Catholic Chicago Blog

Hosted by the Archdiocese of Chicago

Frank Hannigan

About the Blogger

Frank Hannigan is the Director of the Family Ministries Office. He and his wife Marilyn have been married thirty seven years and have five sons, a daughter in law, two grandchildren and a greyhound.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Moving Ministry With Media

The faster I run the further back I get. Do you ever feel that way? What I’m especially feeling that way about is trying to accept, understand, and integrate social media into the work of the Family Ministries Office.

I have come to accept that social media is here to stay and that millions and millions of Catholics are using it every day, including priests, deacons, bishops, the laity and even Pope Benedict! I understand that for many, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ are real communities that inform, educate, and support the many different groups that exist within each. I also understand that effective ministry begins with meeting people where they are at. Literally speaking, that means being present on FB, because over 750 million people are there!

For me, the difficulty is trying to effectively integrate social media into the workings of the office. Is enough staff time devoted to having an effective social media presence? I wonder what an effective social media presence even is? Can we measure it?

The Internet and social media give us the opportunity to evangelize and catechize on a 24/7/365 basis to people here in the Archdiocese as well as to individuals scattered around the globe. Figuring out how to do that well is worth the effort.

I think I need to keep running.

BTW, “like” us on Facebook!

Email Print RSS

Comments

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 12:31 PM

I remember when I thought of myself as "cutting edge" when it comes to technology. That was over ten years ago. Today innovation moves so fast it's hard to keep up. All we can do is keep on running. For folks like us who feel a step behind, we may not be meeting those to whom we minister exactly where they are. But just give us a few minutes and we'll get there!

— Andrew L.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 7:03 AM

You are right on, Frank, with meeting people where they are living. The internet is allowed in place the Church may not be invited ... more so now than radio. Facebook is known as the third largest country.

As Co-founder of Catholic Men Chicago Southland, an Apostolate of Bishop Perry, our main goal of CMCS for 2012 is to fully develop and expand our presence on the internet through the social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, texting), with the CMCS blog as its anchor.

We can face the rapidly growing dominance of the social media in our culture in two ways – be afraid of it, or embrace it as a means to efficiently reach more men with our message. We wish to be a trend setter among men’s support groups and choose the latter. Our use of social media is so powerful in a constructive way because it allows us to engage men on a personal basis. They can connect with us when they feel they have the greatest need for support, and do so when they can be the most focused and attentive.

This is especially important for young men who are in the formative stages of becoming husbands, fathers and positive role models in their communities, since use of the social media is their primary mode of communication.

BTW, Frank, 'Like" us on Facebook too: www.facebook.com/cmcsvirtues

— frank c.

Submit Your Comment

Archdiocese of Chicago
Disclaimer

The Archdiocese of Chicago welcomes input in response to the current blog posting. However, the Archdiocese reserves the right to deny posting any information on the Archdiocesan blog that does not adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Insults, use of ethnic slurs or personal insults, obscenities or any conduct that would not be acceptable to the Archdiocese of Chicago or the Catholic Church in general will not be accepted.

Minors should seek parental permission before submitting a post.

All posts submitted by bloggers will be reviewed and approved by the Communications Department before going live on the website.

Personally identifiable information (first name, last name and e-mail address) will not be sold or otherwise transferred to unaffiliated third parties.

In order to submit a comment, all fields are required. Only submitter’s first name will be displayed with the comment. You agree that you are responsible for any postings you make, and for any consequences thereof. You agree that all postings will be in compliance with all applicable local, state, national and international laws, rules and regulations. The Archdiocese takes no responsibility for third-party content nor does it have any obligation to monitor such third-party content. By submitting or posting content (“Content”) you grant the Archdiocese a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, publish and distribute such Content. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein to any Content.

I Agree

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Comment:

Submit

Recent Posts
Monday, May 20, 2013 Supporting the Immigrant Community: Together As Brothers & Sisters By William Becerra
Monday, May 06, 2013 Celebrating Mary by honoring Motherhood and the Unborn By Victor Vallejo Garcia
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 Implementing the New Evangelization By Sr. Madge Karecki, SSJ-TOSF