Christ Has No Online Presence but Yours

by Meredith Gould

In thinking about online presence, one cautionary tale that I invoke more often than I’d like, is about a conversation I once had with a very well-meaning pastoral associate. I hadn’t gotten very far into my shtick about the value of social media when she earnestly said, “I make them turn off their phones when they arrive.” 

In this instance, “them” happened to be youth group members, but I’m fairly certain she would have requested the same of anyone attending religious education classes, adult faith formation workshops, the RCIA program, or training sessions for lay ecclesial ministers. And I confess before God and you, my sisters and brothers, that I was unable to muster as much compassionate-sounding curiosity as I would have liked when I asked, “Why would you do that?” Digital and online technologies are, after all, here to stay.

Just as moveable type revolutionized access to recorded knowledge during the 15th century, these media are transforming teaching, evangelization, and community building today. Please note that I and other enthusiasts use “social media” as an umbrella term for any digital tool that makes ongoing, near-real time interaction possible between individuals or entire (selected and self-selected) groups. Best known: Facebook, MySpace (currently out of favor with young people), and Twitter. Blogging and text messaging are also considered social media, as are the way geo-location applications are currently being used.

That difficult face-to-face conversation with the pastoral associate took place years ago. Today I am prayerfully hopeful times have changed enough so that she and others in similar positions have come around to using social media to everyone’s best advantage. It’s about time.

My experiences plus participation in ongoing conversations via social media about what it means to be “church,” inspired me to create this contemporary take on Saint Teresa of Avila’s well-known prayer, Christ Has No Body. For your consideration and contemplation:

Christ Has No Online Presence but Yours 

Christ has no online presence but yours,
No blog, no Facebook page but yours,
Yours are the tweets through which love touches this world,
Yours are the posts through which the Gospel is shared,
Yours are the updates through which hope is revealed.
Christ has no online presence but yours,
No blog, no Facebook page but yours.

Written by :

Meredith Gould