Jenny Adams is the Communications & Office Assistant of Christ Our Light Catholic Parish in Princeton and Zimmerman, Minnesota. Her background in youth ministry really shows in this video where she invited students to invite others to worship with their parish:
In a very simple, but powerful way, she engaged learners at Christ Our Light to participate in the invitation. She simply set up her high resolution camera, recorded the students writing their names on a blackboard (white boards reflected too much light) and then used iMovie (on the Mac, also available for the iPhone and iPad) to crop, speed up, and enhance the contrast for the visual effect.
To me, the video is short, powerful and reminds me of the love of God. And it is shareable.
But more than that, it bespeaks the story of an active parish, filled with the life of active teenagers. It is a parish that wants to engage their learners in the important task of discipleship, to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt. 28:19)
Video can be a powerful tool in our parish ministry. And a video does not need to be long and professionally done. In our noisy world of media offerings, short is often good. And in our catechetical settings, each video serves a two-fold purpose: 1) the story it tells and 2) the learning that takes place in it’s creation.
As we approach Holy Week, our hearts turn to Jesus’ surrender to God’s plan in the Paschal Mystery: Dying and Rising. Let’s take a look at another use of video where Emiliana Traversin, a graduate student at Saint John’s School of Theology, member of Koinonia John the Baptist and intern at Catholic Education Ministries at the Diocese, delivers a invitation to follow the risen Christ.
Both videos serve as models for the use of technology in enhancing our parish ministries. And the content of both videos model how we can enhance our faith lives.
Blessed Triduum and Happy Easter!
Tim Welch is the Consultant for Educational Technology at Catholic Education Ministries, Diocese of Saint Cloud, MN. With more that 35 years of experience at the parish and diocesan levels, he is continually searching for ways of journeying with others to implement proven technologies that can serve ministry (especially catechesis).