David Ancell / Thursday April 30, 2020
After having made my previous post about some Catholic virtual conferences and retreats, I’ve been made aware of more events that I wanted to share. While I do not believe that attending virtual events is a substitute for getting away to a real retreat or conference, it’s great to have these available. Besides, there are advantages. These conferences can reach more people, and people who would not take the time to go to a live conference may tune in and be evangelized (and then maybe go to a live conference or retreat later).
There will be a free Catholic Family Conference on May 1st and 2nd. My wife and I plan to “attend” this conference this weekend. They request, but do not require, a $10 per family ($5 individual) donation to help cover costs. It looks like there are some great speakers lined up.
However, from a technical and logistic standpoint, this conference is not the kind of format I’d recommend if asked by a presenter (more on this in a future post). It appears to require a third-party app for your mobile device (update: I later found you could view in a web browser, but I still don’t like the Crowdcast tool.). The format, from what I am seeing, is a live format, and I don’t see any word on whether the talks will be available in any form later (update: They are offering MP3 downloads for sale.). This works fine for a live conference where the participants are at a certain venue, but it doesn’t work as well for a virtual conference. Still, I am going to be there as it looks like a great conference!
If that isn’t enough for you, there will be a virtual Theology of the Body Conference the next weekend, May 8 – 10. This appears to be the same format as the Virtual Catholic Conference, and that has been my favorite virtual event format so far. Like the Virtual Catholic Conference, it is free to attend during the conference weekend, but you will need to buy a premium pass to access the conference after that. Right now, the premium pass is available at a significant discount. Once again, it looks like a great lineup of speakers, and it is sponsored by the Theology of the Body Institute.
I’ve also received an e-mail about a Be Not Afraid conference. From what I’m reading, the actual conference is over but still accessible for free (but with donations accepted). It is self-paced. I’m not familiar with most of the speakers, but the ones that I am familiar with are ones whom I know to be good Catholic speakers.
Don’t miss these opportunities to grow in your faith during this time!
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