9th October 2024
CONFESSIONS OF AN EDITOR
I have to admit to one glaring omission – there may be more – in the church’s history, Open to God, Open for All, which I edited in 2018. I think you will search in vain to find out when the church first established its web site, but today it is a valuable part of the church’s witness, spelling out in attractive, accessible, welcoming language and design, the church’s mission, the opportunities to find out more about what it offers, news of activities, and the services it provides. Morning worship is recorded and made available each Sunday to those shut in, or otherwise unable to get to church, and then there are weekly Thoughts for the Day generated by a wide range of church members which seek to provoke thought about contemporary events and the relevance of scripture and the witness of the church to these.
The point of this particular Thought is to record this dimension of church life, and to pose the question as to how it might helpfully be further developed. How does our offering compare with that of other churches? Are others giving us good examples we ought to be considering? Who logs into our web site – just church members – or is there a wider interest group? Can that group be expanded and how can its interests be deepened into a deeper engagement with the church’s witness?
For a younger generation digital communication is commonplace, and given that there is so much potentially damaging material available online, the availability of healthy, positive material could well be a new dimension to mission. Should we also find space for a seasonal prayer on the site?
John Briggs