CHURCH SOCIAL TIPS
During the nearly three months that our nation has been living under quarantine, our clergy have needed to shift their thinking about using non-traditional ways of evangelizing in the absence of in-person interaction. In the era of COVID-19, when an important way to connect with the faithful is online, some of our priests have evolved into the new generation of Catholic social media influencers.
Let’s start with Father Alfred Guerrero, pastor at the Newman Center/Holy Spirit Parish at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He has been using Facebook Live to stream Mass through the Newman Hawaii Facebook page with nearly 700 followers. The average follower of this social media page is older than your average college student, but they are engaged because of the content shared by this youthful pastor. (He’s 31.) His Instagram (@fralfred808) bio includes hashtags like #priestagram to showcase his life as a priest.
But, it’s his TikTok (@fralfred808) videos that resonate with so many! One of my favorites shows him kneeling in prayer and lip-syncing to the Lady Antebellum secular country song “I Need You Now.” He transforms its story of a lonely drunk person calling an ex-lover for comfort into a prayer to God in a moment of despair and loneliness. The short video has over 5,000 views — brilliant!
@fralfred808 When you thought you were alone praying, the choirs of angels join you… #Fatherhood #Prayer #Priestok #Catholicism #Holiness
Another priest connecting through social media is Father EJ Resinto, pastor at Sacred Heart Parish, Punahou. You might have seen him featured in the Diocese of Honolulu’s “Faithful and Safe” video, “Before You Come to Church,” providing safe pandemic Mass attendance advice. He too has used Facebook Live to stream Mass to the more than 1,000 followers of the Sacred Heart Parish Facebook page, while profiling his personal life as a priest living through a pandemic.
https://www.tiktok.com/@dafaddahej/video/6830741622238498053
His TikTok (@dafaddahej) features a great recipe for “manok,” a Filipino dish, but his moves to Christian hip-hop tunes like “I’m a Disciple” are outright inspirational to younger Catholics, helping them to see faith-filled messages in the secular world.
https://www.tiktok.com/@dafaddahej/video/6827950044293926149
Last, but not least are the priests of St. Joseph Parish in Waipahu: La Salette Fathers Efren Tomas, Geronimo “Eric” Castro and Adondee Arellano, who are featured on the parish Facebook page. These priests have a range in age but align in the enthusiasm they share with more than 10,000 followers on Facebook.
They too have used Facebook Live to stream their Masses during the suspension of public Masses in Hawaii and have masterfully embraced social media to evangelize on their Instagram page. There they promote Masses and online giving. But it’s the choreographed TikTok dances posted each “Aloha Friday” that are super-engaging.
https://www.facebook.com/443185889087945/videos/2614326835502275/
These and other models of new evangelization can help us move into a post-COVID-19 era. Once a sense of normalcy returns, parishes should fold digital communications into their future plans.
In this time of the new coronavirus, every parish has seen the need to amplify online connections with parishioners. Here are five simple ways to get rolling:
- Start a media ministry team.
- Design a great website.
- Choose social media sites that the team can manage.
- Develop a content strategy and mission that will guide your efforts.
- Educate your pastor and parish about the power of digital evangelization.
Hayes-Peirce is a Catholic social media strategist based in California.