Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Editor's note: Follow or add to the Twitter conversation about the 2015 General Convention by using #GC78.

If you were unable to attend General Convention, perhaps you followed the developments on Twitter, as I did. Though I am not typically one to worry about legislation, the Blue Book, and the details of the church budget (not to discount the importance of those things, but I tend to obsess about other things), I found myself checking Twitter often, and enjoying the dialogue between the priests and delegates in attendance. A community developed, and though I wasn’t there to participate, I felt connected to General Convention in a way I never have before (click here for a primer on Twitter). 

After reading about, and sometimes experiencing, the way that technology can alienate and isolate us, this was a reminder for me of what can happen when well intentioned, intelligent people use technology: it becomes a tool that can build community. Here are a few lessons I drew from following along:

• Tweet about the things you are passionate about. As I mentioned, I am not particularly interested in all those amendments, but some of my (Twitter) friends are. Their passion and enthusiasm was contagious. If you are really passionate about the Prayer Book, tweet about it. If you get excited about liturgy, tweet about that as well.
• Passion is contagious. Your passion will appeal to people with those same interests latent within themselves (as I found my own latent Episcopal nerd). Of course your Tweets about church won’t draw in people completely uninterested in church, but it might draw in someone who is curious about liturgy, or has been thinking about the need to pray, or been feeling the need for community. 
• Make your tweets accessible. This, actually, was sometimes a problem while following General Convention. I wanted to know what was going on, but sometimes got lost in the acronyms. (I should say that this wasn’t really a failing of those tweeting about the convention, so much as a problem with dropping in occasionally on a conversation about complicated legislative procedures). Generally it’s best to avoid using insider terms like the “BCP” to refer to the Book of Common Prayer, for example, of PB to refer to the Presiding Bishop. Most people don’t know what that means, especially those you might want to attract.
• Connect with those who share your interests, and are doing what you are doing. Other people on Twitter love getting mentioned (believe me, I know), and they will respond. This builds community and expands your network. (It’s also surprisingly fun to have a conversation by Twitter, if you’ve never tried it). 
• Be kind and sincere. We all have a bit of cynicism within us, and most enjoy a snarky joke every now and then, but if you Tweet something out of anger, spite, or the desire to sound cool, you’ll usually regret it later. 

Twitter, as we all know, is a mixed blessing (I enjoy using it, but cringe at having to use the word “tweet” so much in this post), but if used with compassion and intelligence can be a truly useful tool for building the church.