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David, Thanks very much for your comments on the difficulty of my context description. You may have noticed by now that I have tried it. I include a bit more of the personal experience of my context because I am, in a sense, lacking in previous demographic type data on the nature of my context. I mean I know that my context is the larger church as a whole, but I also feel I need to say more about what the terrain is like when it comes to putting my particular plow to the field. You may have already seen that I have begun to look at the Online Magazine (and a corresponding print version) as my project. But I will not be saying a lot about that yet, as I understand that the later processes like the synergy paper (although this is coming up rather quickly) will provide forum for this.

But choosing this avenue will allow focus on a particular task (editing, writing, promoting) will provide a focused area, with the added benefit of using my "broad sweep" tendencies to be a resource to me in gathering pertinent info for the content of the news. IN my context analysis, in which I have two more "elements" to describe, I have described the context as one opening up before me, because the major avenue through which I have had the largest "social" exposure has been online, and "living" in the midst of the growth of this phenomenon going on in Ecunet and other places.

Each of the elements I have already described (Information and resources and Theological Education) and the ones I have left to describe (National Services and Local BBS's) are not only "pieces" of the CMC scene, but they are also the "contexts" in which I came into contact with a large majority of my "audience". In fact, the national service element I will describe will have a lot of things to say about the kind sof things Rheingold talks about in "THe Virtual Community". I think everyone has helped in saying to me "focus, focus", and I have reponded by thinking more about what I am trying to describe as my audience/ who needs me/ who are they/ what are they thinking of efforts like mine kinds of questions, and save more of the "what I want to accomplish" for later in our process.

Thanks for your encouragement, Gary. I want to reciprocate on that affirmation as well. I am struck by the similarities we have in our feelings about the church and its use of technology that ranges from disgust with its lagging behind to excited, hopeful, energetic bursts of ideas for strtegic utilization.

Yes , I still do VCR/TV/home theater system installation on a freelance basis. I am also doing co-op work at a local health insurance company (a national company's local office , that is: Community Mutual) while taking a couple of classes in the Computer communications curriculum at Cincinnati Technical College (Data Communications, part 2----I had pt.1 last fall----and Electronic fundamentals ---- dealing with DC circuitry) My hope is that the added "technical" experience/coursework will help church organizations feel more confident in my background, and give me some more knowledge in the technicalities of setting up networks.

> I have read with a lot of intent your ideas. For the purpose of > your project-which one of these can you demonstrate and develop, in > order to keep your focus idea specific?

The newsletter idea seems to be the best choice, for reasons I will describe (have already at the time of this writing)

As of yet, the Gopher menus are not available via Ecunet, and I would not reccommend going out "bare" without a good interface (such as the one I never got to show you in Dayton) But help is coming. I'm beginning to see more intelligible helps for getting connected. I'm checking into info about a service that provides very low cost access for unlimited monthly Internet access. I'll keep you posted.

> The Market is plentiful, but those who understand are few! How will > you educate yur market to know tht they need you and your consultation > services?

That IS the problem, and the challenge.

> How do you make this information accessible to the least of these?

Public access sites, even hand-me downs are sufficient for online communications of some kinds. But this is a crucial question for the promoters of "Virtual Community"

Thanks for the questions. I've read your other note, and will be abck online to answer some of these ASAP.