On the Media

Forgive the quiet, folks -- it's not at the desk... and per usual, it won’t be for long on the whole.

As if last week's bombshell wasn't enough, there's more in the pipeline... until the pieces are sufficiently sewn up, though, this scribe’s on special assignment, and your insights are the ones in focus.

Over the coming days, the pages will be mostly dark as I’ll be in Texas, giving a convocation to priests. The topic is the proverbial wheelhouse -- the church on the digital continent, the New Evangelization, new technology and what it brings to the table, with a side-order of buzz to keep anybody’s eyes from glazing over. (At least, one can hope.)

Much as eight years at the desk has made for its fair share of findings, lessons, pitfalls and memories, the sum total is still only one guy’s experience. Part of the exercise of these days, meanwhile, is to lay out what the tools of our time, many as they are, can and do bring to ministry and church life in the trenches.

Ergo, church of all stripes, pray tell: what does all this stuff -- blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblrs, etc. -- do for you? How do they help on the ground? When are they at their best (and, indeed, their worst)? What more could they do to live up to their highest potential? Or, conversely, what difference would it make if they all just up and vanished?

For everybody's fun, the combox is open... and, well, jump right in. Just one ground-rule request: for purposes of context, please say where you’re writing from, and note your state of life, age range, the basics. Beyond that, just keep it clean and on-point and the conversation will be all the better for it.

For the record, contributions will be moderated to keep things from descending into an LCWR/SSPX/AOCA (Any Other Charged Acronym) food-fight. Aside from that, per usual, it's all an experiment, so let's see what happens. With another World Communications Day soon upon us -- and this year's emphasis on balancing silence and perspective with the din -- perhaps the topic is particularly worthwhile to the moment.

Lastly, the diversity and thoughtfulness of this readership has never ceased to amaze me these years in the notes you’ve sent and conversations we’ve had. That’s a very moving gift, and because of that -- because of you -- there seems to be no better spot for this kind of exchange. No pressure.

As ever, all thanks in advance for everything you bring to the table, both here and elsewhere... and with that, the floor is yours -- have at it.

-30-