Making Online Church Accessible (MOCA)
Join us Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the Havens Center at St. Stephen’s or on Zoom as we continue the MOCA (Making Online Community Accessible) series. We are exploring a number of questions:
- What does it mean to be a hybrid church?
- How do we invite and welcome each other using online tools and platforms?
- What have we learned about this during the pandemic and how might we improve?
- What is online community? Is that even possible?
Below is a sample of some of the discussions we have held so far.
What have we learned from our own experiences participating in online worship?
- It’s not very satisfying. And now that we are back in person, it is hard to stay focused online.
- The sound quality is poor. At first we were very forgiving about technical issues, but now we are more picky.
- Small groups, such as the anti-racism group, work well online.
Who are we as a community and what do we want to cultivate? Who can we reach and how can we reach them? What’s our calling?
- We love music and singing together
- We embrace progressive values
- We are authentic and inclusive
- Whatever we do online should be reflective of our culture.
- We should be bold and innovative, willing to take risks.
What new ministries emerged during the pandemic? What will we retain moving forward?
- Zoom, online church, Facebook Live
- We tried to create sacred space in our homes and in our bodies.
- The Rosary ministry used Facebook Messenger to reach new people, including participants from Colorado, California, and Kentucky. Bible Study has also reached new people by going online.
- By going online, we were able to combat loneliness
- With Zoom meetings, participants don’t have to battle traffic to attend.
- Zoom helped broaden leadership and widen our demographics
What ministries do we need to restore?
- Ushering
- Hospitality
- Small intimate groups
- Hybrid formation for adults and children together