This is a text-only version of an article first published on Saturday, 20 August 2016. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
Emma Major on how can churches respond to the millions of people gripped by the Pokemon Go craze.
What is #PokemonGo?I hope you recognise the little fella on the Iphone screen.
He is Pikachu and people have been trying to catch him and his friends since the 1990s.
Pokemon has now been reimagined for the smartphone.
Over 10 million people downloaded the #PokemonGo app in less than a week and are trying to find the hidden characters.
The more characters you find, the more opportunities there are to join with friends and 'battle' game play. What is a #PokeGym?#PokeGyms are places where players can donate a pokemon to help others in their battles.
#PokeGyms are places to be and play. What is a #PokeStop?A #PokeStop is a place to gather resources and energy.
It's like a shop for #PokemonGo. Why is my church a #PokeGym or #PokeStop?It seems as if the #PokeGyms have been placed in locations where many people have checked in on Google or uploaded photos.
There are all sorts of tourist attractions and churches which have gyms (and stops). What can be missional about this?If your church is a #PokeGym or #PokeStop this is great news.
All of a sudden lots of people who may have never been before will be hanging out at your church.
It is an opportunity to serve people by offering drinks or snacks or just a shelter from the rain.
How about offering points for charging their phones? It is an opportunity to put your church on the social media map.
Suddenly you'll be visible to a whole new set of people. It is an opportunity to run #PokemonGo sessions where people are invited to come into church, share a meal and hang out. What are we doing at St Nicolas, Earley?We have taken the Pikachu by the yellow ears and celebrated being a #PokeGym.
We have Tweeted and posted on Facebook, created posters, made a sign for our noticeboard and requested that the game developers make our church hall into a #PokeStop so that players can come to get resources and then play battles. Emma Major is a Licensed Lay Minister at St Nicolas, Earley, in Berkshire. Her original, unedited piece can be read at http://llmcalling. blogspot. co. uk/ The Church of England's blog on Pokemon Go can be read here. This includes advice on keeping children and vulnerable adults safe. The NSPCC guidelines are here .
A stream of Pokemon pilgrims in Olney
THE existence of virtual reality is not new, writes Claire Wood. However, when it merges with real life, something new has the opportunity to begin.That is what has been experienced since #PokemonGo went live. Our everyday life as individuals, community and church family was augmented with a surprising gift.
The church hall became a #Pokegym and the church a #Pokestop.
Our pledge to welcome all meant a quick gear change.
The student-run café had an influx of groups of various ages tapping their phones to 'capture' Pokemon characters, or pit character against character in a virtual equivalent of Top Trumps. The church, already practised in welcoming pilgrims to visit John Newton's tomb, found it also had an alternative flux of Pokemon pilgrims.
The opportunity to meet and welome players of the game while acknowledging the safety advice led to church members across the generations downloading and playing Pokemon Go.
This has led to the creation of a new point of contact in something enjoyed by a wide group who might not normally come together, but are sharing a journey of discovery, experience, knowledge and advice like pilgrims before them. The Revd Claire Wood is the Rector of the Olney Benefice.