It is often the case where one or two individuals can see the benefits of using and investing in technology but struggle to share this vision with others. Many see the significant costs, especially in this time of reduced income, as non-essential or superfluous. While I am not advocating using technology simply ‘because everyone is […]
Category: Planning
When we return, what will you focus on?
Many countries are either planning for the reopening of churches or have already done so, and having to put various plans into action to make sure our places of prayer remain safe for people to come to. It’s really easy to forget, among the discussions about hand sanitizer, appropriate distances and revising the churches capacity, […]
Use all your skills
When you are considering your outreach, and specifically the tools and approach you want to take, it’s really good to consider all the skills you have as a team. For example, you’d be forgiven for thinking that art had no place in online church activities, but a former Director of Sotherby’s has created www.christianart.today which […]
How to Live Stream Mass
There are not many resources out there that focus on how to live stream Mass, and I thought it might be useful to share some of the resources I have found on this topic. Fr Ian VanHeusen and Timothy Robbins discuss the technology that they are using while they live stream Mass in North Carolina […]
FOCUS online
FOCUS, the fellowship of Catholic university students in the US, recently discussed in Crux how they had moved a lot of their activities online in order to continue to support their students during this period of lockdown. Examples included online Bible study groups, using a video platform to lead the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day […]
Research in Young People and their Faith
Research conducted in the US gives an insight into the thoughts and perceptions of young people and the church. The study, published in April 2020 and undertaken by the Springtide Research Institute, spoke to 1,000 young people, aged between 13-25, and found that overall they are a lonely generation. While it is true that, culturally, […]
How to do things differently during the coronavirus
I came across this very straight forward list from the Diocese of Portsmouth of things to consider during the coronavirus and thought it would be useful to share. The list doesn’t necessarily have anything ‘new’ or groundbreaking but it’s a good checklist to make sure you’ve covered the bases. In summary: Help out in your […]
Big questions: the Pandemic, our Mission and the New Evangelisation
As the pandemic continues to affect our lives, it’s becoming clearer that there are parts of our lives that will inevitable change. Daniel Ang, in his recent article, talks about how there will be little left unchanged after life resumes, and how we can continue to involve our faith in what we do. In the […]
Where do we start?
Every church community is different, so your needs and aims will be different but it’s a really good idea to be clear from the outset what you want to achieve (even if it feels very ambitious – remember, with God all things are possible, Matt 19:26!). Firstly, a disclaimer, I will be referring to ‘your […]
Understanding the Situation
State of the the Church 2020 It’s really easy to focus on our current situation and our own small circle of believers when planning for needs. However, this would be a disservice to that large number of people in our communities who don’t come to church, who don’t identify as Christians but who are suffering […]