Reaching Out

One of my goals this year is to use technology more fully.  Not only is this blog part of my goal, but I also am committed to learning all the features of my ipad, keep improving my  use of social media, and, fix the sound system at our congregation.  What a minute, fix the sound system?  That does not seem like a personal goal.  Well for me it is not only a personal goal, it is a ministry goal for outreach.

In the past few months of getting better at technology, I can listen to the recent lectures series at my seminary, make use of their bible study series, listen to prayer offerings from an Episcopal monastery wherever I go, shape my centering prayer from my Twitter feed,  and read email reviews of the latest publications for ministry.  As part of my sermon preparation, I now read blogs from the Christian Century as well as my online biblical commentary subscription.  Yet, in my congregation when the Word is spoken, read, or preached, many people do not receive the message in significant part because the sound system does not deliver a clear enough amplification. I can listen to the helpful words of so many other faithful Christians who live far away from me and I cannot fully communicate with the people who are sitting in front of me.

And, I want to communicate with the people sitting in front of my and beyond.  What about our member whose travel for work takes him or her away over the weekend?  What about the parishioner who is recovering from surgery and cannot attend on Sunday?  What about the person searching for a church, or, live words of Good News who goes to our parish's website?  What about the person who was there on Sunday and wants to share with a friend, or, even hear again a scripture passage read aloud as part of a daily devotion?  The possibilities are endless.  The impact, expansive. Yet, we cannot reach out because the sound cannot be translated to our website to be podcast. We have the capacity to send a podcast, we don't have the capability to get the sound to the podcast. We have the capacity to stream our worship, and/or sermons, but we don't have the capabilities to record the images.

By now, the members of the Outreach Commission are likely thinking this is serving ourselves and not not those in need!  Well, yes and no.  Spiritually feeding our congregation feeds others.   Inspiring current members and inviting new members shapes more disciples of Christ to serve. Keeping those in our  community connected to our spiritual offerings enables them to carry out the ministries to which they are so deeply committed. Getting the Word out shares the needs we seek to fill to more and more people.  These are all in the yes category.

The No category would be draining resources from those in need so that we can watch ourselves on the web. The no category would be making these communication resources available to only a few.  The no would be understanding community only as worship on Sunday and ignoring the final  words of worship, "Go in Peace to love and serve the Lord."

Reaching out, Outreach, today includes communication.  Communication includes words spoken in public worship that carry the emotion and meaning of the passage.  Communication includes sermons that can be heard with all the power that good preparation, well chosen words, passion, and the range of the human voice can convey. Communication includes reaching out through technology not only to those who are sitting in front of us but those who are listening with their eyes on a screen and their ear buds in their ears.