wfn.org | Episcopal Convention goes electronic

[ENS@ecunet.org]

For more information contact:
James Solheim
jsolheim@dfms.org
212/922-5385
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens

2000-101

General Convention goes electronic

by Jan Nunley

     (ENS) This story represents a shift in communications 
technology in the Church that hasn't been matched since 
Gutenberg's printing press brought us the Prayer Book: it 
was researched entirely through electronic sources.

     That wouldn't have been possible just three years ago, 
when a scant 19% of all deputies to General Convention had 
email and access to the Internet. On the eve of General 
Convention 2000, more than 75% of all deputies are "wired," 
and most are participants in various email discussions 
about General Convention issues. Electronically, deputies 
have for the first time been able to do what only the House 
of Bishops could do before: hold conversations regularly 
between the triennial gatherings of both Houses. Most 
Bishops also have email--although a number admit they don't 
check their inboxes daily, or sometimes even personally.

     Charged by resolution 97-B015a with initiating a 
"unified, coordinated communications strategy" for the 
Episcopal Church, the Executive Council Communications 
Committee embarked on an ambitious three-year voyage into 
cyberspace. Without a budget line--still a chronic problem 
in Episcopal Church communications--the committee 
nevertheless leveraged Episcopal Church Center program 
funds to provide communications training and consultations 
for dioceses and members of various other General 
Convention committees, circulated a survey and "working 
draft" of a communications strategy, and created several 
online databases of resources and ministries in 
communications.

     But the committee notes that there is still a "digital 
divide" in the church which makes the Internet "a 
supplement to, not a replacement for, existing information 
systems" such as print and broadcast media--most of which 
are also underfunded and understaffed. "At the diocesan and 
national level, developing communications is consistently 
recognized as a priority, yet communication staff and 
resources are often targeted for cuts," the report opines. 
"Communication is not just a means of doing ministry, it is 
ministry, and the challenges and responsibilities are 
great!"

     A scan of the 2000 General Convention "Blue Book," 
available for the first time online and in a searchable CD-
ROM version, reveals numerous references to Web sites for 
further information about the work of committees and 
commissions over the past triennium. 

     The impact of the electronic revolution has been noted 
in such diverse places as the Archives of the Episcopal 
Church, the Church Deployment Office, and the Standing 
Committee on Liturgy and Music. The Archives' website 
(www.EpiscopalArchives.org), launched in 1999, immediately 
generated a whopping 1500 inquiries, mostly about 
contemporary issues such as the Episcopal Church's public 
statements, polity and composition. For the first time, the 
Archives report noted, evangelism--providing information to 
those "newly interested in the Episcopal Church"--is 
emerging as a component of their work. Given adequate 
funding and staff, the Archives hopes to create online 
searchable databases of numerous publications, reports, and 
documents of the Church.

     Deployment has moved into cyberspace in a big way in 
the last three years. People seeking positions (and vice 
versa) can now connect through the CDO website 
(www.ecusa.anglican.org.cdo) which includes an electronic 
version of the Positions Open Bulletin. Plans are underway 
to enable the deployment process to be run entirely through 
the Internet, with personal and parish/institutional 
profiles accessible and fully updateable online. A CDO 
demonstration booth is planned for Denver.

     Church growth and evangelism reports are salted with 
references to the need for reform in how the church does 
communications. The State of the Church Committee's report 
notes that evangelism with young people--a neglected 
demographic among Episcopalians--will depend on familiarity 
with emerging media technologies. Resources are 
increasingly available online through the website of the 
Episcopal Network for Evangelism 
(www.members.aol.com/ene2020). 

     Although the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music 
assures General Convention that the next Book of Common 
Prayer will indeed be "a book of some kind and 
configuration," there are hints that it will be heavily 
supplemented with electronic "tools," some of which are 
already in place because of the availability of online 
texts.

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is director of communications for the 
Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island and a member of the ENS 
news team at General Convention.

Wed 11/15 02:39 igc3 (03186) newsoutput mbox wfn.news: sent (5389,217,0)