Resurrecting the Blog
It's been a long time since we posted anything on the parish Blog - partly because we prioritised other things but mostly because we ran out of things to say! Recently, however, we have been thinking about the whole question of effective communication: there is so much happening in the parish and yet most of our parishioners are simply unaware of what we do. Many of our activities rely on the generosity of our parishioners in their weekly giving. Without their support we would simply be unable to do all the things we do. It seems a good idea to try to find new ways of communicating our life and good news.
Recently we reformatted our parish newsletter. We've moved from an A4 folded to A5 format, to an A3 folded to A4. It is a bit more cumbersome for those who want to stuff it into their back pocket but it does greatly increase the amount of space available to us. It means that we have now been able to incorporate a "This week at the Holy Ghost" column with a day-by-day listing of all our talks, catechesis, and other activities. We also have space for a featured spotlight each week. This week for example we focus on "Christian Initiation", explaining what RCIA is and announcing the commencement of a rolling 'pre-catechumenal' or enquiry course that will continue throughout the year on a six-weekly cycle. This course will lead into the RCIA classes which begin in September.
Another new feature is the "Defending a Culture of Life" column which advertises Natural Family Planning and also important life issues. We have currently, for example, a little piece on the Westminster Declaration and another on the General Election.
The resurrection of the Blog is part of our effort to communicate effectively. The plan is not to simply repeat what you can read in the newsletter. Instead we want to give a greater insight into what goes on at our events. For example, rather than simply advertise the 'Echoes' course we are currently running, we could give a more detailed account of what is covered in each session. More than that, however, the Blog may be a useful tool for pulling together comment on wider issues affecting the life of the Church. We can provide links to other good articles or informative pieces.
So... watch this space!
Recently we reformatted our parish newsletter. We've moved from an A4 folded to A5 format, to an A3 folded to A4. It is a bit more cumbersome for those who want to stuff it into their back pocket but it does greatly increase the amount of space available to us. It means that we have now been able to incorporate a "This week at the Holy Ghost" column with a day-by-day listing of all our talks, catechesis, and other activities. We also have space for a featured spotlight each week. This week for example we focus on "Christian Initiation", explaining what RCIA is and announcing the commencement of a rolling 'pre-catechumenal' or enquiry course that will continue throughout the year on a six-weekly cycle. This course will lead into the RCIA classes which begin in September.
Another new feature is the "Defending a Culture of Life" column which advertises Natural Family Planning and also important life issues. We have currently, for example, a little piece on the Westminster Declaration and another on the General Election.
The resurrection of the Blog is part of our effort to communicate effectively. The plan is not to simply repeat what you can read in the newsletter. Instead we want to give a greater insight into what goes on at our events. For example, rather than simply advertise the 'Echoes' course we are currently running, we could give a more detailed account of what is covered in each session. More than that, however, the Blog may be a useful tool for pulling together comment on wider issues affecting the life of the Church. We can provide links to other good articles or informative pieces.
So... watch this space!
