IamEpiscopalian.org
As Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season,
IamEpiscopalian.org shares faith stories, personal thoughts
[February 25, 2009] – Sisters laughingly talk about growing up, growing away and growing back to The Episcopal Church. A prison chaplain calls The Episcopal Church a thinking church. One person shares that he joined The Episcopal Church decades ago because the girls were cute.
These are just a few of the 30+ Episcopalians who share their faith stories of celebration at IamEpiscopalian.org, debuting today, February 25, Ash Wednesday at noon Eastern time (11 am Central, 10 am Mountain, 9 am Pacific, 8 am Alaskan, 7 am Hawaiian).
Visitors to the IamEpiscopalian.org site are immediately greeted with a welcoming video, enhanced with music by Daron Murphy, a well-known composer.
Developed by the communication office of The Episcopal Church, IamEpiscopalian.org provides a place for people – some famous and some not-so-famous – to share the stories of what excites them about being an Episcopalian.
“With this site we will begin to tell our story as each person relates his or her personal, emotional connection to our Church,” explains Anne Rudig, director of communication. “Ash Wednesday was chosen for the launch of IamEpiscopalian.org since it is a time for many people to examine their spiritual life and perhaps connect or reconnect with a church. IamEpiscopalian.org shows how others have made those connections.”
As the web site states, “The Episcopal Church is a big, colorful, vibrant church. We hope you will see that in the wide spectrum of its members represented here on this site. In our Church you may touch ancient traditions and experience intelligent inquiry.”
The video vignettes, 30 – 60 seconds each, reflect that “big, colorful vibrant” church by focusing on the joys, gifts, and the challenges facing The Episcopal Church. As noted on the web site, “Our controversies and conversations have been public. Our governance is transparent. You are free to see our imperfections, as well as share our joy in that which unites us – our openness, honesty, and faith.”
IamEpiscopalian.org will continue to grow throughout Lent as videos are invited for anyone to express the richness of The Episcopal Church in their own personal way.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: IamEPISCOPALIAN.ORG WILL GO LIVE AT NOON EASTERN, 11 AM CENTRAL, 10 AM MOUNTAIN, 9 AM PACIFIC, 8 AM ALASKAN, 7 AM HAWAIIAN
Watch one below:
(Editor's note: During times of heavy demand, the video may take a while to load.)
I think this is a pretty great idea. It may take a while for all the videos to play cleanly, especially today, when they are likely to be in high demand. But I think it will be worth the wait. (For instnace, in this ivideo, don't you love when he says the Episcopal Church was "recommended" to him when he was 8?) I hope other bloggers will take advantage of the opportunity to embed some of these videos in their blogs. You have to play the vid thru to the end to get the embed code.
Posted by Jim Naughton![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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February 25, 2009 1:59 PM
Thanks for linking to the site Jim. Just a few quick bits of info, there is actually an embed tab in the upper left corner of the player you can click at any time for the embed code.
We've gotten fantastic traffic today which has unfortunately slowed the site down. We are moving the videos to a second server tomorrow which should help things out.
Posted by Mike Collins![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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February 25, 2009 10:24 PM