The 2012 Week of Prayer will take place Jan. 18-25.
The more dramatic change takes publishing duties out of the hands of the Canadian Catholic book publisher Novalis. An Internet-based, print-on-demand service will be used to tailor the number of books printed exactly to the demand and to get the books into parishes and congregations faster, said Hamilton.
“Technology changes,” said Hamilton. “It is incumbent on us all to keep up with what works. At this point in the technology and the process, this is what works for us.”
Novalis itself has turned to print-on-demand technology for some of its smaller-scale publishing, said Novalis publishing director Joseph Sinasac. Print-on-demand technology just made sense for the Week of Prayer.
“We decided mutually with our friends at the Canadian Council of Churches that this was a small, simple project that didn’t require such a large, sophisticated collaboration,” said Sinasac in an e-mail. “Interestingly, both we at Novalis and our colleagues at the CCC had come to the same conclusion separately before talking to each other.”
The decision was not driven by money, said Hamilton.
“We expect it will make it quicker and easier for people to acquire the material this way,” she said.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is not the CCC’s first venture onto Facebook and Twitter. With the help of staff at the Salvation Army, the CCC has developed a presence on both platforms over the last year.
An international Week of Prayer page on Facebook is maintained by University of Saskatchewan ecumenist Nicholas Jesson and World Council of Churches official Olivier Schopfer in Geneva.
Using every possible channel to get people involved in the Week of Prayer isn’t just a matter of good marketing, said Hamilton.
“His Holiness (Pope Benedict XVI) is very clear about Christian unity,” she said. “It’s is a call to prayer.”
To receive the Week of Prayer resource kit, go to www.http://councilofchurches.ca/en/Our_Faith/week-of-prayer.cfm and download the order form. The Canadian Week of Prayer page on Facebook can be found at WeekofPrayer.ca, while the CCC on Twitter is at www.twitter.com/#!/CCC_CCE.
Christian unity week enlists technology and social media to get the word out
By Michael Swan, The Catholic RegisterIt’s a new day for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The 104-year-old call to Christians to atone for their deliberate and structural estrangement from one another is employing Facebook, Twitter and the very latest publishing technology to get the word out.
Promoting the Week of Prayer via social media was basically a no-brainer as far as the Canadian Council of Churches is concerned, said CCC secretary general Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton.
“It was just obvious, given that we are continually thinking through communications issues and paying attention to what’s going on,” said Hamilton.
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