A Church VoiceTips, ideas, & resources for church Web sites and newsletters |
Issue #5: Refresh and RenewDecember 31, 2000 - First Sunday After Christmas http://www.AChurchVoice.com/
__.+._______________________________ From Barbara’s KeyboardIt's New Year's Eve and the First Sunday After Christmas -- definitely time to get back in the swing of things after the hubbub of the past few weeks. A Church Voice is entering 2001 with 366 subscribers! Thank you so much for subscribing. I'm honored and blessed to have this opportunity to share ideas that may help you with your work on a church publication, online or offline. As always, if you think a friend, colleague, church staff member, pastor, denominational resource person, or any others would enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to pass it along to them and invite them to subscribe. I'll get Issue #4 ("Too Busy to Think") into the archive tomorrow morning; it's just after midnight local time right now, and I ought to be asleep at this hour! Usually I try to get the current issue into the archive a week after it's published. The Web home for A Church Voice, with the archive and other resources for you, is at: http://www.AChurchVoice.com/ America Online subscribers, I'd like to hear from more of you. My question in the previous regular issue was: Would you be interested in a listing of each issue's links in AOL-clickable format, after the Graphics/Clip art section? Or is the current format working fine for you? Please email me, cveditor@laufers.com. Thanks! As the new year begins, we often evaluate our personal and professional lives. It's a good time to refresh and renew our church newsletters and Web sites as well, so that's the focus of this issue. Happy New Year! Christmas blessings,
__.+._______________________________ You are receiving this newsletter because you requested it. Thank you! I will n e v e r share your name or your email address with anyone else. If you need to unsubscribe, you'll find that information at the end of the newsletter. __.+._______________________________ C o n t e n t sFeature: Refresh and Renew Web tip: Hosting & Domain Names Newsletter tip: It's The Paper Resources: Prayer Graphics/clip art: Rubber Stamps __.+._______________________________ - Feature: Refresh and Renew -Often we take time at the beginning of a new calendar year to evaluate our lives, giving thanks for the year behind and anticipating changes and challenges from outside or within that may come with the year ahead. This can be a great time to evaluate a church publication as well, giving thought to the highlights and low points of the past year as well as your hopes and other demands you see ahead for the publication. Based on this work, you can then make solid plans to refresh and renew your publication. Pull out your calendar for 2000, as well as any files or notes, and look through it all to remind yourself of what took place over the year with the church Web site or newsletter. What was unexpected? What plans worked out especially well? Are there half-finished ideas that you can take another look at? What was especially frustrating and seemed a dead end? Get a calendar for 2001 for your publication. Jot down the events, activities, and special services and seasons that you know you'll want to present to your readers. Set aside the calendar, and brainstorm a bit. Is there something tickling your creativity about the people involved in your publication, or the production or update process, or the content or its timing? Go a little wild, dream big, and write down everything that comes to mind. Think about technical issues like printing improvements, whether you have enough helpers, the purchase of a new CD of clip art, adding a discussion area to the Web site, or finally getting a domain name. Is it budget time right now in your parish, or is it time to start thinking about what to submit when next year's budget planning process begins? Do you want to enlist the help of key people in certain areas that aren't your strengths -- proofreaders, or editors, or HTML coders, or someone to collect news items and email them to you, or people to put address labels on newsletters for mailing? Are there offers pending of cooperative ventures or new areas for expansion for your newsletter or Web site that you can evaluate and decide whether to pursue? Over the span of a week or so, review as many aspects as possible of your church newsletter or Web site, and make plans to refresh and renew it in specific ways in the coming months. The work you do now will provide energy for the rest of the work you do all year long. Happy New Year! __.+._______________________________ - Web tip: Hosting & Domain Names -Are you dissatisfied with your Web hosting company? Do you struggle with an unfriendly interface for setting account options; or feel frustrated when you need technical help; or wish you had site statistics to look over? Maybe it's time to find another hosting company. There are lots of great Web hosting companies at US$10 per month or so; US$18 or so; US$29 or so; and of course, more. There are now quite a few Web presence providers in each price range that offer lots of features, great control panel interfaces, clear directions and help files on their Web sites, and reputations for great customer service. If they're good, they'll also work hard to make a transition from another host as easy as possible, whether or not it includes a domain transfer. Is it time to purchase a domain name for your church Web site? If you've been putting it off because you heard that domain names cost US$70 for the first two years, I've got great news for you. That price is long gone - or at least is far from the best price to be found. Many companies offer domain name registration in the range of US$13 - 15 for one year. Also, many such companies will "park" your domain name with a temporary Web page at no cost until you are ready to use your domain name. In both cases, it's vital to do your research, ask for recommendations, and read the fine print. Both terrible and excellent hosting and registration companies exist -- and price doesn't necessarily indicate what sort of company you're evaluating. __.+._______________________________ Ad"Celebrate Today"
__.+._______________________________ - Newsletter tip: It's The Paper -How recently have you evaluated the paper you're using for your church newsletter or other publications? Is it a bit on the lightweight side? Is it more costly than another choice might be? Does it work well with your printing equipment? If you use color, does it handle color well? What about size options, and the possibility of changing the size and format of your newsletter to better meet your needs? Have you thought about ivory or cream paper, if you're using white, or vice versa? Find some paper resources, such as representatives of paper distributors, and learn about the current options in your price range. Some subtle changes might make a big difference in your budget or the feel of your newsletter. How exciting! __.+._______________________________ - Resources: Prayer -You might highlight one or more of these online resources about prayer in your newsletter or Web site, or seek out resources that are a closer fit with the place prayer has in your parish. On the Christianity Today Web site, the current feature article is on daily prayer: "Learning the Ancient Rhythms of Prayer," with accompanying articles on related topics. Oremus, "'let us pray' -- a form of daily Christian prayer." Sacred Space, the prayer site run by the Irish Jesuits; guided meditative prayer. __.+._______________________________ - Graphics/clip art: Rubber Stamps -Have you ever thought of using religious rubber stamps for art? Not actually stamping with them (but once), but scanning the images to use as clip art. This would of course require careful attention to the uses allowed by the copyright holder, and might lead to contacting that person or company to request permission. Rubber stamps are a rich source of artwork images that aren't necessarily found in clip art collections. __.+._______________________________ Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, ECUSA] __.+._______________________________ If you find this information of value, please pass the newsletter on in its entirety. Your comments and suggestions are welcome! If you’d like to submit a tip, question, or Web site, send me an email at mailto:cvoice@laufers.com For more resources, visit http://www.AChurchVoice.com/ See you in two weeks! __.+._______________________________ To subscribe, mailto:churchvoice-subscribe@topica.com
To submit a tip, question, or Web site, mailto:cvsubmit@laufers.com
__.+._______________________________ Copyright © 2001-2002 Barbara Laufersweiler.
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