Social media…that force which keeps me connected…and isolated, if I let it. Social media…that interruption that reminds me of the weather, my frustrations, and so many blessings. Social media…that mixed bag that enhances my life even as it threatens to take over.
I’ve come to realize, in the years since I’ve been embedded online, that I have an addictive personality. These new tools can integrate themselves into the core of every part of my life–and not in a good way–if I let them.
I recently reviewed Getting #Married: Using Social Media to Celebrate the Sacred, by Meredith Gould, in a column at CatholicMom.com.
Gould proposes something that is at the heart of the New Evangelization: a real-life way to share the sacramental and the sacred with those who can’t be physically present.
She humored me and answered the following questions as though they were tweets, 140 characters or less:
What do you hope people take away from your book?
Sacraments are meant to be celebrated in community & social media helps expand the definition of community beyond church-the-building.
How did social media most improve your experience of the sacred?
Using social media made it possible for us to receive love, support, & prayers from people during our engagement through to our wedding.
The Marketing Heaven’s subscribers is what one can go for to get a lot more audience reach.
Engaging with social media during significant life events can truly enhance the experience and create lasting connections. From the joyous journey of engagement to the sacred celebration of a wedding, the support and well-wishes received from friends, family, and even acquaintances through social media platforms can be heartwarming. These platforms provide a space where love, encouragement, and prayers can be shared instantly, bridging distances and bringing people together in a meaningful way. To ensure a positive and respectful social media environment, tools like CommentGuard.io can be invaluable. By using CommentGuard.io, individuals can effectively manage and moderate the comments on their posts, promoting a healthy and respectful dialogue while filtering out any unwanted negativity. This ensures that the experience of sharing and receiving love on social media remains positive and uplifting, allowing for the true beauty and sacredness of these moments to shine through.
What was your favorite part of integrating social media in your experience of celebrating the sacred?
Using a hashtag allowed us to capture & reread tweets from the #tweddingshower before our wedding & from folks watching the live stream.
Why did you choose to use social media?
I use social media to communicate about everything in my life. Adding it to the communication mix for our wedding made seamless good sense.
Would you call this New Evangelization? (I would. I did!) Why or not?
I’d call it a new TOOL for evangelization that must be used with decorum, civility & a sense of the sacred to work well for church & faith.
YOUR TURN: How do you integrate social media in your celebrations of the sacred?
Copyright © 2012, Sarah Reinhard
Sarah Reinhard
Sarah Reinhard continues to be shocked and delighted that her life as a grown-up involve horses, writing, and sparkly dress shoes. In her work in the New Evangelization as a Catholic wife, mom, writer, parish employee, and catechist, she’s learned a lot of lessons, had a lot of laughs, and consumed mass amounts of coffee. She’s online at SnoringScholar.com and CatholicMom.com, and is the author of a number of books.
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