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Oyo Diocese Celebrates Communications Day

The Catholic diocese of Oyo joined the rest of the world in marking the 53rd World Communications Day with the theme “We are members of one another. (Eph. 4:25). From Network Community to Human Community”. The day which was observed with seminar topics “Uses of Church’s Gadgets and Announcement; News Writing Practical, And Photography” was organized by the Social Communications Department of Oyo Diocese at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Maryland, Ogbomosho between 30th May and June 1st, 2019.
In his welcoming address the Dean of Ogbomoso deanery, Rev. Fr Francis Femi Oladiipo asserted that communication has been in existence since the creation of the world as it constitutes a way of sharing ideas between people in the church and society. He maintained that one of the best gifts of God to mankind is internet which the Catholic Church has been using to promote positive human relations that would lead to building real communities with human faces not totally replacing face-to-face human interactions.
Welcoming participants to the event, the Chairman, Church Pastoral Council (CPC), Our Lady of Lourdes, Maryland, Ogbomoso, Mr Basil Ekwelechi appreciated their presence. He charged them to be good ambassadors of the church, adding that advent of the internet and social media should not alter human interactions in the church and secular world, instead it should complement one another.
In his lecture, “Use of Church Gadgets and Announcement”, Rev Fr Benjamin Jolasun, opinned that as communicators in the church, every information must be thoroughly assessed and fully prepared for before reading it to the congregation. He added that church’s gadgets are vital keys to good worship in the celebration of Holy Mass. Church announcer is a Manager of Crisis (MC), he added. He or she must be well composed and prepared in order to be able to manage others well.
In the word of Mr Faseyiro, photography is not just about snapping pictures or taking shots to distract people during Mass or other Church programmes, but it is about right positioning, calculative bearing and maintenance of balance. He took participants through a practical session where everyone was directed to take shots with a professional camera and smartphones.
Delivering her lecture on “News writing practical and video streaming”, the Director, Social Communications Commission, Oyo Diocese, Sr Eunice Ikufisile (OSF), noted that news writing is a must skill for all communicators in the society and Church. In spite of the technology advancements available at our disposal, good writing is not easy to come by in our world of today. Sr Eunice encouraged that information sharing from different Parishes requires proactive smartness and painstaking reportage without distorting the real message. More so, news writing requires constant practice just like other activities. As for ‘live streaming’ of events on social media, you need to get a good network signal with sufficient data and more importantly, you must be very attentive to avoid recording wrong side attractions because ‘live streaming’ speaks a lot about the Church’s program. As Parish communicators, we must learn to write well and follow the basic elements of good writing; which means your writing must be simple, direct, clear, brief and must have life. Create good image for the Church by our way of life, she added.
The highlight of the seminar was the distribution of participants to groups for brainstorming on different topical issues as it concerns communication days, internet and news writing practical while a group photograph was taken at the end of the event.
The thanksgiving Mass which marked the final activities marking this year’s celebration was celebrated on Sunday, 2nd June at Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Asogo, Oyo by the Cathedral Administrator, Very Rev. Fr John Oyekunle who represented the Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Most Rev. Emmanuel Ade Badejo.

By Alaba Damilare Samuel