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[jplumey]

Thanks Kev. I would make a couple of small changes, but the letter was very good!

Dear <name>,
My name is <name> and I am a parishioner at <church name> in <city>. We met earlier this year at ...

I was wondering if you ever listen to podcasts? Basically a podcast is a radio programme you listen to on the internet or download onto an mp3 player (eg iPod). Podcasts are becoming as popular as music and books with young people.

There are some really excellent Catholic podcasts and I would like to draw your attention to one that may be relevant to your <organisation name> role.

The Hands and Feet Show is for Catholic teens and young adults. The presenters are experienced youth leaders from Florida and they talk about the Catholic faith in a language and style accessible to today’s youth. They talk about movies, music, relationships, praying and living in the modern world while staying faithful to church teaching. They are also very funny. They do all kind of wacky things to entertain and enlighten the audience. There is even an internet forum where listeners can ask them questions and part of the forum is for youth leaders to share ideas and experiences. The show is approved by the Archdiocese of Miami and they have the support of the Church.

You can listen to the Hands and Feet show at www.beyourhands.com – just click the arrow to the left of “Listen to podcast of article”. The forum is at http://talk.beyourhands.com . I can send you a CD of one of their shows if you are not comfortable with the internet.

If you like what you hear, please would you publicise the podcast to the young people you work with?

Thank you for your time and if you want any more information then please let me know.

God bless you in your work,

Thanks for doing this Kev.

[Robin]

Yes this is very good.

[Scott]

I was thinking that maybe a way to affiliate youth groups with the show would be great.... some kind of "official" status for the groups who could then be talked about on the show would be a great way to promote the show and attract groups that contain our "target" audience.
We could do an interview with a rep from the group and ask them what they are doing... that sort of thing...

[jplumey]

That's a really interesting idea. I thought about something similar to that, but at a diocesan level. I'll talk to the crew.

[aworth91]

Here's what you do...the next time you're at a large, televised Mass, jump up and down and scream the link for your podcast before security removes you. If you all do that, you'll eventually reach the entire EWTN viewer base!

[jplumey]

That's a great idea! LOL.

[Robin]

I likes it

[Kev]

I wrote an article on Catholic Podcasting and sent it to our monthly Archdiocesan newspaper and they printed it this month.

Listeners could send an article to their local Catholic newspaper.

I described the Hands and Feet Podcast as well as the Daily Breakfast, Pray as you go and our Birmingham Archdiocesan podcast, Walk with me.

The Catholic Today newspaper has 20,000 readers in central England so hopefully it will bring in some more listeners.

I have a scan of the article but it's 500K so I've not posted it here. Send me a PM if you want me to mail it to you.

Here is the text:

Catholic Podcasting

Have you received an mp3 player for Christmas and are wondering what to do next? Do you ever listen to the radio and think “There must be something better than this to listen to”? Well, if you have a computer with internet access then check out the world of Catholic podcasting.

Pod what?
Just as there are radio programmes covering music, sport, politics and comedy, there are also podcasts covering every topic under the sun. The difference is that a podcast is available to listen to on the internet at your convenience rather than according to the radio broadcaster’s schedule. You can even copy podcasts to an mp3 player (an iPod for example) or compact disc to listen to while commuting, jogging or washing the dishes.

And the good news for Catholics is that there are many superb podcasts about the Catholic faith: from Catholic hard rock to hardcore Catholic apologetics; from official Vatican podcasts to the daily trials and tribulations of raising a Catholic family. And best of all, they are absolutely free.

In this article I will talk about some excellent podcasts to give you a taster of what to expect.

Walk with me
Our very own Most Rev.Vincent Nichols introduces a weekly podcast of reflections and scripture readings to support the Walk With Me journey of prayer booklets. Featuring the music of Joanne Boyce and Mike Stanley of CJM Music, this podcast provides the perfect foundation for our daily journey of prayer. You’ll find it all at www.cjmmusic.co.uk/liturgy/walkwithme .

No time to pray?
Most of us would admit that we could improve our prayer life but finding the time is the problem. Pray-as-you-go is a 10 minute daily podcast from the Jesuits that you can listen to while on the move, eating breakfast or about to go to sleep. It includes a scripture reading from the day’s Mass, thought provoking commentary, plenty of time for personal meditation and some of the most outstanding classical and contemporary music to set the mood. The podcast is based on the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and there is a new podcast for each week day. Listen at www.pray-as-you-go.org .

Peculiar Bunch
Movie news, computer games, marathon training and Catholicism all in one 30 minute podcast from a Dutch priest? Father Roderick’s Daily Breakfast podcast spreads the Gospel message by mixing Catholic teaching with modern culture: the Movie News segment explains the Christian themes in films such Spiderman and Lord of the Rings; the Peculiar Bunch segment explains why Catholics do some seemingly strange things (“No meat on Fridays!?”); the Health segment follows Father Roderick’s marathon training. It’s great fun and reminds us what we sometimes forget: being a Catholic is cool! It’s all at www.dailybreakfast.com .

Teens and Young Adults
Being a Catholic teenager or young adult in today’s world is not easy. Staying true to your faith is hard when advertising, pop culture and peer pressure are trying to lead you astray. But help is at hand. The Hands and Feet podcast covers topics like courting, avoiding temptation, finding one’s vocation and the latest movies from the Catholic perspective. Plus hosts Javier, Gerard and Jose are very, very funny. Check it out at www.beyourhands.com .

These are just some of the excellent Catholic podcasts just waiting to be discovered at www.sqpn.com and www.discipleswithmicrophones.org .

How to listen to a podcast

•   You will need a broadband internet connection and a PC.
•   Use your internet browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer for example) to go to the web page of the podcast.
•   To listen to the podcast on your computer just click the Play button or arrow symbol next to the podcast.
•   To download the podcast to your computer or MP3 player, use your mouse to point to the download button and press the right button on your mouse. Then click “Save Target As …” and choose where you want to save the podcast.
•   Alternatively, you can use software such as iTunes to download podcasts.