Our Parish and The Internet

1
Our Parish and The Internet

• Mary, Queen of the Rosary Parish
• Based on a presentation to the Religious
  Education Committee 10/20/05
• Kyle Sullivan
• 11/20/05

2
Why a website?

• The Church and Internet
• (Pontifical Council for Social Communication,
  2002)
• Improved Communications
• the Church herself is a communio, a communion
  of persons and eucharistic communities arising
  from and mirroring the communion of the Trinity
  communication therefore is of the essence of the
  Church.

3
Why a website?

• The Church and Internet
• (Pontifical Council for Social Communication,
  2002)
• Reaching others with Christs message
• Consider...the positive capacities of the
  Internet to carry religious information and
  teaching beyond all barriers and frontiers. Such
  a wide audience would have been beyond the
  wildest imaginings of those who preached the
  Gospel before us...Catholics should not be afraid
  to throw open the doors of social communications
  to Christ, so that his Good News may be heard
  from the housetops of the world.

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Why a website?

• The Church and Internet
• (Pontifical Council for Social Communication,
  2002)
• Aids many Ministries, activities, and programs
• Evangelization, including both re-evangelization
  and new evangelization
• Catechesis and other kinds of education
• News and information
• Internal Communications
• Apologetics, governance and administration
• Some forms of pastoral counseling and spiritual
  direction.
• Although the virtual reality of cyberspace
  cannot substitute for real interpersonal
  community, the incarnational reality of the
  sacraments and the liturgy, or the immediate and
  direct proclamation of the gospel, it can
  complement them, attract people to a fuller
  experience of the life of faith, and enrich the
  religious lives of users. It also provides the
  Church with a means for communicating with
  particular groupsyoung people and young adults,
  the elderly and home-bound, persons living in
  remote areas, the members of other religious
  bodieswho otherwise may be difficult to reach.

5
Why a website?

• The Church and Internet
• (Pontifical Council for Social Communication,
  2002)
• So many other benefits and advantages
• carry news and information about religious
  events, ideas
• serve as vehicles for evangelization and
  catechesis
• Day in and day out, the Internet media provide
  inspiration, encouragement, and opportunities for
  worship to persons confined to their homes or to
  institutions
• The Internet offers people direct and
  immediate access to important religious and
  spiritual resourcesgreat libraries and museums
  and places of worship, the teaching documents of
  the Magisterium, the writings of the Fathers and
  Doctors of the Church and the religious wisdom of
  the ages. It has a remarkable capacity to
  overcome distance and isolation, bringing people
  into contact with like-minded persons of good
  will who join in virtual communities of faith to
  encourage and support one another. The Church can
  perform an important service to Catholics and
  non-Catholics alike by the selection and
  transmission of useful data in this medium.

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Why a website?

• Fast-paced world, demand for information 24/7
• For many, provide one source of information
• Living schedules and event update
• Opportunity to stay informed, even from work
• Tools for Parishioners
• Resources a mere click away
• Promotes community and stewardship

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Web Technology

• Content management system (CMS)
• Mambo, Open Source (FREE!)
• Upgradeable features
• Uses a database
• Safe, Secure, Dependable
• Needs very little administration
• YOU add content from ANY web-enabled PC
• Can password protect sections of site for
  registered members.
• Could serve BOTH Religious Ed and Entire Parish
  needs (latter is recommended)

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Features

• Religious Education /Faith Formation Section
• FF Documents
• FF Calendar/Schedule
• FF News (can have breaking news here like
  snowdays)
• This week in Faith Formation
• Meet the teachers
• Curriculum
• Review of weekly assignments
• Weekly activity (printable copy of what is handed
  out at Church)
• Upcoming sacraments/events
• Student Spotlight

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Features cont

• News sections
• Newsflashes
• Please pray for section
• Upcoming Events
• Past events (e.g. Status of fund raiser)
• Diocesan news
• Spotlight on Stewardship Section

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Features cont

• Contact
• Provides a location to allow parishioners
  visibility to whos who (commitees, ministries)
• Phone numbers, email
• Frequently Asked Questions
• About Faith Formation (FF) Program
• About Parish
• About our Faith
• Links Pages
• Useful links to Catholic sites, Catechism
• Links for FF Students
• Links for Youth Group
• Links for parents

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Features cont

• Online Event Schedule
• Includes time/date of classes
• Special events
• Mass times, dedications
• Holy Days
• Rehearsals
• Committee Meetings
• New to Parish Section
• Map of Parish Campus showing what is where
• Parish background (maybe a FAQ?)
• Inquiry Class info

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Features cont

• Information Sections
• Youth-Focused Section (See LifeTeen example)
• Weekly Bulletins
• Listing of Prayers
• Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals info
• Ministries
• CAP Reports (Movie ratings tool for Christian
  parents)
• Directions to church, special event locations
• Catholicism links
• Online Media Gallery
• Parish Discussion Board (Forum)

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Flexibility

• Ability to customize look/feel
• Can update from ANY COMPUTER and publish
  immediately
• Can disable features
• Can add features
• Podcasting
• RSS (join automatically with other churches)
• Subscriptions (with new news, user get automated
  email)
• Audio homilies (great for those who are
  home-bound)
• Video opportunities for future

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Example Site 1
Valuable source of Catholic information. One
place to find prayers!
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Example Site 2
Expansive section just for Religious Education.
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Example Site 3
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Mary, Queen of the Rosary Site Concept
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Options

• Work with Mark B to integrate new website as
  entire Parish solution
• One Place for all information
• Easier to use
• Have link on the existing site to the new sub
  site

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Timeline

• Determine Path / Approval (1 month, Committees,
  Fr Jim, Mark B). Determine colors/theme/content.
• Complete site and test (1 month, Kyle)
• Church gets equipped with Internet access
• Training (1 week, mulit sessions, All, Kyle)
• Setup staff with email address (forwarding or
  new)
• Preload site with content (1 month, Office
  staff,Kyle)
• Announcement in-mass and bulletin (2 weekends)
• Add links to bulletin! (continuous)
• Promote website to diocese and Masstimes.com,
  newspaper

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Challenges and Obstacles

• Which direction to go?
• Parish still low-tech (lacking reliable access to
  Internet)
• Migration from existing site
• Staff and volunteers participation. Must
  contribute to the site weekly! Must be kept
  FRESH!
• Consistent parish awareness of site. Active
  parishioners and staff members should be
  promoting the site regularly.
• Get youth buy-in on the site- cool place to find
  out whats going on (must follow up with good
  programs of course).