With the 221st General Assembly just about three months away, the Office of the General Assembly is hoping to get Presbyterians into the spirit of the biennial gathering.
Building on image-based social media platforms like Instagram and Tumblr that have gained popularity in recent years, OGA started a “Spirit of GA” Facebook page. Through photo and video postings of the people, sights and sounds that make up an Assembly, the Facebook page is one way of inviting people to this year’s Assembly, meeting in Detroit June 14-21.
“The idea was to lead people into GA in a creative and innovative way,” said the Rev. Toya Richards Jackson, OGA’s associate for communications and assistant stated clerk. “It’s a place to feature the people and the personalities that make up the spirit of the General Assembly meeting.”
Featuring short videos, links to related sites, features on Detroit and photos and quotes from Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) staff, the page has gotten a great response since its first posting Feb. 10, Jackson said. The page has hundreds of likes on Facebook and thousands of views.
The Spirit of GA page will likely stay active through the Assembly, serving as a complement to the official Assembly page, which will host business, registration, news and logistical information, Jackson said.
OGA will focus more on social media this year and will have designated social media and video teams for the first time. These teams will share information and snapshots of the Assembly and will be in addition to the traditional webpage and newspaper attendees might be used to.
“We’ve got to give people options for staying plugged in, and social media is a way to do that,” Jackson said. “The goal is to be as helpful as possible. We want to give people more of an opportunity to have the full experience of the Assembly.”