Archive for February, 2009

More Facebook Stats

I’ve been trying to avoid posting too much about Facebook because I don’t want this to become the “Presbyterian Facebook Blog.” I truly believe, however, that Facebook is the single greatest community-building opportunity in The PCC so my mission to educate and illustrate how and why continues.

Earlier this week there was an unconference in Toronto called FacebookCamp that brought Facebook developers and marketers together with staffers from Facebook itself. Just to illustrate the scale of Facebook activity in Toronto, there were 475 people registered for the event. Local blogger Dave Fleet has a great post on the event.

The most salient points for me from Dave’s post are the most recent stats from Facebook about Facebook:

  • Facebook’s rate of growth is increasing exponentially;
  • 175 million people logged-in to Facebook in the last 30 days;
  • The average Facebook user has 120 friends; in Canada that is higher – 150-200;
  • One in two Canadians are now on Facebook;
  • Half of those Canadians are on Facebook every day;
  • Canadian users average 2.7 visits per user per day;
  • 70 per cent of Torontonians using the Internet are on Facebook

I share these stats with you to reinforce my belief that whatever you think about Facebook, it is simply too pervasive to be ignored. Like it or not, Facebook, as a means of connecting with your local Presbyterian community, is as important as a church website or even your church bulletin.

Does your church have a Facebook group? Why not?

: General,People
: ,

Conversations with new ministers-to-be

I’ve been dividing my time between The Vine and the Communications Office here at national office, which gave me the opportunity to sit down with a couple of Vine staff who are new ministers-to-be. Both Dong-Ha Kim and Courtney Morris have accepted calls and are beginning their solo paster positions early this year. I thought it might be interesting to ask them a few questions about the transition from seminary grad to new minister, and they were happy to share their experiences about the process, a time of excitement, idealism and nerves.

Dong-Ha and Courtney spent some of the time between their graduation and ordination at national office working in The Vine, which, in case you’re unfamiliar with it, is a national access centre for The Presbyterian Church in Canada that provides information and resource support for congregations (thevine@presbyterian.ca). Dong-Ha volunteered his time by reviewing resources, doing research for questions, and wrote a script for a communion DVD to be produced this year. Courtney worked in a contract position; she answered support  requests and wrote and designed several resources (including these men’s breakfast placemats). Both expressed an appreciation for the exposure to the work and resources at national office they gained from their positions.

: People
: , , ,

Money. Sex. Demonic Possession. A Presbyterian Experience

I’m pleased to present the first guest post at BeingPresbyterian.ca! Interestingly, Carmen is not a Presbyterian, but a self-described “lapsed Catholic” and blogger who literally wandered into a Presbyterian church one Sunday morning. This is her story. /Colin

I’m a cradle Catholic which, for those of you not in the know, means I was born and raised in a Catholic family. Unfortunately, I am now a lapsed Catholic and yes, I feel guilty about it.

Fast forward to 2007. I’d just moved to Toronto from Houston, Texas and was surprised at how few churches there were in the downtown core. Because of their lack of proximity to my house, and much to my parents’ chagrin, I had never quite connected with any local Catholic churches. After a while of not attending, I very much began to miss the ritual and community of attending church each week. More so, however, I missed my connection with God.

I began toying with the idea of trying a different faith. Initially, I felt like a traitor for even thinking about that and seriously questioned what it would mean as a Catholic, albeit lapsed. What would my friends think? More importantly, what would my family think? As much as everyone likes to joke about “Catholics versus Protestants”, I was truly hesitant about stepping outside my comfort zone and into a completely new one – a Protestant faith.

I’d passed St. Andrew’s Presbyterian hundreds of times. The church itself is a stunning Romanesque style built in 1876 and its beauty alone makes it hard to miss. I started doing some research. I googled “Presbyterian” and scoured the internet to find out everything I could about the faith. I felt like I could identify with the foundations of the church and my desire to return to church quickly began to outweigh my guilty feelings about not going to a Catholic-proper church. I decided I’d try St. Andrew’s.

