Wednesday, November 26, 2014

100 ways to get your church noticed: New book & website

(Anglican Communion News Service)

A new book offering help for churches to reach their congregations and communities – using everything from social media and mobile-friendly websites to more traditional publicity methods – has been launched today (Wednesday 26th November).

‘100 Ways To Get Your Church Noticed’ has been written by Neil Pugmire, communications adviser for Portsmouth’s Church of England diocese, and offers advice to churches on everything from creating a dynamic Facebook page to designing effective posters, and from putting together a must-read parish magazine to getting stories covered in the media.
...
“Churches are full of fascinating people with interesting stories to tell about God working in their lives. We rarely tell those stories in parish magazines, on websites or via the media. But people like to read about other people’s lives, and it’s a great way of showing that our churches are dynamic places where lives can be changed.
"They also often rely on methods that might have worked before. It’s sometimes hard for them to appeal to a new audience who might never read a parish magazine, but would read the same story via Twitter or Facebook.”
...
The book was originally published in 2006, but has been rewritten and expanded to include details of how churches can use social media, create mobile apps and put together websites that look good on mobiles and tablets. It also includes advice on making good use of church buildings and noticeboards, using text messages and email newsletters, taking good photographs and spreading a word-of-mouth reputation by helping out in the local community.

Alongside the book, an accompanying website – www.getyourchurchnoticed.com –features further ideas, plus the chance for churches to submit their own examples of good publicity.

Link to full article here

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Future of Clergy eNews

On February 25 the office of communication & media held a meeting about the future of a clergy newsletter. Two people attended, Salin Low and Kate Heichler. Whitney Alltop attempted to join us via video conference, but we encountered some technical difficulties. Here’s a rundown of what was discussed, including ways for you to be involved going forward.

Karin began with an overview of the survey results from last spring, in which clergy overwhelmingly said they would like to see the clergy newsletter return and offered feedback on aspects of the newsletter and features.  She then reviewed the history of the clergy enewsletter. It used to come out of the Canon to the Ordinary’s office and was edited by Linda Walley, but due to restructuring and shifting responsibilities, the communications office will now facilitate the clergy newsletter.

Based on the responses from the survey, and answers to specific questions by the two in attendance, a new clergy newsletter will be debuted in May and here’s a breakdown of what it would be / look like:

Frequency? Monthly, preferably mid-month

How to add names? Subscription link in regular enews, possibly adding names from clergy database

Lead article
· Frequency: Every issue
· Writers: Clergy from across the diocese. A group of approx. 12 clergy will be asked to start the process, with ongoing contributions. One goal is to alternate male and female clergy as writers
· Length: 300-500 words. The newsletter will include the first paragraph from the longer article, then it will link to the rest of it on a blog site or webpage.
· Editing: Kate Heichler volunteered to edit; the communications team will also edit
· Content: Clergy will be asked to write on one of the following : joy in your ministry, mission, what’s happening in your ministry, innovations or another similar topic
Transition info (and link to page/s if available)
· New hires, ordinations, changes of position, retirements
· Note: No transitions are listed until their Letter of Agreement (LOA) is signed and filed, even if months later.
· “Saying goodbye..” section including retirements, clergy moving away, deaths
New clergy profiles:
· Salin Low volunteered to start this up and come up with a template
· Might be able to do this as a form clergy new to the diocese can fill out & archive it on the web.
Reminders of related events (note: New website will have clergy event page) These events will include:
· Clericus meetings
· Annual Convention
· Clergy conference
· Clergy Days
· Clergy Safe Church recertification
· All retreats geared towards clergy both priests and deacons) – for example, the fall clergy retreat, women clergy retreat, deacons’ retreat
· Other events that include most/all the clergy
· Confirmations
· Visitation schedule
· Annual ECW meeting in May
Reminders of deadlines & links to registration

Quick Links
· Transitions page
· Diocesan calendar
· Visitation schedules
· Diocesan blogs 
A big thank you to Karin Hamilton for overseeing this process, to Salin Low & Kate Heichler for coming out to the meeting and for those who expressed their regrets but were not able to attend. If you’d like to be involved in the clergy newsletter, please email Kori Pacyniak at kpacyniak@ctdiocese.org

We look forward to sending out the first issue by mid-May.