Social Media and a Place Apart

I want to record this moment from the Create in Me retreat before we get further away, and it slides from my memory.  The first night, Pastor Mary introduced the planning team.  I was last, the social media coordinator.  I stood up, and a section of the retreat population clapped.  They hadn't clapped for anyone else.

So, in this time of discernment, let me ponder:  I am good at some types of social media, like creating Facebook posts and e-mails that inspire people.  But here, as in many aspects of my life, I believe that if I'm enjoying it and/or it comes naturally/effortlessly to me, it doesn't count somehow.  Or I think that I must be doing it wrong.

I focus on all the social media stuff that I'm not doing for the Create in Me retreat.  I don't have a smart phone, so I can't make Instagram posts.  I know that all the cool kids left Facebook long ago, and I feel somewhat guilty about not being able to follow them to Instagram.

Of course, at the Create in Me retreat, so far we're predominantly an older population.  These are the people who appreciate my weekly Facebook post that reminds us to keep being creative.  For some of our retreat members who aren't on Facebook, I should probably create a paper newsletter that arrives via the U.S. Mail, not worry about Instagram.

These thoughts also lead me to my dream of being an online retreat coordinator, with occasional in-person duties.  As I created the Lenten Journaling group for my church, the members told me how much they enjoyed the prompts that I sent out by way of e-mail.

I think about church camps and how some of my favorites proclaim themselves to be a place apart.  But what about the people who can't get there?

Or maybe we need to think about the places where we now spend so much time, the online sites and online duties.  Maybe we need a place apart there--a place that is both part of our online lives and a way to escape those lives.