In October members met at the Indigo Room in the Soho Hotel for a seminar supper with the Reverend Canon Scott Gunn, Executive Director of the Forward Movement, part of the Episcopal Church in the States. Scott examined the scriptural and theological basis for engagement with social media. He went right back to the use of a codex over a scroll and pointed out that this was a technology choice which fundamentally changed how people read the Bible.
In a world of cynicism and deeply depressing news coverage, Scott saw a place for the church: 'There is an opportunity to offer a word of hope, grace and invitation and social media offers us the opportunity to do that'. Scott cautioned against the culture of 'nice', saying 'Jesus was never nice, he was relentlessly loving and kind and generous. But he wasn't 'nice'. He warned against false piety on social media and challenged people to be authentic online.