The First Blog

2009-08-04

“Do a blog!” they said.  Well, here goes.

As we launch the new-look St George’s site, I want to thank the people responsible for making it possible – Darren Shilling, Paul Relf and David Cadwallader.  Far more work goes into developing a site like this than meets the eye, and this revamped site is the result of many hours of dedication, imagination and nagging!

We hope that you’ll find the results worthwhile, and that you’ll enjoy visiting the site.  The aim is to offer a site that’s useful to any visitor and also one which has plenty of information for our regular members.  Do let us have your feedback so that improvements can be made.

I see this blog as an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a Christian today, on the relationship between society and faith, and on...

This last weekend, Archbishop Vincent Nichols’ thoughts about social networking sites caught my attention.  "Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanises what is a very, very important part of community life and living together," he said, blaming social network sites for leaving children with impoverished friendships.

From what I’ve observed there is more than a grain of truth in what he says but I think it’s always important to remember that technology is neither intrinsically good nor intrinsically evil.  In and of itself, technology is neutral.  It’s the use that is made of it that either builds up or demeans humanity.  And that is as true of the printing press as it is of the internet.

After all, as one commentator remarked at the weekend, there was a time when the telephone was blamed for a decrease in letter writing skills and face-to-face communication.

That’s something I’ll continue to reflect on.