As I walked to church that first Sunday morning, I got the familiar adrenaline rush knowing that I was walking into a completely new situation. Would they somehow know I wasn’t Protestant? Would they point and laugh? I reassured myself – I mean, we all believe in God after all – and headed inside. I found a seat, the service began and it felt very familiar, without the kneeling of course. “Maybe Protestants weren’t that bad after all”, I thought! It just so happened that the sermon that day was focused around things society considers taboos or sins – very apropos. The first three words out of the reverend’s mouth were “Money. Sex. Demonic Possession.”, and I knew I was home.

My decision to seek another faith wasn’t something I took lightly. It wasn’t some kind of social experiment and it certainly wasn’t meant to poke a finger in the eye of the Church I grew up in. It was the right fit at the right time. I’ve continued to attend St. Andrew’s each Sunday, as well as the recent LOVE event they hosted on Valentine’s Day. I simply love it. St. Andrew’s, and the larger community of the Presbyterian Church of Canada has embraced me in a way, and at a time, when I needed it most. I haven’t looked back since.

: People
: , , , ,

Podcast – Episode 1 – Matt Brough

A while back I realized that the most effective way to talk about being Presbyterian is to actually talk about being Presbyterian! I’m pleased to announce the launch of the BeingPresbyterian Podcast right here at BeingPresbyterian.ca.

In this “inaugural” episode, I chat with Rev. Matt Brough. Matt is the minister at one of The Presbyterian Church in Canada’s newest congregations, Trinity Winnipeg. Matt, a recovering web developer like me, talks with me about the impact of social media (Facebook, blogging, Twitter, etc.) on his ministry.

Update: I forgot to mention that Matt and I also chatted about how ‘cool’ the Presbyterian polity is. Really.

Matt also does a great job of pitching CanadaYouth09 at the end, so be sure to listen all the way through!

Episode 1 - Matt Brough [ 27:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (248)


If you’d like to be a guest on the BeingPresbyterian Podcast, please feel free to contact me at ccarmichael[at]presbyterian[dot]ca.

theme music for the BeingPresbyterian Podcast written and performed by Derek K. Miller

: podcast
: , , , , ,

Presbyterian Minister Profiled at Christianity.ca

I just came across a recent article at Christianity.ca that profiles Presbyterian minister Rev. Dr. Christine O’Reilly and wanted to share it with my readers:

http://www.christianity.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=6470

: Uncategorized

Enduring the Pastorate

I love those rare moments when I read two seemingly unrelated articles that, by the pure coincidence of the timing of my reading them, lead me to see things a new way. This happened to me today when I read a blog post by Tyndale Seminary grad and hospital chaplain Sam Williams. He wrote about and then quoted Presbyterian Minister, and Tyndale professor, Rev. Dr. Victor Shepherd.

In the excerpt from Dr.  Shepherd’s sermon the following line caught my eye:

as often as I’m thrilled I’m also startled, sobered and awed, for I recall Jean Vianney: “If we really knew what it is to be a pastor, we couldn’t endure it.”

I might not have taken much if I had not also recently read an article in the Presbyterian Record about the difficulties faced by pastors in our church:

While many Christians struggling with mental illness turn to their minister for comfort and help, our clergy themselves are suffering. A recent survey conducted by the Centre for Clergy Care on Clergy Well-Being (led by Rev. Andrew Irvine of Knox College, Toronto) revealed some disturbing trends. In their survey of more than 300 ministers from six Canadian denominations, they found that the number of those who had been diagnosed with clinical depression was double the national average.

Dr. Shepherd’s quotation of Jean Vianney is too easily dismissed on its own.  Add to it the weight of the research behind the Record’s article and it becomes an sweeping indictment.

: People
: , , ,

I’m a lonely Presbyterian blogger

I’ve been erratically posting to this blog for several months now and, frankly, I’m lonely. To cure my loneliness, I’ve been working away at finding some additional bloggers for this space. I’m happy to announce that BeingPresbyterian.ca will very shortly evolve into a community blog. Some will post occasionally, while others, I hope, will become regular contributors.

I’m not quite ready to announce who has agreed to join my quest here at BeingPresbyterian, but l hope to have the first non-Colin post up sometime next week.

Stay Tuned!

P.S. If you have something to say that even tangentially helps answer the question, “What does being Presbyterian mean in Canada today?” let me know! I’m always looking for contributors for the blog!

: People
: ,
Calotropis theme by itx