It's about relationships

[Gerry Kirk]

Have you been enjoying the discuss taking place? Have you been pleased to meet new people through this group, other people of faith who are interested in the same topic as you?

For myself, I give an enthusiastic "Yes!" to both of those questions. 

You've now had a (small) taste, perhaps for the first time, of how online communications can help to draw people together, either to form new relationships or to strengthen existing ones.

We are so busy and so isolated nowadays that we don't know who our neighbours are or the people next to us in the pew. Yet, we also have a need for meaningful and fun relationships.

Because of DeoWeb, I was able to find two people to help my busy wife with our two newborn twins and toddler. I did not know these people, and they did not know me. In a parish of 1100 parishioners, with 3 masses, the odds of us finding each other at church are slim at best. For Rowena and I, they are now a special part of our parish family.

Paul Falcioni, we really need to share the story of how DeoWeb is helping to revitalize your parish by re-connecting with schools. Perhaps I can get someone to write a story for you. I'll get back to you.

This is just the tip of the ice berg. There are many more opportunities to build community using online tools.

Fact: More than 50% of time spent on the Internet is for social reasons, and not for research or buying another book at Amazon. My pastor spends more time counseling youth using instant messaging than in person. He has a profile on facebook.com.

Hence the proliferation of social networking sites like facebook.com, myspace.com, linkedin.com, mychurch.org.

Getting volunteers to input content for their ministry work has largely failed, and I am more convinced now that this won't change, unless there is internal motivation to do so.

I think people are much more motivated to share about their personal lives, their hopes, questions and interests. Facilitating that kind of dialogue will bear much more fruit than say trying to get every CWL parish group to maintain a workspace. In fact, sharing the *personal* may spur the desire to promote the *pastoral*. When a lady shares what the CWL means to her personally, spiritually, others will connect with that and want to know more about the CWL.

I envision a revamped DeoWeb, where the focus is more on connecting people, where the information published is more personal and from the grassroots, and less from the established Church (parish and diocesan offices). A system that connects people who want to know each other, that builds meaningful relationships.

Paul Labelle, I hear your concerns about the people out there with extremist views that tear down rather than build community. There are very effective ways to avoid and mitigate a lot of that. We've just never invested much time on the people side of content... yet.

I also see a system that makes it easy to find quality faith-based content on the web, to nourish people on their spiritual journey. Some of this is being done already, but on a small scale. This would require the help of volunteers, to find those resources.

Who would like to see a Q & A section, where people could ask a hand-picked group of religious people from the Diocese questions about faith? There are already examples of this on the web. 

We received last week a letter from the Ontario Catholic Bishops. What if there was a way to discuss it, and together come up with ways to live out the spirit of the letter, and then enable people to share what they are doing about it?

Jesus' ministry was carried out through relationships, those intimate encounters that left people touched and loved. The woman at the well. The apostles in the boat. Martha and Lazarus. 

If Jesus were physically present on this earth today, I think he'd be on facebook and in the chat rooms, while blogging about the challenges of following God's path. Wait a minute. He is present now, through you and me. We've got work to do.

 

Peace,

- Gerry

[Gerry]

Hey, don't everyone be shy! Interested in your thoughts. Perhaps you
are all outside making your yard look nice-nice instead of staring at
a computer screen. I don't blame you.

Thanks and have a good weekend,
Gerry

[Lucette and Peter Schneider]

Well, Gerry, it's raining today and yes, I've been gardening.  But I have been thinking about this for a while especially since someone  told us that it takes her a lot of time entering notices on her Parish website. She's not alone. I know this lady for being one of the most dedicated parishioner, a giving parent, a school helper, etc. Yet, she puts in the time for Deoweb.  Hurrah for you, girl! 

 

We should value the persistence, the dedication, the willingness of all that do a good job and who wants to continue to do this volunteer work.  You see, the job description does not require one to have a computer degree of any kind.  I took a very basic computer course a few years ago and since then, I use the Windows XP for Dummies to help he out. But the Deoweb instructions are not there. The one-hour class I got on Deoweb was not enough for me.  Let me tell you that for ordinary people like myself who knows just a bit about computers, sometimes it does take me three hours to update our website.  Either the program isn't always cooperating with me or me with it. 

