in truth, or leading me and others away form the truth, or isolating my brothers and sisters?// Social media, and technology in general, has the ability to tell the story of salvation to the ends of the earth, it can be an asset to, but doesn't replace human reason, companionship, Christian witness, love, care, or full communion. Pope Francis asked, //"Who is our neighbor?...// //How can we be "neighbourly" in our use of the communications media and in the new environment created by digital technology?"// This is the challenge and the opportunity in social media. The Faithful must set the example in our communication as we bring Christ to the digital world in love and truth.


 * Colleen Murray. INTER MIRIFICA**. One of the things that struck me about this was our role as consumers of media and that we must be on guard to support good media with Catholic values and not support media contrary to our values. This was written at the time of what was the more recent phenomenon of television, but it still applies today obviously. It made me think how easy it is to consume the average pop culture offerings in television and movies, as well as all the new formats, and how we support it and encourage it by our consumption. A document I found reflecting on 40 years of Inter Mirifica compares the new social communication culture to the Greek Aeropagus or, quoting JPII, the Roman Forum, the "public space where politics and business were transacted, where religious duties were fulfilled, where much of the city’s social life took place, and where the best and the worst of human nature was on display’…. It is from such a new social communication ‘culture’ where people, especially the young, get their values and directions in life.” It is so important for a Catholic, Christian presence to be there to help guide their values and give them direction. And how true it is that we see the best and worst of human nature on display through social media.


 * Kendra Lockhart. World Communications Message 2014.** I find myself from time to time pulling back from social media, as it can pull me away from the people that are right in my midst (usually my young children). This document indicated that our use of social media can become a place that we loose our bearings, but is also reminds us that these tools should be used for communication which is human. Pope Francis suggests we should use these tools to grow in humanity and understanding by engaging with social media with deliberateness and calm. That in using these tools of communication we should also us patience so that we can truly come to appreciate others and their stance rather than just tolerate. I love how it mentions that "to dialogue means to believe that someone has something valuable to say... and to engage in dialogue does not mean that we will renounce our own ideas and traditions but will claim that they are valid." We need to dialogue to be able to share the joy of Jesus' message, like he did.


 * urn to Assignments **