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Share your church’s history on social media using #TBT (Throwback Thursday)

Throwback Thursday

Last Saturday morning the diocesan Technology Committee held a Church Communications Workshop at Grace Church in Madison. A small but highly motivated group of 11 people from nine congregations attended. The basic premise of the workshop was to give church communicators a chance to sit with the Technology Committee and “pick our brains” – and so they did, on topics such as websites, social media, e-newsletters and electronic giving. The attendees appreciated the personalized attention – there were six workshop presenters working with the 11 of them – as well as the chance to connect with other church communicators facing similar challenges.

In one of the breakout sessions on social media, an idea emerged that I wanted to recommend to all church communicators: use Throwback Thursday to share your church’s history and story on social media.

What is Throwback Thursday? It’s a popular social media trend of posting – on a Thursday – a photo from your past, with the hashtag #TBT. Some examples are a cute baby picture, a favorite memory in your family’s history, or even – maybe especially – that 8th grade class photo with the unfortunate haircut. The more charmingly cute or hilariously awkward the photo, the more evocative of a bygone era, the better. Black-and-white photos and faded Polaroids have an added panache.

Particularly good Throwback Thursday photos tie into the current season. For example, if it’s October, share that photo of 2nd-grade you in your Halloween costume. If it’s December… well, you get the idea. It’s currently prom and graduation season, so now’s a good time to dig out a decades-old prom or graduation photo – the one that makes you think, “Was I ever that thin?” – to scan and post.

Nobody knows exactly how or when Throwback Thursday came about – it seems to have started on Instagram sometime around 2011 or 2012, and then rapidly developed a life of its own, spreading to Facebook and Twitter.

As to why it’s so popular, my theory is that looking at our friends’ Throwback Thursday photos gives us a fuller, richer understanding of who they are and how they got to where they are today. It also gives us a chance to find points of connection. (“Gak! I had big hair and big shoulder pads in the 80s too!”)

The idea that emerged at the Church Communications Workshop was: wouldn’t it be a cool way to share the story of your church by posting old church photos for Throwback Thursday? What better way to convey “We have a history in this community and we’ve done some good work over the years”?

This could be an especially good project for an anniversary year– and one workshop participant, whose church is celebrating its 150th anniversary, is going to do just that – but you don’t need to wait for a major anniversary to do this. Post photos from past Christmases, Easters and Confirmations in those seasons to convey a sense of history. Post years-old or even decades-old photos of a ministry to convey dedication.

Throwback Thursday doesn’t have to be limited to photos – you could also scan an old newspaper clipping about your church to post.

As you’re posting these images from your church’s past, it would also be a great opportunity to engage in a little reflection and discussion: “Who were our neighbors then? Who are our neighbors now? How was God working in our community then? How might God be working in our community now?”

If you try this idea, we’d love to hear how it goes!

This front-page article from the May 1995 issue of The VOICE announces the purchase of the building at 31 Mulberry Street now known as Episcopal House. It was used as a Throwback Thursday post on the diocesan Facebook page, facebook.com/dionewark.

Throwback Thursday image from May 1995 of Episcopal House purchase.

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