I got back from Boston late Sunday night after attending the 2010 Catholic New Media Celebration. What a wonderfully enlightening and fruitful experience.
You can check out my photos of the Friday night meet-n-greet, along with the dry-erase board from my fridge, on my last blog post. And I won’t recap the entire event here with all of the photos and associated posts, as others have already done a great job of that.
Additionally, I have a lot of great content that I captured from the weekend which I plan on sharing over the coming weeks. I think you’ll really like it. But right now I just have a few takeaway reflections on the overall event itself.
First, the value of so many inspired individuals coming together and sharing thoughts, strategies and lessons-learned concerning the use of New Media in this New Evangelization is immense. We need more such events. They need to keep growing. And they require the continued support of the faithful to do so. Please consider helping to promote and/or sponsor next year’s CNMC. Help keep the momentum rolling. It’s an investment worth making in a movement that is going to play a huge role in determining how well the Church relates to the next generation and the generations to come.
Second, every diocese should be represented at the CNMC every year. Contact your diocese to make sure they have somebody planning to attend next year’s CNMC. If they aren’t planning on somebody attending, encourage them to please make the effort to do so. Yes, there are other Catholic media conferences. They should attend those, too. But I think the CNMC has something unique to offer in both community and content that is really important for Church leadership to not only hear, but to be an integral part of.
Third, and most personally inspiring for me, this event was not just a conference. It was a celebration.
Our faith is not a mission statement, instructed by procedure and measured by a bottom line. The Church is not a corporation, incentivized by profit and a stream-lined process. That would be to miss the entire point.
Similarly so, this “new evangelization” (just like the old) will not be accomplished with mere workshops, technical training, conference keynotes and a three-year plan. That would be to miss the entire point.
If we are to be successful it must be about people. It must be about doing this together. It is in such a communion where we find the strength and inspiration to contradict the struggles of life with the Joys of Christ. And that’s what I felt most from the people at the CNMC: Joy. It was truly a joyful celebration. The kind of celebration that makes a welcoming home for the Holy Spirit.
Hope to see you there next year!
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Matthew, thank you for your insight into the bigger picture of the Catholic New Media Celebration. As the conference coordinator, let me remind readers that the majority of those attending the conference did so “on their own dime.” To grow this media, investment is needed from parishes, dioceses, and the generosity of a mission-minded faithful. SQPN, the non-profit organization that produced the event, is totally listener/viewer supported, and works with a budget that comes from donations/sponsors alone. Contributions are cheerfully accepted here: http://sqpn.com/donate/ Let me encourage others interested in new media to lend support, not only to SQPN, but to other entities like Catholic TV, their local Catholic radio stations, their diocesan newspapers, and other local initiatives. All of these apostolates must have an online presence to be effective. And all of that costs money. Folks, if you’ve been blessed by the CNMC, or some other Catholic media, do what you can to return a blessing and increase the yield in future harvests.
Well done to everyone involved - I hope to make it across the pond one day. God Bless, and keep up the great work.
It sounds like it was awesome. I wish I could have been there—hopefully next year! Thanks for the pictures.
Hey Matt, I’m sure I saw you there but didn’t know you to say hello. See my blog on the event, “Winning the Web for Christ”
http://fathersforgood.typepad.com/fathersforgood/
Thanks for your kind words Matt. I’ve been to all 3 of the CNMCs and have to admit that I come home re-inspired each time to keep on with the podcast that my husband and I do. Aside from being a wife and mother, this “new media” levels the playing field and allows any one to be a part of the new evangelization.
Right on, Matt! It’s all about the people. Just like the gospel. Over and over again in my contact with folks involved with “new media,” I am reminded and inspired to take all of the theology I’ve studied and put it into practice… by making real contact with real people, whether online or off. As Christians we are commissioned to spread the gospel. Spread it to people. To everyone. In order to do that, we have to go where the people are. And today, people can be found online. It is imperative that the Church has an active and effective presence online. Events like the CNMC show us that this is happening.
The community of which Matt speaks was so evident at the Mass Sunday morning at the Catholic TV chapel. Fr Roderick gave a wonderful homily reminding us to listen to God each morning to find out how He wants us to serve Him, and then to go out and proclaim the good news in the New Media. I can now sense the presence of my brothers and sisters in the New Evangelization as I blog, and visit the podcasts.
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