VICARS are being encouraged to embrace social media in order to spread the word of God and get more people going to church.
Bishop of Chelmsford the Right Rev Stephen Cottrell has recently taken to Twitter, following in the mouse clicks of lots of his fellow clergymen.
He said: "I've only been tweeting a month. I like it. You can chat, pass on news, make comments, and feel involved with things as they happen."
The Bishop, who also posts poems online, is following in the footsteps of a number of his clergy from across the county who are active on social media, including a vicar of 15 years who runs four parishes around Dunmow.
The Rev Tim Goodbody, 47, who is vicar of St Mary's the Virgin Church in Stebbing and the parishes of Lindsell, Great Saling and Little Saling, is a busy man – but with a Facebook account covering events happening at his churches, he still manages to connect with his flock.
Utilising his own Facebook page more for work than personal use, he has a number of his congregation added and he has found that he can offer comfort more easily and immediately than via e-mail.
"I would say I do a lot of pastoral work – if people say 'I am going to hospital', then I can send them a message saying I'll pray for them," said the Rev Goodbody, who first got into social media in 2008.
"It is a very immediate way of connecting people – they check their Facebook once an hour."
It is not only when people are sick that social media comes into its own, but also during some of the happiest occasions that he is privy to, such as wedding preparations.
He said: "I will get to know a couple about a year before the service.
"During that time I tend to communicate with them through Facebook and then when the wedding happens I say 'Tag me in photos' – through that happening, I've picked up another couple of weddings."
Alongside Facebook, he is also a user of Twitter, going by the handle @RockinRev66 due to his love of music.
In the future, he hopes to get his congregation involved by giving his Stebbing church its own Wi-Fi connection, allowing them to tweet during his sermons.
But even now, he encourages it: "I said in a sermon that if you were tweeting, I wouldn't mind."
He is not against other forms of communication either: "I am aware of people who pray together over Skype – it is real-time proper interaction."
He feels that social media has helped raise the church's profile and increase its presence. "Since we have had Facebook and a website, we have had a lot more contact from people outside of the fringes of the church. I once booked a wedding through Twitter!"
