SHE has has embraced new technology to share ancient truths about God.

Sister Elizabeth Pio updates the Sisters of Bethany's Twitter profile

Sister Elizabeth Pio uses Twitter on behalf of the Sisters of Bethany, an Anglican religious order in Southsea.

The 41-year-old nun has devoted her life to prayer, hospitality and helping others. And one way of doing that is to tweet about God.

So between services in the chapel and private prayer in her room, she’ll log on to a PC to remind their 1,300-odd followers to pray, share a spiritual insight, or give a potted history of a saint. More recently she’s been campaigning on behalf of an Iranian pastor facing a death sentence.

“We recognised that social media was how people often communicated these days, so it made us have a look at it,” she said. “We believe it’s a way of fulfilling the commandment to love God and love each other – we can express love for God on Twitter and we try to help others to discover his love.

“I have a bit of a missionary streak and I think it’s great that we can communicate with an online community, most of whom we’ll never meet. It shows that nuns are human beings, not pious people who are always thinking about spiritual things. And it’s important to show that nuns and monks can use current technology – we’re not so far behind the times.

“We’re still trying it out, really, and it is a bit of a learning curve. The Reverend Mother has tried it too and other Sisters make suggestions, but it’s mostly me. 

“We try to find things to say that will be uplifting, things we’ve heard or seen around the house, or prompts to prayer. But it’s not all spiritual. Some things are much more down-to-earth that we hope everyone can relate to.

“It’s not just a one-way thing, of course. We learn from others by being involved with social media. We receive so much information and insight from other people too.

“I don’t have a smartphone, so I can’t update it on the move. But I do think it’s important not to ignore any way of communicating about God.”

The Sisters of Bethany is a religious order for women which is part of the Anglican church. Members of the community take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, pray daily for the unity of all Christians, and welcome Christians of all backgrounds to join them and explore their spirituality.

Sister Elizabeth Pio joined the community in 2005 as an aspirant and became a full member of the community in 2010. The nine Sisters are supported by more than 100 associate members who join them in prayer at the retreat house or in their own homes.

To follow the Sisters of Bethany, see www.twitter.com/bethanysister or search for @bethanysister. For more information about the Sisters of Bethany, see www.sistersofbethany.org.uk.