Communication is important in a Catholic parish because it helps to build an active, engaged, and welcoming community that shares the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Communication also helps to inform, educate, and inspire parishioners to grow in their faith and participate in the parish’s mission and ministries.
Communication at St. Roberts
To build a community, we need the ability to communicate with each other whether that be logistical or sharing in the joys of living our faith. If the evangelization priority is the “what” then communication is the “how.”
Priorities
Establish an active online community
We need an active and engaging online platform for publicizing parish events and providing resources for people to deepen their faith. St. Roberts has so much to offer and we want parishioners to know what’s available to them and how they can get involved.
Create 2-4 online and offline channels for two-way feedback and dialogue intra-parish
A parish community cannot be a collective of nameless faces who gather on Sunday. To thrive, we need to know one another and communicate with each other.
Projects
Website Refresh
A parish website provides information about the parish. But it also reflects the vibrancy and enthusiasm of the parish community. We want to update our parish website by updating various pages with a fresh look, consolidating or eliminating pages that are redundant or outdated, making the site mobile-friendly, and providing resources for people to deepen their faith.
Self-Administered Web Pages
The idea is that parish groups and ministries will be able to own and maintain web pages. This way, they can update their pages with recent news and publicize events. With more people maintaining their ministry’s pages, they will remain updated and relevant.
Electronic Communication
It’s hard for people to effectively communicate with large groups. Suppose a leader of some ministry wants to communicate with the members of that ministry. Often, people resort to digging up old emails and texts hoping they found the right people. Or someone wants to learn more about a particular group only to find that the email address listed is outdated. Participation relies on effective communication. We aim to provide people with the tools to communicate with one another easily.
Parish Directory
Schools and parishes have traditionally published directories as a way for people to stay connected. Saint Roberts used to publish one and it’s a resource we want to bring back. This way, parishioners can connect the faces they see at Mass and parish events with names and contact each other if necessary.