 

I think that those who are in this (slow?) position need to be congratulated and need not be put down for doing this computer work slowly especially when no one else wants or can do the job better.  The job is done and that's what counts.  I feel so good after I've solved some computer problems.  Sometimes, it's thanks to someone on your team, Gerry,  that immediately contacts me when I ask for help. And I'm always willing to learn new tricks.  

 

Please, people, don't give up the important Deoweb work.  It will become easier with time.  Your parish needs you dearly, even if not too many people check the lovely work you've done quickly or slowly.  Eventually, they'll appreciate it as they too become aware of its existence and by then, you'll be an expert at entering and removing messages on your website.  And I won't give up either.  Let's appreciate and encourage one another... We're all on the same team.

 

Be a 'sunny' person!

 

Lucette Schneider

[Paul]

Hey Lucette,

 

Let me be the first to say thanks for the work that you do. It is very time consuming and can be daunting for people who do not work with computers every day. It is people like you that I am proud to be associated with; after all, we are all on the same team. I believe that it is important that we support each other and I thank Gerry for bringing us together in this way. I would like to offer any help that I could give to you Lucette. I am no computer expert, but I am sure that working together can solve many issues. My name is Paul and my address is paul_...@vianet.ca.

 

God Bless

Paul

 

---

[Bill Kerr]

Lucette and Peter Schneider wrote:
> Well, Gerry, it's raining today and yes, I've been gardening. But I
> have been thinking about this for a while especially since someone
> told us that it takes her a lot of time entering notices on her Parish
> website. She's not alone. I know this lady for being one of the most
> dedicated parishioner, a giving parent, a school helper, etc. Yet, she
> puts in the time for Deoweb. Hurrah for you, girl!
>
> We should value the persistence, the dedication, the willingness of

> all that do a good job and who wants to continue to do this _volunteer
> work_. You see, the job description does not require one to have a

> computer degree of any kind. I took a very basic computer course a

> few years ago and since then, I use the _Windows XP for Dummies_ to

Lucette: I am willing to give a hand any time I can be of assistance.
I look after the site at St. Gerard Majella in the Sault and can be
contacted at ke...@shaw.ca
Take care Bill

[theojig]

Good day all,

You have hit the nail on the head, Gerry. I have been on the internet
since 1996 and in that time have made very good, and in some cases,
very close, friends all over the world. The internet has provided the
means to bring people of all races and cultures together in a way that
was never before possible. Special interest groups and forums are the
tools that permit folks to come together.

While the current Deoweb system is a great means of providing
information, much like a newspaper, TV, radio, a local church
bulletin, etc., it is also the same in that it is non-interactive.
Folks that visit various Parish sites may get information, but cannot
engage in a dialogue with anyone at the Parish.

If Deoweb is meant simply to be a means of passing information, then
whether or not it is being used by members of the Parish, it still
fulfills it's function. However, if the intention was/is to bring the
Diocese closer together and provide a means for interaction between
members of the various Parishes within the Diocese, then it cannot do
that in it's present form.

A simple question/answer set up, while a great idea, would not, in and
of itself, really do much to generate interest in visiting Deoweb on a
regular basis. However, I believe a forum, similar to this one, would
generate interest, for the simple reason that it permits an
interactive dialogue between people. As you noted, over 50% of online
time is spent socializing. Integrated into the this type of set up
you would have;

- a diocesan community forum,
- your Parish sites providing information in regards to the church
and Parish,
- links to faith based sites/articles/forums, etc.,

As to the other major problem with the current Deoweb situation,
training, this could be rectified by having volunteers in the various
geographical areas of the Diocese provide the training in their area,
and be available to assist those having problems, thereby taking some
of the pressure off of the Deoweb team. Volunteer trainers along with
this Deoweb Users forum would alleviate many of the problems faced by
Administrator/Managers and those with limited computer skills.

Just my 2 cents.

In His service,
Robert

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