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Strategy is the foundation to using social media well. What should congregations consider as they seek to reach out to the homebound and people with disabilities? I urge congregations to carefully explore the nuances
of these special audiences before craſt ing tactics (e.g., how and when to connect) as well as choosing tools (e.g., which social media platforms to use). I cannot overemphasize the importance of checking commonly held assumptions against the reality that:
Thought bytes
Reaching out to as well as proactively accommodating people with disabilities is the ethically right thing to do. As you review online strategies and tools, ask: • Do we generally understand and respond fully to the needs of people with disabilities? • Are we willing and able to make special accommodations for people with disabilities without isolating them? • How will the social media tools we choose welcome more participation by people with disabilities?
The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways (Liturgical Press, 2013)
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www.thelutheran.org
MICHAEL D. WATSON
• Not all homebound congregants are aging, nor should we assume that those who are can’t or won’t use online tools. • Not all congregants with disabilities are homebound, although we may be forcing them into that status when- ever the church-the-building is inaccessible. • Being homebound and/or disabled doesn’t auto- matically mean the congregant is ill. T at noted, some congregants are, in fact, ill with chronic conditions that make regular worship attendance and community par- ticipation impossible. • Disabilities vary in type (e.g., physical, mental, learn- ing) and intensity. • Congregants who require care usually have care- givers who are also unable to attend worship and/or participate in church activities because of time and/or exhaustion.
What are some of the challenges you see as church leaders begin to think about using social media to con- nect with the homebound? Even without using social media, reaching out to
these congregants (and visitors) challenges churches in radical ways. A whole new world of critically necessary and needed sensitivity training opens up when churches not only commit to this ministry, but understand this is
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