for”; and, “There is no way to put into
words what all your work has meant to
us.”
People are finding common
ground through Swedenborg and
“something’s happening.” Weekly
attendance for the videos is averaging
10,000 and this past December 2.4
million minutes were watched. Curtis
sees this as at something of a tipping
point. “We expect to get much bigger
very quickly.”
They try to create a welcoming
environment. “The main work we
do,” he said, “is removing barriers to
Swedenborg.” They even have done a
program on “Was Swedenborg Crazy?”
– demonstrating that he was not.
They also take advantage of opportunities to li nk to Bryn Athyn College,
the Glencairn Museum, and other New Church resources.
They do get negative comments from atheists, fundamentalists and others,
but the negative comments tend to be superficial while the positives focus on
life-changing experiences. What keeps people coming, he said, is a positive
tone that is welcoming and opens a door.
That Monday night Curtis had the experience of watching a prerecorded
session for the first time – usually they are live – and was able to track the
number watching and see their “live chat” comments.
YouTube creates a social network community. It is also the second largest
search engine – after Google – and so is a good way to connect with people
looking for spiritual answers. He says there is a huge conversation on YouTube
about religion, and they want Swedenborg to be a part of it. “There is a huge
chasm to be filled.”
As Swedenborg described his awakening into the spiritual world as “an
uncovering rolled off his left eye,” the mission of these videos is to uncover
spiritual truth. So far more than four million people at least have been exposed
to the website and videos.
With his brother, Matthew, who is also employed by the Foundation and
provides the graphics for the videos, they have produced pithy “Swedenborg
Minutes,” such as “What are Heaven and Hell?”
Their formats are becoming more in-depth and professional. Links
they provide to suggested videos have been very successful. And the appeal
(Curtis) is very
optimistic about the
future, feeling that we
are on a new frontier
and that “we could make
Swedenborg a household
name within 10 years.”
The challenge is how to
take advantage of each
new level of opportunity.
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