The last question on the November mini-survey yield some helpful information about how the parish might best use social media to improve communications within and beyond the parish. I wanted to know how many make regular use of several of the well-known tools that are available: email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and texting. No surprises here: email came out on top, with almost half of the respondents using email. We had only 40 who used the phone for texting, and a mere16 Facebook users. Twitter (1) and Instagram (2) came in last.
I'm not sure how to implement a viable email channel for parish communication. We rely heavily upon email at the pastoral council and commission level. I communicate widely with email on a personal level. One-fourth of the respondents to the survey do not use the internet to communicate, and others may not want to have their email on a distribution list. For now, we will continue to improve the parish website and Facebook pages, and rely upon the bulletin as our universal channel for communication. You can find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/transfigurationsouthfield. Our website is http://www.transfigsfld.org
From The Joy of the Gospel: Lay people are, put simply, the vast majority of the people of God. The minority – ordained ministers – are at their service. There has been a growing awareness of the identity and mission of the laity in the Church. We can count on many lay persons, although still not nearly enough, who have a deeply-rooted sense of community and great fidelity to the tasks of charity, catechesis and the celebration of the faith. At the same time, a clear awareness of this responsibility of the laity, grounded in their baptism and confirmation, does not appear in the same way in all places. In some cases, it is because lay persons have not been given the formation needed to take on important responsibilities. In others, it is because in their particular Churches room has not been made for them to speak and to act, due to an excessive clericalism which keeps them away from decision-making. Even if many are now involved in the lay ministries, this involvement is not reflected in a greater penetration of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors. It often remains tied to tasks within the Church, without a real commitment to applying the Gospel to the transformation of society. The formation of the laity and the evangelization of professional and intellectual life represent a significant pastoral challenge.
[par. 102]