‘Online’ verses ‘In Real Life’

Presenting anything online is very different to presenting it in real life. Throughout the lockdowns, churches have learnt that whereas streaming what they normally do on a Sunday morning, maybe acceptable to their usual congregation, this format doesn’t usually attract those from a non-church background who are used to online content. Simply putting what you normally do online is known as Church Online.

On the other hand, creating online content specifically for those used to spending time online who may not have a church background, is known as Online Church.

A new Taketime venture

At Taketime we have taken a look at how best to reach those without a church background who are used to online content and we have created Online Taketime Groups.

The idea is that a Taketime Practitioner uses the Zoom platform to run a 30-minute Taketime session, consisting of

  • 15-minutes of Taketime meditation video
  • 15-minutes of sharing opportunity

We will provide the 15-minute video meditations which can simply be shared by the practitioner.

The intention is to keep these video-based Online Taketime groups small, so that there is no need for breakout rooms and so that people can feel that they belong to a known group. If they don’t feel comfortable with someone in one group, they can simply find another group.

With the whole thing lasting 30 minutes and needing no preparation (except for downloading the video in advance), it is hoped that Practitioners will feel these groups are easy to run.

Hopefully there will be many Online Taketime Groups to choose from, perhaps groups for young adults, groups for young mums, groups for teenagers etc. The ease of running these groups will hopefully mean more groups can be offered.

Video meditation format

The new video meditations follow the same format as the audio meditations, but with appropriate quality images during the introduction and a candle flame video throughout the meditation during which people will usually have their eyes closed.

There is also some specially commissioned music. This is used in the background at the start and finish, and also immediately before the visualisation to help set the mood.

The meditations will be based on the Gospel reading of the Revised Common Lectionary so that they follow the Liturgical year.

Practitioners will be able to download the videos in advance so that they can share them on Zoom without worrying about download speeds.

When will these videos be available?

We are piloting the videos in January and hope to make them available by mid-February.

If you would like to help us pilot the videos just let us know.