2:30 pm | Panel Discussion: “Old Church, New Media”

Moderator: Marlena Loughheed, Communications Coordinator, Archdiocese of Toronto
Time: Thursday, June 22 at 2:30
Location: Room 4514

Panel Discussion: “Old Church, New Media”

The Church is old, but the Good News it proclaims is always relevant. How can we best communicate a 2,000-year-old message using new media? Is it possible to effectively share the Gospel in GIFs? This talented and dynamic panel of millennials who work full-time in various Catholic communications ministries will discuss successful strategies for spreading the Gospel in the modern world.

This session was organized by the Association of Roman Catholic Communicators of Canada.

Panelists: Marlena Loughheed, Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, Vicki McEachern, Brantly Millegan, Samantha Wallace

Moderator

Marlena Loughheed is a Communications Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Toronto. Her role includes creating and editing written and video content for web, managing internal communications and acting as a first point of contact for media and filming inquiries. The Archdiocese of Toronto is home to 2 million Catholics and 225 churches, with Mass celebrated in more than 30 languages each week. Marlena also serves as VP of Central Canada on the executive of the Association of Roman Catholic Communicators of Canada (ARCCC).

Panelists
Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, a Catholic husband and father, is the Director of Communications for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Québec. In tandem with the International Eucharistic Congress in 2008, the archdiocese created an original web television network called www.ECDQ.tv (Église catholique de Québec) serving primarily as a tool for New Evangelization. Jasmin has been the press secretary of both Cardinal Marc Ouellet (2009-2010) and now Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, helping co-manage his social media networks. His vocation in Church communications stems from World Youth Day 2002 and Salt + Light Television (2003-2009).

Vicki McEachern is the Director of Communications for Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO). CCO’s full-time lay missionaries evangelize on university campuses across Canada, sharing the Gospel message with thousands of young adults each year. Vicki leads CCO’s communications team in leveraging social media, photo, video, graphics and more to multiply the reach of these missionaries and create meaningful online engagement.

Brantly Millegan is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ChurchPOP, a fun online Christian brand available in four languages. A part of the EWTN network, ChurchPOP reaches millions of people each month worldwide. Brantly has degrees in philosophy and theology and is married with four children.

Samantha Wallace is a Social Media Specialist for the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic lay organization. The Knights of Columbus aim to help men and their families reinforce their Catholic faith in every area of their life. During World Youth Day 2016 in Kraków, Sam managed digital marketing and social media for the WYD Mercy Centre in the Tauron Arena. Sam curated the #MercyStories video series last year, which tells poignant stories about Catholics whose lives have been transformed by Divine Mercy. The series has reached more than 1 million viewers.