A Church VoiceTips, ideas, & resources for church Web sites and newsletters |
Issue #7: Stating The ObviousFebruary 25, 2001 - Last Sunday After Epiphany http://www.AChurchVoice.com/
__.+._______________________________ From Barbara’s KeyboardThank you for your encouraging notes; I appreciate every bit of feedback! A big welcome and thank you to every one of the 402 subscribers we have today. 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. The Web home for A Church Voice, with the archive and other resources for you, is at: http://www.AChurchVoice.com/ As Ash Wednesday and the church season of Lent arrive this week, I offer some reminders of seasonal content ideas. The main topic, though, is something we often forget with our church Web sites: that we’re on the World Wide Web! 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: Stating The Obvious Web tip: Seasonal Content - Lent Newsletter tip: Font Choices Resources: Web Hosts, Domain Registrars Graphics/Clip art: Style; Liturgical Themes __.+._______________________________ Feature: Stating The ObviousSometimes we forget the obvious. Your church Web site is on the World Wide Web! As a result, your Web site is a great way to offer resources from beyond your parish for prayer, seasonal information, Bible study, and more. Take advantage of the global, interlinked nature of the World Wide Web. With a click, Web site visitors can visit your recommendations for Bible study resources for each class in your parish, Christianity-related activities for kids, rosary teaching pages, Web sites for tiny religious bookstores, and so much more. This is such a huge area, with a wealth of possibilities, that it's hard to cover it all quickly. Let's do a fictional case study. Fictional St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church has a basic Web site with parish news, staff listing, and mass schedule. The parish has a lively contingent of young families with children under the age of 10. The Web site can become a resource for those families if that’s something the parish wants to do. Web-based resources can start with a beefed-up Links page on the Web site. From there, it can go in the direction of a new Religious Education page with helpful descriptions of what's offered for young children, links to the archdiocese’s education resources, and links to online sources for recommended books and videos. On the mass schedule page, information can be added about child care options during Mass, for parents who might be looking for that information, as well as tips for welcoming children in Mass, for all of the adults in the parish. This can be complemented by links to worship tips for Catholic families with young children. Web links for young children and their parents can be woven into many different parts of the parish Web site: Easter- and Christmas-related activities, background information on the religious formation of children, books and videos recommended by the religious education teachers and other parents, and much, much more. This approach will work with any combination of church interests and strengths. Add your creativity, some parish and online resources, and a bit of work… and you can easily develop exciting assets for your church Web site. __.+._______________________________ Web tip: Seasonal Content - LentAs Ash Wednesday, Lent, and soon enough Holy Week and Easter arrive in their turn, remember that seasonal content is a great asset to your church Web site. Add some well-chosen text and links to the front page. Create a special page for the season ("Lent at St. Mark’s") and use that to present every activity, ministry, and special service your parish has that relates to the season in some way. A devotional page that uses off-site Web links within a devotional or prayer-oriented setting is another idea. Yet another possibility is parishioner-written or compiled poems, songs, or art that relates to the season, with or without off-site content. A Holy Easter, by Charlene and Richard Fairchild, is absolutely the best compilation of Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter links I’ve ever seen. Their A Holy Christmas page is equally incredible. For more about seasonal content, see Issue #3.__.+._______________________________ AdsPlease rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder.__.+.__ I recommend Tiger Technologies Web hosting; it’s a great, very inexpensive host for sites that require simple services. They host two of my domains, and I've been quite happy with the service and support they offer. __.+._______________________________ Newsletter tip: Font ChoicesA quick way to sharpen the look of your newsletter and help your readers enjoy it is to choose a font for the body text that is easy to read, choose a font for the titles and headings that complements your church, and use those fonts consistently throughout the publication. If you've been using a serif font like Times, which is fairly narrow, for the body text, you might find Times New Roman more readable in the same font size (the height will still be 10 point, 12 point, or whatever you are using). It will fill a bit more space on the page with the same amount of text since the font is rounder. If you're using a sans-serif font like Helvetica for the body text of your newsletter, readability studies show that a change to a serif font like Times New Roman will be an improvement for your readers. Also, stay away from fancy or unusual fonts for body text that’s longer than a phrase or two, as such fonts are much more difficult to read. The font you choose for titles and headings can express something of your church, whether contemporary, traditional, or something else entirely, while pulling together your newsletter. Very fancy decorative fonts should be used sparingly. For the title and headings throughout your newsletter, look for an interesting, appealing, easily read font that looks good in a variety of sizes and faces (bold, "roman" or plain, italic, condensed, etc.). That gives you plenty of ways to use a single, consistent font. Your readers may not even notice exactly what's different, but a consistent use of well-chosen fonts makes a newsletter easier to read and more attractive. It'll look great! __.+._______________________________ Resources: Web Hosts, Domain RegistrarsThese are all recommendations by readers. This is not a comprehensive listing, and please evaluate them for yourself, of course. I use TigerTech for two domains that need few bells and whistles, and have been pleased. Inexpensive Web hosts that offer the basics:
Inexpensive, user-friendly domain registrars:__.+._______________________________ Graphics/Clip art: Style; Liturgical ThemesConsistency is a treat for your readers. Use art of similar style throughout your publication or Web site. It can be realistic, cartoons, woodcut, or whatever you choose. The alternative is a scattered, confusing, unprofessional look. Select a style of clip art for which you can find enough variety of subject to meet your needs for different ministries, seasons, and so on. Then you'll be able to keep a consistent look for your Web site or newsletter. It is woefully difficult to find clip art on sacramental and liturgical themes (Eucharist, baptism, confirmation, Pentecost, Advent, saints, and the like) that's well-done and attractive. I've found very few sources of such print- or Web-ready graphics besides that of Gertrud Mueller Nelson (see Issue #1) and some rubber stamps. Can anyone offer any resources they've found? E-mail me and I'll publish your suggestions! __.+._______________________________ O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and 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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