Church beyond the pandemic
Wed May 19th 2021
During the pandemic most of Europe (and the world) have gotten more and more used to do almost everything online, from working to socializing with friends and family in a scope never before imagined. And the same goes for the Church, poeples way of engaging with the faith and each other have changed. In some ways perhaps for good, in others more temporarily. What lessons do we draw from this last year and what do we want to bring with us into the future?
A Special Year
This years conference is special since it is the first time we have it in one day and online exclusively. Of course we will miss meeting each other AFK (Away From Keyboard), but on the other hand perhaps some of us can attend that otherwise would have difficulties to set the time aside for travel and a hotel stay. We have interesting speakers queued up and we look forward to learn more on the topics related to churches going online – due to the pandemic and beyond pandemic
During Wednesday 19th of May we will meet online, to listen to:
- Heidi Campbell
- Ilona Nord and Thomas
- Schlag Andreas Droste
We will also open up the conference for you to share your 5-minute presentation of something interesting you’ve done or are doing now, or just tips and tricks for the digital church.
We will have the annual meeting as usual, which is crucial in the life of ECIC since we are a membership organization.
The fee for this years conference is only the memebership fee for being a member of ECIC, and having the right to vote in the annual meeting.
Heidi Campbell – The Digital Church: Looking beyond COVID-19
Prof. Dr. Heidi A. Campbell is Professor of Communication, affiliate faculty in Religious Studies, and a Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University, US. She is also director of the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies. Her research focuses on intersections between technology, religion and digital culture, with emphasis on Jewish, Muslim & Christian negotiations with digital media. She is co-editor of Routledge’s Religion and Digital Culture book series, and author of over 100 articles and books including
“When Religion Meets New Media” (2010), “Networked Theology” (2016), “The Distanced Church: Reflections on Doing Church Online” (2020), “Religion in Quarantine: The Future of Religion in a Post-Pandemic World” (2020) and “What Should Post-Pandemic Religion Look Like?” (2021).
Heidi A Campbell
Professor of Communication & Presidential Impact Fellow
Texas A&M University; https://comm.tamu.edu/heidi-campbell/
https://www.drheidicampbell.com/
Vice President, International Society of Media, Religion & Culture
https://www.ismrc.org/about/board-members/heidi-campbell/
Director, Network of New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies
https://digitalreligion.tamu.edu/
Managing Editor, Journal of Religion, Media & Digital Culture
https://brill.com/view/journals/rmdc/rmdc-overview.xml
Lead Dreamer, Create Kindness Initiative
http://createkindness.strikingly.com/
Ilona Nord and Thomas Schlag: Churches responses to Covid-19
Against the background of the international and ecumenical CONTOC study (Churches Online in Times of Corona) conducted in 2020 our presentation addresses – especially with reference to the results of the German and Swiss contexts – transformation processes of digital media communication for the different church fields of action and pastoral self-understanding. In doing so, we ask what role “digital affinity” plays among pastors for their practice in the crisis and beyond, and what medium-term and long-term consequences can be derived from this for a future “digital church.” This is intended to provide impulses for an understanding of the church in the “culture of digitality” in the horizon of a “digital reformation”.
Prof. Dr. Ilona Nord is Professor of Protestant Theology with a focus on Religious Education and Didactics of Religious Education at the Institute of Protestant Theology, Religious Education and Cultural Studies of Religion of the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg
Prof. Dr. Thomas Schlag is Professor for Practical Theology with the focus on Religious Education, Church Theory and Pastoral Theology and Head of the Center for Church Development (ZKE) at the Faculty of Theology at the University Zurich. He is also Director of the University Research Priority Program “Digital Religion(s). Communication, Interaction and Transformation in the Digital Society”.
Real Life Avatars and Digital Reality
Lessons learned during the Corona Pandemic and where Digitalization might take us
Andreas Droste studied electrical engineering at the University of Duisburg with a focus on “digital control engineering / automation technology”. He began his professional career at Deutsche Telekom in 1992 in the DeTeSystem foundation team. From 1994 to 1999, he was advertising manager for interactive media and direct marketing in corporate communications at Deutsche Telekom. In this role, he was responsible for all of the Group’s e-commerce activities from 1996 onwards. From 1999 to 2002, he was responsible for setting up and managing Deutsche Telekom’s newly created “Competence Center Internet”. He came to the T-Systems Innovation Center in 2010 through various consulting functions in the areas of travel, transport & logistics (including the introduction of the Toll Collect system). Here he is responsible for international innovation activities and selected innovation initiatives with major T-Systems customers.
