letter from Dublin
Evangelical churches in the Republic of Ireland are seeking guidance relating to online services following a case where a church in the Irish midlands was sued due to the content of their live-stream.
The pastors of an evangelical church in Co. Offaly were ordered to pay €14,400 (approximately £12,574) to a father following a defamation action where his teenage daughter spoke about him during her baptismal service. The baptismal service was live-streamed on the church Facebook page, although the link was later removed by the church.
Many evangelical churches across the Republic of Ireland have been live-streaming their services since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and continue to do so for those that cannot attend in-person. Services are regularly live-streamed on church websites and other platforms including YouTube and Facebook.
It's crucial to know the places we are called to reach
Most of us can tell people how many people were at our service on Sunday. We are usually less certain …