72nd General Convention: 1997 Communications Survey

Basic stats

Province	Surveys returned
1	31
2	44
3	46
4	73
5	60
6	29
7	45
8	65
9	13

Questions and responses

Questions	Yes / Percent	No / Percent
Do you own or have access to a computer?	380 / 92%	31 / 8%
If no, do you plan to purchase?	19 / 63%	12 / 37%
Do you have email or access to an email address?	315 / 77%	96 / 23%
Does your parish have a home page on the web?	117 / 28%	294 / 72%
Do you use the Internet?	270 / 66%	141 / 34%
Do you or someone in your organization use ECUNET / QUEST?	158 / 38%	253 / 62%
Is email effective for communicating with clergy, associates, and others with whom you work?	295 / 72%	116 / 28%
If you or your parish are not using computer technology to full advantage, would you -- if support, training, education, and resources were available?	230 / 56%	181 / 44%
Is computer technology an effective medium to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus in the 21st century?	380 / 92%	31 / 8%

Comments

Voluntary observations by clerical deputies:

We need improved form for Episcopal News Service messages, including availability of a digest mode and subject lines. The hubris of the PC world regarding IBM compatible / Windows / DOS operating systems is not helpful to those who utilize another system. Apple / Macintosh users, for instance, are marginalized in their attempts to participate. Also the EXPENSE of the software, coupled with the FEES required by the corporations, is prohibitive for many, many, many people. Online charges plus monthly access costs are outrageous. It would be wonderful to have software to serve parish ministry for data, mailing lists, etc. and to have an 800 number with a resource person to troubleshoot. A major obstacle to using computers at the parish level is knowledge of software usage. We need someone to talk to! There are still a majority of churches who cannot afford the simplest computer -- while an effective tool we need to remain faithful to the majority who are not online. I plan to get trained. Several of my staff use regularly. 815 is a disaster re: communication and esp. computers. No coordination in most places. We are connected to Earthlink and are able to access the Internet, etc. I really don't understand QUEST -- should I also have QUEST? Why and how much? Could our church use its number to facilitate bulk purchase of hardware / software and pass cost savings on to diocese / parish / organizations? In small rural dioceses like mine (SD) we have a problem with cost of acquisition. My staff are all computer literate. We have numerous work stations. I rely on them. (I'm a 'fuddy-duddy'.) This is new for me -- will be learning how to use it next month. Yes, but do not like it. Have access but don't know how to work it. I have seen some clergy and some lay leaders in our congregation spend more and more time at their computers and less with members of the congregation -- otherwise I see it as helpful. We have lots of computers in our parish office -- but so far don't see it releasing the staff's time for more personal contact. Also, the amount ot paper we produce is far more than formerly. I'm not yet a believer that computers are helping at the parish level (we have 1200 members) but I think I remain open to the possibility Left it -- inefficient and expensive! Absolutely. A tool to facilitate communication -- but not effective for evangelism. Not as user-friendly as needed, even with Windows95 edition. I have loaded QUEST on my computer and I / we are paying $11/mo for it -- however, I have yet to figure out how to access this and use it well. My parishioners do! Have found QUEST / ECUNET to be exceedingly cumbersome and user-unfriendly. Contact is difficult, with DOS format gnostic; with all the resources available, why is our technology so outdated? Can we hurry with Windows format? QUEST / ECUNET needs to be phased out in an orderly fashion and emphasis given to electronic communications formats that are readily accessible to the whole world. Evangelism cannot take place on an exclusive medium. About to leave this service for another. I was on ECUNET / QUEST and found it inadequate. I left several months ago for another provider. I found QUEST not user friendly. I find QUEST too expensive for the data it offers. QUEST is really an intra-office mail system. It should probably be free. Because of the closed nature of QUEST / ECUNET, it should be abandoned in favor of the more open media of listserves, forums, and web pages on the Internet. Not sure -- I've seen it keep some clergy in their offices too much and away from home visits, etc. I have had a very difficult time logging on to QUEST with my DOS software. Soon. Could be. Most definitely. Not yet. We are working on one! We do need help to use, to understand, and see possibilities. While the Internet is of use to many people, it also has a seductive quality, leading us to believe it will accomplish more than it truly can deliver. I urge you to go gently into that good might with your enthusiasm for computerolotry. I much regret the demise of the biannual computer conference that was last held in Dallas in the Fall of 1993 and 1991. The role of the Internet in the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ is in enticing seed planting, scripture display, instruction for conversion, education for discipleship, training for ministry, and helps and aids for walking the Christian life in the world daily. But then so is each of our congregations And that isn't nearly always the case. Just as each baptized Christian must take up the role of invitation to the Gospel, and thus to the ministry and fellowship of the Holy Spirit through the church, so also the effectiveness of the 'Gospel Internet' will be in the ability of any given gospel website to be an attractive place of invitation (this does not preclude, of course, the Holy Spirit from sovereignly inspiring the connection of a seeker with any give website or info, whether inviting or not). We've got plenty of materials to put on a webpage. The real cyberchallenge will be in getting people there. Even Jesus made links between 'ministry sites' (villages and towns) by walking there. We will need ways to get people 'there': publicity, advertising (on and off the WWW), links, and 'issues' web sites.

Responses from lay deputies
Responses from bishops
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