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June 17, 2020Ensuring the Catholic faithful in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City receive the information they need to participate fully in the life of the Church is a daunting task in the best of times for the Office of Communications.
The three-person staff coordinates media relations for the archdiocese, spearheads social media efforts, manages the archdiocesan website and produces the bi-weekly newspaper – the Sooner Catholic.
Diane Clay, director of communications and editor of the Sooner Catholic, is assisted by Dana Attocknie, managing editor, and Avery Holt, digital media coordinator.
“Communication is very important as part of the mission of the Church, especially these days when there are so many avenues to reach people,” Clay said.
It means using multiple Facebook pages, Twitter, Instagram, the website, e-mail, letters, print and digital versions of Sooner Catholic, Oklahoma Catholic Radio and more to reach everyone from teens to senior adults – in English and in Spanish – simultaneously.
The mission became even more challenging when the first case of COVID-19 in Oklahoma was confirmed March 11.
“It accelerated what a lot of people were doing. From that point, we had to make a lot of very difficult decisions,” Clay said.
Public Mass was suspended, parish offices closed and Catholic schools moved all coursework online.
“Communication was important before the pandemic, but it took on a critical role in helping us bring the faith to everyone and staying connected,” Clay said. “Communications suddenly became our lifeline to our faith.”
Archbishop Coakley live-streamed a rosary on March 19 that had more than 22,000 views. Zoom meetings provided regular communication between the archbishop and priests, and allowed faith formation classes, Bible study groups, youth groups and parish staffs to meet in real time.
“Technology kept us from being isolated and detached when our regular means of connecting disappeared,” Clay said. “A lot of people had to scramble to get the technology they needed. It took parishioners, it took priests being open to new things.”
Livestreamed Masses also piqued the interest of people who wanted to learn more about Catholicism and brought back some people who had left the Church, she said.
Parishes both large and small found ways to keep their members engaged.
“With 1,700 families, it’s hard to be connected with everyone in the best times,” said Father Rick Stansberry, pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church in Oklahoma City.
When the pandemic hit, the parish sent e-mails and letters to let members know two Masses and Stations of the Cross services would be livestreamed each week. Other e-mails offered reflections and announcements like where and when to pick up blessed palms before Palm Sunday.
Fortunately, Father Stansberry had two seminarians in residence who could help with technology and social media.
“I wouldn’t have made it without them because my technology skill is bad,” he said.
Duncan Tiemeyer, who is serving a pastoral year at Christ the King, became the host of “The CK Morning Show” three days a week. The show featured Father Stansberry, Tiemeyer and Stephen Jones – who was temporarily in residence because his seminary was closed – for Morning Prayer, a live chat and an occasional special guest.
“We got a lot of views and a lot of posted comments,” Father Stansberry said, adding the show will continue once a month going forward.
Eight miles across town, Corpus Christi Catholic Church had no recording equipment, no sound equipment and only iffy Internet service, Father Danny Grover said.
But, the pastor did have a good iPhone that he used to livestream Mass on Facebook.
“The first week, I got 2,000 new Facebook friend requests,” Father Grover said. “People were yearning for the Eucharist, yearning to go to Mass.”
He added the Rosary, Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Adoration online, all using the iPhone. Mass also is livestreamed in Burmese because about half of the parishioners are first-generation refugees from Myanmar.
Father Titus Pau came from the Kalay Diocese in Myanmar in December to serve the community. He has helped with communications and sacraments and translated the letter regarding reopening of the church into Zopau, Father Grover said.
“It has been cool and crazy at the same time,” he said about the many changes and the technology that have kept people connected.
K.S. McNutt is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
To learn more about communications for the archdiocese, go online to archokc.org/communications. To read the Sooner Catholic online or find past issues back to 2007, go to soonercatholic.org.
To make a gift to the 2020 Sooner Catholic Communications Appeal, go to archokc.org/SCappeal.