I was in a local cafe with one of my daughters and I noticed a headline in the Toronto Star left on the table about a church that was launching a youtube channel to get its message out. The denomination turned out to be our United Church of Canada http://ca.youtube.com/unitedchurchofcanada.
Youtube is the internet source for videos on everything from the world's cutest pets, to vintage concerts, to funny skits on television, to devastating natural disasters. Speaking of natural disasters, politicians are also using youtube to get their messages out to the masses.
So why not the church. A UCC spokesperson says that the station will be for information about what we are doing at home and around the world rather than for evangelization. There will also be pieces from Wonder Cafe. http://www.wondercafe.ca/
I have come to realize the value of this blog as a way of communicating with you, so why not a wider initiative by our denomination?
What do you think? Worthwhile, or a waste of time?
If the United Church wants to communicate its message on youtube I have come to believe this is a good thing, although I haven't been a big fan of the youtube phenomenon in the past. I think there are people looking for positive connections online, and have been continously disappointed by the difficulty of wading through a great deluge of wasted electronic highway. I can't afford a subscription to the United Church magazine, and I think I could appreciate a way of keeping informed through the web. In a world where church doors have to be locked, maybe this is one way to let folks back in even when the minister is out for the day.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the "pupil" I am a fan of youtube. How often I have gone to it to see something I've missed either in the present of the past. I have used it to find obscure songs. 'Til the way of the future.
ReplyDeleteI think YouTube has its advantages as well as disadvantages. I know that as a parent, I watch very closely to see what the boys are watching. I almost think some of the videos should be rated.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think it is a forward step for the United Church. If they want to include the younger generation, they need to use the tools of that generation. WonderCafe is a good example of that.
It strikes me that youtube, like the internet in general, falls into the category of "mixed blessing." Not all technology is helpful. But my twenty-something daughters watch more television on the computer than on the television and tech is essential to daily living. So while I may still be more likely to turn to a book or a magazine they will seek out info about everything, including religion on the web.
ReplyDeleteYahoo for the UC! Youtube and the net is where youth spend their lives along with more and more adults, so why not communicate with them in this way?
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that the education system hasn't caught up. We have students in desks NOT infront of computers for 5 hours a day and when they are in front of the computers the powers that be have blocked such things as YouTube and Facebook which many of us have wanted to use as a teaching tool for as Deb says, there are advantages and disadvantages and if we have those tools available to us we can teach students to be critical thinkers.
I guess I have seen mostly the bad effects of things like youtube and facebook. My biggest beef is msn. For one thing there is a real problem with addiction to msn. Many many kids live their lives around it, and suffer real anxiety when they are asked or forced to unplug themselves from this source. I have known teenagers to be tarred and feathered in the virtual world, but the effects were felt in their real worlds. I think the problem isn't so much in the technology as in the anonymity. I don't know how a system of accountablity can be addressed in a world where privacy issues are of such concern. How do we balance the real need for privacy against the abuse of that right? This is moving away from the original topic, and I am responding to the idea of using facebook as a teaching tool. I don't necessarily disagree, as I am not a teacher. What I am concerned about is the way technology is being so broadly accepted in the classroom, to the point where my children are allowed to plug their ears into MP3 players and ipods during classtime. I think these things should be left at the door in the same way we once didn't allow hats indoors as a show of respect. Don't teachers have enough obstacles to conquer when trying to engage kids? And what happens to manners? Why are we, as adults, cavng in on the matter of decent manners? When I am talking to someone, I would hope they will unplug themselves from their virtual world and join me here in the now. Teenagers have always gravitated towards their own version of the world, which I suppose is a necessary step in development, but I question the wisdom of giving them too much freedom to bloke out the real world, the world where the opinions, music, and ideas of those who have lived longer still matter. It's too easy for individuals to live in a bubble these days, which is the cause of much mental illness. We were meant to live in an environment of interaction and I fear we are losing this. Virtual interaction is a real obstable to developing real interpersoanl skills. I say this even as I know I myself have great difficulty interacting person to person. In person, you would never hear from me. So I know this technology both helps and hinders. Isolation may be the real result, and there may be an as yet unanticipated price on mental health. But after all that ranting, the original topic was of the United Church going online. I'm all for that. I worry that one day though, we may think of virtual church attendance as a solution to declining participation. I think we have to move carefully, because the virtual world does have its impact on the psyche. It is changing us, and I advocate "proceed with caution."
ReplyDeleteYour last comment, pupil is one area that concerns me as well. Some churches now offer service podcasts for busy people who can't attend worship. The trouble is, we are invited into community and to establish sabbath time in our busy lives. Catch-up, yes, but substitute, no.
ReplyDelete