Embracing the Digital Age: The Intersection of Theology and Technology in Today’s Church
As our society becomes increasingly digital, it is crucial for the church to engage with technology in a thoughtful and relevant way. The ECIC 2023 conference invites participants to explore how public theology can inform and contribute to digital discourse, how churches can establish a reliable and impactful presence on digital platforms, and how to navigate the challenges of artificial intelligence. Topics of discussion will include ensuring the accuracy and accessibility of church content in the digital age, as well as strategies for leveraging technology to deepen faith and connect with congregants. Join us as we explore the intersection of theology and technology in today’s rapidly evolving world.
Frederike van Oorschot
Theme: “Being a Public Church in the Digital Age: Perspectives from Public Theology “
PD Dr. Frederike is head of the department “Religion, Law and Culture” at the Protestant Interdiciplinary Research Institute FEST and teachses Systematic Theology at Heidelberg University . Her research focuses on public theology, digital theology and hermeneutics.
Christian Sterzik
Dmytro Tsolin
Prof. Dr Dmytro Tsolin teaches Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and serves as a pastor of the German Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Ukraine . His keynote will focus on a challenges faced by a small Protestant community in the information space of a multi-confessional country in a time of war. How to find a missional identity at a time when the challenges of war require quick and adequate responses to reality?
Keynote title: “Missional identity at a time of war”
Keynote videos:
European Christian Internet Conference in Cologne inspires churches to embrace the digital age
25-27 September, Cologne
Exploring the intersection of theology and technology in the churches today, 27th European Christian Internet Conference (ECIC) gathered digital communicators from churches across Europe in Cologne, Germany this week.
With the theme “Embracing the Digital Age: The Intersection of Theology and Technology in Today’s Church”, the annual ECIC conference explored what it means to be a church in the digital age, how churches can establish a reliable and impactful presence on digital platforms, and what are the challenges for the churches’ missional identity at a time of war.
After being held online for the last two years, the ECIC conference in Cologne gathered digital communicators and pastors working with communication from churches in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and Ukraine. Participants of the conference learned from each other, discussing the engagement of churches in the digital platforms in their countries and sharing their most recent work.
Topics of discussions included strategies for leveraging technology to deepen faith and connect with congregants, the accuracy and accessibility of the church content in the digital age, using data to increase church presence & visibility, and how to navigate the challenges of artificial intelligence.
The European Christian Internet Conference (ECIC), established over 20 years ago, brings together a diverse array of digital professionals – from online pastors, digital strategists and content creators, to web and social media managers and beyond. They represent a broad spectrum of churches and Christian organizations, reflecting the many expressions of Christianity across the continent.
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