The Episcopal Church Office of Communication has launched its first iPad app, Wayfarer.

Available as a free, quarterly iPad app downloadable at iTunes all the content can also be viewed in an Internet browser here or http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/wayfarer.

“Wayfarer features compelling stories told through video, photographs and words,” noted Lynette Wilson, Wayfarer producer

Wilson, who is also an editor/reporter for Episcopal News Service, addressed the appropriateness of the name. “We chose to name the app Wayfarer because we intend to tell a wide spectrum of stories about people, possibilities and action across a broad landscape,” she said.

“This is an exciting moment – it represents our entry into mobile content, appealing both to Episcopal and broader audiences,” noted Anne Rudig, Director of Episcopal Church Office of Communication. “As the title suggests, each issue of Wayfarer has been shot in a different far-flung location.”

Kivalina

The first issue is Kivalina, which chronicles the story of Indigenous Alaskans faced with having to move their entire village to higher ground because of rising sea temperatures. 

Wilson and two cinematographers, Cristina Valdivieso and Jon Connor, spent a week in Kivalina, AK, an island village some 80 miles above the Arctic Circle, reporting on and documenting the impact of climate change on this indigenous community.

Kivalina unfolds over nine chapters, covering whaling, indigenous beliefs, village life and the village's potential relocation.

In the coming months, Wayfarer will release an issue on four Episcopal nuns, who had no previous farming experience and planted an organic garden in a move toward food self-sustainability.

Wayfarer, along with Episcopal News Service, are part of the Episcopal Digital Network, a digital publication network that delivers news and feature stories to church leaders, members and general audiences.

Follow on Twitter @WayfarerStories

Wayfarer: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/wayfarer

iPad app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wayfarer/id465079051?mt=8&ls=1

Important note: The iPad app version of Wayfarer includes nine chapters of optimized high-definition video ranging in length from less than two minutes to just more than five minutes. The average download time is five minutes, but download times may vary based on the strength and speed of your WiFi connection and the number of people accessing WiFi through that connection.

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