"Don't ditch the website"
A website is not a cathedral. A beautiful cathedral can be around for hundreds of years, and will continue to inspire people with its beauty. The world of parish websites, social media, and technology could not be more different from the cathedral. It must constantly be refreshed and updated to be respected by our world.
This is some of the advice of Father Len Plazewski, an expert on using the new media to attract vocations.
Historically, the Church has always seemed to be behind the curve with this. But Pope Benedict has ushered the Church into the age of technology, proclaiming, “Priests should use the internet to evangelize more.” In a pastoral approach, priests can utilize the internet to reach modern Catholics at their level.
A mere “gimmick”
Father Plazewski shares his story of how he was appointed the vocations director for his diocese, and was told by an older priest get rid of the vocations website. While the older priest viewed the website as a mere gimmick, Father Len saw it as a valuable tool to spread vocation awareness and the message of joining the priesthood. The internet has now become the primary means of information in our world, and Father Len commented that any candidate who has contacted him has likely been through the website multiple times before speaking with him.
Technology and media should be embraced by us in the Church as a way to spread the Gospel. Social media can easily have a wildfire effect, and is a form of communication well-suited for our fast-paced society.
Obviously, an inspiring YouTube video can hardly satisfy the way Eucharistic adoration can, but can be used to point people to something greater. The Church has a captive audience of young Catholics, and now must now learn to use the channels with which to reach them.
Read Father Len’s entire article. Fr. Len is the director of vocations of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL. His website is www.spvocation.org
