50 Catechists of the Eastern Deanery of Bogor Diocese Learn Digital Blessing Skills with UMN Communication Lecturer Team

Group photo with the Catechist Members in the Training of Catechists of the Eastern Deanate of the Diocese of Bogor (Doc. Diocese of Bogor)

Cibinong – A team of lecturers from the Faculty of Communication (Fakultas Ilmu Komunikasi/Fikom) of Multimedia Nusantara University (UMN) (Fikom UMN) continued their series of Community Service (Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat/PkM) for the Diocese of Bogor through digital proclamation training for catechists (educators or Catholic religious teachers) of the Eastern Deanate of the Bogor Diocese, Saturday (10/6). Attended by 50 catechists from six parishes, the Fikom UMN lecturer team provided technical guidance so that catechists could optimize the use of digital media and their gadgets to teach the Catholic faith.

The event, which took place at the Holy Family Parish in Cibinong, was attended and opened by the Dean of the Eastern Deanery of the Bogor Diocese, RD Aloysius Tri Hardjono. “Through many events, history, challenges, temptations, and joys, we have arrived at the digital era. So everything related to the teaching of the faith has also changed. Ecclesia semper reformanda, the Church that is always renewed,” said RD Tri in his speech. 

RD Tri hopes that this joint training with Multimedia Nusantara University can involve more people in the new proclamation so that more people can experience the joy of the Gospel.

Remarks from RD Aloysius Tri Hardjono (Doc. Diocese of Bogor)

“Thank you to Multimedia Nusantara University for coming to share their knowledge and experience. Of course this presence is an encouragement for all of us,” said RD Tri.

The Associate Pastor of the Holy Family Parish continued the speech in Cibinong, RD Lucius Joko. “Today, we want to learn together about digital blessing. The difficulty is that we understand about faith but don’t understand how to communicate it. Moreover, the world has changed. We have to change, too,” RD Joko said.

Dr. AG Eka Wenats Wuryanta during the East Deanery Catechist Training (Doc. Diocese of Bogor)

Dr. AG Eka Wenats Wuryanta, a Strategic Communication study program lecturer at Multimedia Nusantara University, then started the training session. With the theme “Evangelii Nuntiadi,” Dr. Eka gave direction on the spirit of proclaiming the Good News in the modern era. 

“We have been reminded since the Second Vatican Council that we, as members of the Church, have an active role in upholding justice in the world. One of them is through social media,” said Dr. Eka in his session. The disposition to proclaim is crucial so that catechists are aware that proclaiming the Annunciation is both a responsibility and a calling.

Second Session Training by Maria Advenita Gita Elmada, M.Si. (Doc. Diocese of Bogor)

Then, the second session was facilitated by Maria Advenita Gita Elmada, M.Si. from the Strategic Communication study program at Multimedia Nusantara University with the theme “Catechization in the Digital Age: Being Salt and Light in the Digital World.” 

“We have to fill the digital space with Catholic faith in ways that are in accordance with the nature of social media, which requires a more personal approach,” said Maria. Furthermore, Maria emphasized that the proclamation referred to here is not only preaching doctrine and teachings but also reflecting on the experience of living with God.

Kevin Sanly Putera, M.I.Kom. in the last session of the Eastern Deanery Catechist Training (Doc. Diocese of Bogor)

The last session was presented by Kevin Sanly Putera, M.I.Kom. from the Strategic Communication study program of UMN Digital Learning. Kevin provided practical guidance related to basic photography and videography to produce creative content with their respective devices. 

“It is true that content creation skills can be inborn talent, but they can also be honed through consistency. In the proclamation of faith, followers and likes are not the priority of achievement, but how to make content that are good, right, and appropriate to the context,” Kevin said. 

The session continued with a practice time per group. The catechists were assigned to create pilot content based on the content ideas that had been prepared. After uploading, participants collectively evaluated the content between groups.

The training for the Eastern Deanery of the Bogor Diocese catechists is the second segment of the PKM series of the Multimedia Nusantara University lecturer team with the Bogor Diocese in 2023. The series’s opening was held for the brothers of St. Petrus Paulus Higher Seminary Bandung through capacity building for digital blessing. The following two PkM segments will be held for parishioners and other monks of the Diocese of Bogor Eastern Deanery. This PkM series is also supported by @omk_indonesia media.

By Kevin Sanly Putera | PkM Program Implementer

English translation by Levina Chrestella Theodora

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