The parish community, like every other organization, has been greatly impacted by Covid-19. Many of our parishes were not able to have public Masses for weeks in 2020 and attendance was lower than usual in 2021 as the Pandemic continued to make public gatherings dangerous for large segments of the population. Here we are in 2022. Public services have returned in person and continued online, but many of our “regular”…
Category: parish
87 Posts
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What is a Welcoming Parish?
When you attend Mass at a parish you have not been to before, there are clues to how welcoming it is. When you enter the property, helpful signage directs you to the church entrance, greeters open the door, look directly at you, speak to you, and are ready to answer any questions you may have. When the service is over, they are at the doors saying good-bye and wishing you…
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Words Matter
How often do we hear the phrase “words matter”? We know it is true and we often search for the right words to say. Choosing the best words for our online communications is very important. Our words online can both engage and attract interest in our mission or community or they can turn people away. This is true in all of our postings, but especially in the way we say…
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Thinking of You
You may have heard the saying that there are two ways to enter a room. The first is to say, “There you are.” And the second is to say, “Here I am.” Each speaker has a different focus. The same might be said of the welcome messages on parish (and other ministry) websites. Some focus on the visitor and others focus on the parish. Both tell the visitor what to…
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Websites Can Regress
Nothing in ministry lasts forever. The best leaders move on, programs die or are neglected until they no longer serve their original purpose. Necessary funds dry up. Priorities change. I have assisted various parishes and communities to create mission-focused websites for at least 10 years. I have trained the in-house website managers on how to maintain the sites and in some cases, I have maintained them for a while myself. …
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Live-Streaming Parish Ministry
Many of us are more than a month into our stay-at-home, public-Masses-cancelled, way of life. We’re learning to adjust. One way is taking ministry online. Some parishes are live-streaming or posting recordings of their daily and Sunday liturgies, other devotions and ministries. Holy Week was very busy online for these parishes. We do not know how long the need for these services will continue, but it is worthwhile to take…