Category Archives: Featured Events

Use Your Calendar to Stay Organized

It’s October! The months are coming and going quickly as we near the end of the year. We all know that our calendars start to fill up with many events in the next few months and especially in the Church.

Does your Church use the calendar button? Most often it is found on the first or second row of your app button layout. This button can be used to help ministry leaders and organizers set dates and keep up with Church and school events, so as not to miss out on important upcoming fall, Advent, and Christmas happenings. Adding dates to the calendar also prevents from double booking activities with other groups. And with this said, it’s always best to check the calendar prior to setting the date for your event.

If your parish has a digital calendar, let Marc see if it can be integrated into the app (not all can). After your calendar is in place, announce to your parishioners using app messaging and other tools of communication, that the calendar is updated, accurate, and ready to follow. There’s also a drop down feature where you could add another calendar for school specific scheduling.

So many aspects of Catholic life and more can be found in your myParish app. Share all of this with your parishioners. They will appreciate it. May it allow them an experience of our faith, just a touch away.

Catholic Life Every Day

featured events

A Notable Feature

Learn to use Featured Events to promote parish activities.

Today, let’s focus on using the “Events” feature to promote parish activities, while at the same time promoting the use of myParish App more fully.

First, create your event: you can do that by going to your admin page. Click on the “Events” tab at the top. Then, under the “English/Spanish” tab on the left side, you’ll see “Add  event” with the calendar icon. Click on that, and fill in the applicable information. Don’t forget to click “Add” when you’re done to save the event.

You won’t want to use the Events feature for everything that is going on in the parish. This is really for Featured Events. For instance, if your parish is planning special study groups and/or activities during Lent, this is the use for Featured Events! Set Ash Wednesday on March 1, and then add in Bible Studies, Stations of the Cross, youth activities, fish dinners, etc.

In addition, tell your parishioners about the Featured Events in at least two different places outside the app.

A sample bulletin announcement might be: “Be sure to check out our Lenten Featured Events using myParish App. It’s a quick way to see what is happening during Lent here at St. Meinrad’s. Don’t have the App? Aren’t sure how to use it? Please ask a parish staff member or call the parish office at xxx-xxx-xxxx.”

You can also put a similar message on your parish Facebook page: “Don’t miss any of St. Meinrad’s Featured Events during Lent. As we grow in holiness, we also want to grow in communication! Use the myParish App to stay in touch during this holy season. Don’t have the App or not sure how to use it? Talk to a parish staff person or call the parish office.”

If  you’re going to be using the App heavily (during Lent, for instance), the Sunday before Ash Wednesday would be an excellent time to host a “Redownload Sunday.” Break out the t-shirts from your Launch Kit, and round up volunteers for each Mass to help those who don’t yet have the app, or need a quick tutorial.

Happy event planning!