By Rayanne Bennett | Executive Director of Communications

For as long as the Church has existed, the individuals who advanced the faith were the ones to break new ground and set out on new journeys. The early evangelizers risked their lives to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and many who followed dedicated themselves to the cause at the expense of their comfort, their livelihoods and perhaps even their reputations.

 Nowadays, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and being an agent of communication on behalf of the Church is as easy as logging on to facebook or twitter; keeping up with key information published on websites and sharing what you learn with others.  It’s expressing your feelings about your faith; sharing an important post you have seen, or responding to content you view.

Over the past few years, the Diocese of Trenton has built its online presence to include websites; social media pages and video channels.  It has given us an opportunity to both follow other sites and share valuable content, but to communicate news and information to the people of the diocese.  Likewise, many of our parishes and Catholic schools have made great strides in establishing a presence in the digital world. 

While many folks are just setting out on this journey and may be able to count the number of “friends” they have on their fingers and toes, the potential that we can harness these resources to effectively communicate about our faith is boundless.  The opportunities presented through digital media stretch us beyond anything we may have ever anticipated.  The bishop and the diocese can now be connected with the local faith communities in an immediate relevant way that has rarely been afforded through other means.

It is true; these new media opportunities are not without their risks.  Posting something about our Church or our faith may draw hateful comments from those who do not understand the gift of believing in a loving God.  Being out there on youtube or facebook might sometimes feel like the Wild West, where we can’t control the other content that appears alongside our videos or posts.

Still, if our 85-year-old Holy Father can wade into these deep waters, launching his own twitter page and encouraging his flock to follow him in, what would hold us back?

If you have a presence on social media, we hope you will find the Diocese of Trenton on facebook, twitter and youtube and “like” or “follow” us.  We ask you to go to our websites often, and sign up for The Monitor e-newsletter so you can be advised of news that has been published online.  At the same time, we encourage you to connect with your parish, your school and any other ministries you take part in that may have a presence online. 

If you have not yet entered the world of digital and social media, be brave and give it a try. We need you to be part of this new community that seeks to evangelize through modern technology.  The sites and pages listed below are a good place to start. We hope to welcome you there soon.