Well, for one thing, it’s not an e·pi·sko·pe... at least not the way Episcopalians usually hear the word: as a synonym for the office of bishop--an overseer or presiding officer of the Church.
No, this is something a little different.
“An episcope is an optical device for projecting flat opaque images, like postcards, prints, photographs, pages of books, but also three-dimensional objects like coins, insects and leaves, on to a screen. The object is usually placed upside down, mostly at the rear of the lantern, sometimes at the bottom or top, as the image will be inverted by the projection lens. An intense light, often from two sources, illuminates the object from the sides. A part of the reflected light passes the projecting lens which projects an image on to the screen.” In other words, it’s what we used to call an “opaque projector.”
That sounds like a pretty good thing for a blog to do: “project flat images and three-dimensional objects onto a screen, often illuminated by an intense light from at least two sources.”
At the very least it can bring some of the issues and people into better focus, illuminate them, and perhaps even render them a little less opaque ... as we continue looking over the Episcopal Church.
"We," by the way, being the reporters and editors of the Episcopal Church's Office of Communication.
Mostly we'll track references to the Episcopal Church in online media ... provide links to full documentation and source material ... do a little "rumor control" where it's needed ... provide a moderated forum for public discussion of substantive issues raised by stories and opinion pieces... and provide a way for the wider Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, and the general online public to interact more directly with ENS and Episcopal Life writers and others at the Episcopal Church Center in New York and on the road.
Using a blog, rather than relying solely on ENS or Episcopal Life, permits us to work virtually in "real time" on breaking stories,
instead of waiting for a full story to be written and edited and a page
to publish on the main website. We'll always do a complete followup and
link back to epiScope's pages once it's published.
And with
the site's RSS syndication, we can do that without clogging your inbox.
Photos, video and audio feeds too, as time goes on (and bandwidth
permits).
We owe a lot to the pioneers of Episcopal blogging--yes, you--and we're both proud and humbled to be entering their august online company. (And go easy on the new gal, will ya? I'm still trying to figure out TypePad...)
epiScope will be just the first of several blogs under the same umbrella...there are many, many possibilities, so stay tuned and watch this space.
And so... welcome to epiScope!
Blessings!
Jan+
The Rev. Jan Nunley
Deputy for Communication
The Episcopal Church Center
815 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Hurray for epiScope. It is good to have innovative ways to talk with one another. I hope this is a reader/writer friendly site. Many of the blogs I have seen come across like rants from angry minds or mindless spews on the topic of the moment.
I hope this attempt at virtual conversation is one of hope, peace and the search for truth.
Posted by: cradleaged | February 02, 2007 at 12:28 PM
Hurrah! Welcome to the blogosphere -- I'm very glad to see this, and look forward to reading regularly.
Posted by: Dylan | February 02, 2007 at 01:51 PM
What a great and much needed step!
Posted by: Carol Cole Flanagan | February 02, 2007 at 05:24 PM
Thanks be to God!!! I'm glad to see our church finally launching into the blogosphere! If your posts in these first couple of days are any indication, I'm looking forward to great things from you. Your combination of good, fast news postings and snappy commentary is most welcome. Now maybe some of the rest of us can spend less time on news-gathering and more on commentary and analysis.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa Fox | February 02, 2007 at 06:51 PM
So the evil empire strikes back. If the Episcopal News Service had actually been Christian, fair and accurate in the first place, the Christians of ECUSA would not have had to rely on the Internet to get out the facts in the first place. This blog will go the way of Air America--down the tubes.
Posted by: Chazzy | February 02, 2007 at 09:20 PM
Rev. Jan,
Thank you for coming to the blogosphere. This is great and I'll be reading daily.
Last night the Rev jurist Harry Coverston, Episcopal priest/philosopher/lawyer and college professor came to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Lake Worth, FL where Integrity of the Palm Beaches also meets. He gave a tremendous lecture on Religion, Science and Sex after a pot luck dinner. Pictures as well as the text of Father Harry's lecture are available on my blog:
http://gordonsalzjourney.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Florida Gordon | February 03, 2007 at 11:59 AM
Jan:
You might consider linkling to the "Episcopal" You Tube site:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=TECtube
And thanks so much for this!
Norris Battin
Posted by: Norris Battin | February 03, 2007 at 01:35 PM
Rev. Jan,
This is a great improvement in the Episcopal presence in the internet. I really like all the links on the right. Is there some way to suggest articles or links to be posted on here? There are lots of non-blog Episcopal websites you can link to, like Fr. Matthew's videos on youtube, wikipedia's Anglican group, or groups on social networking websites like facebook and myspace.
Posted by: indiophil | February 16, 2007 at 02:55 AM