ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 7, 2009  

Twitter, Facebook Expand Opportunities to Follow ELCA Churchwide Assembly
09-179-CD*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Twitter phenomenon has spilled over into the
multimedia coverage of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Minneapolis.
     This is the first year blogging and social media sites will be used
during a churchwide assembly, said Ben McDonald Coltvet, managing editor
of the ELCA Web site -- http://www.ELCA.org.
     "Twitter offers new opportunities for sharing information
instantaneously, and it's a venue where anyone can join the 
conversation," he said.  "Through social media sites people will be able
to share their perspectives online with sisters and brothers in the faith
around the world."
     ELCA members will be able to keep up with the actions of the 2009
Churchwide Assembly via live video streams of plenary sessions and news
conferences, plus photo galleries, news releases, blogs and social media
sites Facebook and Twitter.
     "We have an unprecedented opportunity to share assembly updates with
a wide audience," McDonald Coltvet said.  "Whether you're in the
Minneapolis Convention Center or on the other side of the country, you'll
be able to witness the actions of the assembly."
     Twitter users are asked attach the tag "#CWA09" to their tweets, so
anyone can follow these messages by search for "#CWA09" on
http://search.twitter.com on the Web.  Assembly voting results will be
posted to http://twitter.com/ELCA and http://facebook.com/Lutherans on
the Web.
     Assembly highlights in video, photo and audio formats will be posted
online at http://www.ELCA.org/assembly/multimedia on the ELCA Web Site.
     Highlights will touch on particular assembly actions, McDonald
Coltvet said.
     He expects more than 15,000 visitors a day to the site during the
assembly. The assembly Web page -- http://www.ELCA.org/assembly -- has
seen increased traffic in the past three months.
     The 2005 Churchwide Assembly recorded the highest Web traffic ever
for ELCA.org, while the highest so far this year has been the 2009 ELCA
Youth Gathering in New Orleans, he added.
     Winners of an ELCA Video Contest will be announced during the
afternoon plenary session Saturday, Aug. 22.  Selected entries will be
shown during other plenary sessions, McDonald Coltvet said.
     All videos are at http://www.GodsworkOurhands.org on the Web.  Links
to the winning videos will be posted by Aug. 23 to the ELCA.org home page.

* Carrie L. Draeger is a senior communication major with a concentration
in journalism at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash. This summer
she is an intern with the ELCA News Service.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog