2019 Anabaptist Communicators Conference
If you missed the conference, hear the speakers' talks below...
... and watch the "TED"-esque AC Talks!
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Conference Recap
“How do you communicate to your constituents that you love them?” asked Beryl Jantzi. “Do your constituents know that they are valued beyond helping you to meet a budget?”
“Why do we do this job in the first place?” asked Shirley Showalter. “This is not only a job - this is a calling.”
Communicating through the lens of our faith took on real meaning during this past Anabaptist Communicators conference in Harrisonburg, VA. Beryl Jantzi from Everence left us with a strong call to be transformational communicators. “If our work is worthwhile it should be transformational,” he said. “It should make a difference in the lives of the people whom we serve.” Judy Mullet, professor emerita at EMU, encouraged us to move from self-care to we-care. “We have to stop pretending that we are individuals who can go it alone,” she stated. She stressed the importance of relationship and community – a theme that resounded repeatedly throughout the weekend.
Katie Steckly from Kitchener, ON guided us in how to use YouTube and Instagram to bring people together and build authentic communities. She suggested ways to offer value in a social media saturated world. She reminded us to keep the “social” in social media and suggested that we should spend 30% of our time and effort on content creation and 70% on engagement and building community.
“People who are communicated to well, always respond,” said Larry Guengerich. He walked us through the changing world of communications as he experienced it and reflected that the channels have changed but basic guiding principles have not. Mike Strathdee then introduced us to a “spiritual third place” – that gathering spot away from home or work “where everyone knows your name.” Through pop culture, community and his work with MEDA, he reminded us that many find their third place not within the walls of a spiritual place of worship, but through other connections. Shirley Showalter emphasized that as storytellers we build connections as we wrap our communities in quilts made from words. She encouraged us to learn to observe what is around us, capture it and share it with others. In so doing she suggested that we will write to change the world.
File crashes on export and attempting to obtain usable footage and audio from online interviews while functioning on low to no finances were some of the challenges shared by the Eastern Mennonite University students who produced the documentary No Longer Theory. United Nations armed group expert and peacebuilder Michael Sharp and his coworker, Ziada Catalán, murdered while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017, were the subjects of this gripping film that we previewed.
Animated conversations around the meal table were lively, corner conversations in the evening were intense and an impromptu mentor session on the front porch in rocking chairs held even more magic for those who were able to gather in Harrisonburg. “This is the only place where I get to meet with people who do communications work the way that I do,” said one of the participants.
Dwindling numbers of people at the annual conference prompted the board to suggest not holding a conference each year but to look at other models and partnerships for our gatherings. The members met this suggestion with some resistance. The board continues to seek wisdom and direction from members.
Thank you to the planning team for our October 2019 conference. Thank you to Melodie Davis, Christle Gehman, Jesse Huxman, Mike Strathdee, Jon Trotter and Diana Voth. As we move forward as Anabaptist Communicators, may we all continue to learn how to communicate through our lens of faith. – Lisa Williams
“Why do we do this job in the first place?” asked Shirley Showalter. “This is not only a job - this is a calling.”
Communicating through the lens of our faith took on real meaning during this past Anabaptist Communicators conference in Harrisonburg, VA. Beryl Jantzi from Everence left us with a strong call to be transformational communicators. “If our work is worthwhile it should be transformational,” he said. “It should make a difference in the lives of the people whom we serve.” Judy Mullet, professor emerita at EMU, encouraged us to move from self-care to we-care. “We have to stop pretending that we are individuals who can go it alone,” she stated. She stressed the importance of relationship and community – a theme that resounded repeatedly throughout the weekend.
Katie Steckly from Kitchener, ON guided us in how to use YouTube and Instagram to bring people together and build authentic communities. She suggested ways to offer value in a social media saturated world. She reminded us to keep the “social” in social media and suggested that we should spend 30% of our time and effort on content creation and 70% on engagement and building community.
“People who are communicated to well, always respond,” said Larry Guengerich. He walked us through the changing world of communications as he experienced it and reflected that the channels have changed but basic guiding principles have not. Mike Strathdee then introduced us to a “spiritual third place” – that gathering spot away from home or work “where everyone knows your name.” Through pop culture, community and his work with MEDA, he reminded us that many find their third place not within the walls of a spiritual place of worship, but through other connections. Shirley Showalter emphasized that as storytellers we build connections as we wrap our communities in quilts made from words. She encouraged us to learn to observe what is around us, capture it and share it with others. In so doing she suggested that we will write to change the world.
File crashes on export and attempting to obtain usable footage and audio from online interviews while functioning on low to no finances were some of the challenges shared by the Eastern Mennonite University students who produced the documentary No Longer Theory. United Nations armed group expert and peacebuilder Michael Sharp and his coworker, Ziada Catalán, murdered while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017, were the subjects of this gripping film that we previewed.
Animated conversations around the meal table were lively, corner conversations in the evening were intense and an impromptu mentor session on the front porch in rocking chairs held even more magic for those who were able to gather in Harrisonburg. “This is the only place where I get to meet with people who do communications work the way that I do,” said one of the participants.
Dwindling numbers of people at the annual conference prompted the board to suggest not holding a conference each year but to look at other models and partnerships for our gatherings. The members met this suggestion with some resistance. The board continues to seek wisdom and direction from members.
Thank you to the planning team for our October 2019 conference. Thank you to Melodie Davis, Christle Gehman, Jesse Huxman, Mike Strathdee, Jon Trotter and Diana Voth. As we move forward as Anabaptist Communicators, may we all continue to learn how to communicate through our lens of faith. – Lisa Williams