Isidore of Seville is the Patron Saint of the Internet. Photo courtesy of www.bc.edu

Online conversations are great, but sometimes they’re no substitute for the real thing.

So, in the spirit of real (as opposed to virtual) interaction and engagement, you might want to stop by Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Webster Groves this Sunday for our Adult Forum. The topic? “Faith Online: The Pleasures and Perils of a Religion Blog.” Yup, that’s right, a few of the contributors from Civil Religion will be showing up “live and in person” to talk about the intersection of faith and technology, and more specifically the pros and cons of being a part of what goes on in these pages.

Confirmed panelists include Tim Townsend, religion reporter for the Post-Dispatch and founder of this blog; Travis Scholl, an editor at Concordia Seminary and an ordained Lutheran minister; Khalid Shah, a small business owner and teacher who is active in a variety of interfaith activities as well as in the local Muslim communities; and Pamela Dolan (that’s me).

I’m really excited that at least some of us are getting a chance to interact in person; we’ll be taking questions from the audience as part of the format. I hope you will consider stopping by at 10:15 this Sunday to enjoy what is sure to be a lively discussion about how to go public with your faith in a respectful but engaging way. And of course you’re always welcome to worship at Emmanuel at any of our services.

By the way, I ran across this prayer on the website for the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.  I thought our regulars might enjoy it, especially the thought that we “treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter online.”  Amen!

Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thy image
and bade us to seek after all that is good, true and
beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy only-
begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech
Thee that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore,
bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the
Internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that
which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and
patience all those souls whom we encounter.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.