The Diocese of Jamaica & The Cayman Islands can now be reached and followed through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This Social Media focus is to get more persons communicating and sharing with the Diocese through these platforms. So with the assistance of a grant – 3 workshops were held free of cost to members in our 3 regions of Kingston, Mandeville and Montego Bay. The aim, also, was to garner persons as an extension of the Social Media team working in their respective areas, to feed information to us which would be used on the Diocesan platforms.
The workshops were held in Kingston on July 7, Mandeville on September 1 and Montego Bay on September 29, 2018. The presenters were Miss Cleo Walker a Marketing Communication Consultant who presented in Kingston & Montego Bay and Odane Hamilton, Information Technology Professional, former AYF NationalCouncil member and a member of St. Gabriels, MayPen.
The event brought out an attendance of 27 members for Kingston, 25 for Mandeville and 20 for Montego Bay, comprising of all 3 Bishops, Clergy and Laity. At the Kingston Workshop, Bishop Thompson opening remarks spoke about, how important Social Media has become and as a Church due precaution must be taken and so this forum will show us how. Bishop Gregory presented on the Code of Conduct, of which each participant was given an excerpt. He specifically mentioned the Do’s and Don’ts in regards to Social Media. He noted that when posting personal opinions when you operate as a worker, volunteer or affiliate of the Diocese, a disclaimer, therefore, must be added as such:
“The opinions expressed here are those of [name of person] alone. This site operates independently and is not associated with the Diocese of Jamaica or [name of parish/school].”
In Montego Bay, Bishop Leon opened with Prayer, and echoed similar sentiments as the other Bishops, and hoped that Clergy and Laity alike would take responsibility when using these platform.
The presenter’s guided the group through the Do’ and the Don’ts of Social Media. Answering questions such as What is Social Media, Why we should engage using Social Media and how it helps us as Christians in the Great Commission. In using Social Media for Church they emphasized that first, we should always create a strategy of Why, Who, What, When and Where. This is to ensure that we get to know our ‘users’ and what works best for each platform.
The attendants were then placed in smaller groups and given a scenario for which they were to come up with their own strategy to promote the ‘church’ or ‘event’, what platforms they had available, and whether they were in a rural or urban area – all of which determines how you use Social Media. [See attached Videos for some of these] These scenarios brought out the creativity in the thought process of the attendants – a reassuring indication of the wealth of knowledge that our Diocese has and needs to nurture.
Participants who attended gave their opinions on the presentations and what else they expect to see in the future:
The social media workshop was very informative and practical. I was taught methods to create a social media campaign and to examine critically why, how and what should influence the decision to use social media – Marie Wint McKenzie, St. Dorothy’s Church, Old Harbour
My views on the workshop that I attended was that it was very informative and I learned alot. – Mark Minott, University Chapel
The event was great, we just need to have frequent follow-ups for growth. – Gregory Bromfield, St. Luke’s Church, Cessnock
The workshop was very informative, useful information was shared and I believe that it will help with our branding as a church. – Marlon Drummond, St Thomas Bluefields
As someone who knows about how to do the things covered, the format of the presentations was informative. In the future the how-to could be introduced on site if possible with hands-on experience at setting up a platform. They could also do a quick setup of data collection for them to share with the tech-savvy members of their churches as opposed to them creating platforms just for the sake of it without consultation of their congregation.
You could also introduce free design apps like Adobe spark post, Canva, and Crello that can be used on your phone. – Kristen Reynolds, Trelawny Parish Church
The workshop was very informative. 1. The do’s and don’ts 2.Make our postings short and to-the-point and be available to respond to questions when they are asked etc..I expect to see more young people involved with Social Media in Our Churches. – Claudette Slowley, St. Matthew’s, Santa CruzWell coordinated, very informative, and interesting. There should be more hands on training. Ex: invite persons to bring their laptops and teach them to set up platforms. – Rev Olando Gayle, Southfield St. Elizabeth
It is our hope to have a more targetted Social Media workshop in the coming year (2019) to get more persons involved in our Diocese through these platforms. And remember we look forward to members: liking, reposting and sharing our Diocesan items – that’s how we get more persons involved and that’s how we can reach others who long for a church home through which they can worship.
MANDEVILLE REGION – POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
KINGSTON & MONTEGO BAY – POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
KINGSTON REGION VIDEO
MONTEGO BAY REGION VIDEO