Tag Archives: admins

Free myParish App Webinar Series

Administrators, Ideas & Tips, Pastors/Priests, , ,

“Well moderated, easy to understand, great topics with suggestions that can be applied immediately. The webinar renewed by enthusiasm to promote MyParish App! It was nice to learn that other parishes face the same issues of pastors/staff who don’t use smart phones.” -Webinar Attendee

Maybe you’ve just launched myParish App. Maybe your parish launched awhile ago. If your parish chose to use this tool, you want it to be successful. You want people to use it again and again. You know it’s a great tool, but …

How do we make myParish App a successful communication tool for our church?

Now it’s easy!!!

Join Tommy Shultz for a brand new and free webinar series designed to explain the features of the app and get people excited about using it while also increasing engagement in your parish.

https://vimeo.com/220641862

If you have trouble viewing the video CLICK HERE.

SIGN UP NOW!!!!

We hope to see you there!

WEBINAR #1

myParish App Overview

8/9/17 at 11:00 am (EDT)

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WEBINAR #2

Get Excited About myParish App

7/12/17 at 11:00 am (EDT)

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8/16/17 at 11:00 am (EDT)

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WEBINAR #3

Steps to Successful Communication with myParish App

7/19/17 at 11:00 am (EDT)

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8/23/17 at 11:00 am (EDT)

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WEBINAR #4

Reaching Optimal Engagement with myParish App

7/25/17 at 11:00 am (EDT)

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8/30/17 at 11:00 am (EDT)

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Change LentAs Diocesan Publications’ Solutions Evangelist, Shultz is committed to showing parish and diocesan staffs how to use our communication tools to their best advantage.  As an experienced speaker on all things Catholic, he has addressed topics such as the Sacraments, chastity, and boldly living the Catholic faith.  Tommy Shultz also served as director of youth and young adult ministries for the Diocese of Baker, OR. 

dan do

Look What Our App Can Do!

Administrators, Ideas & Tips, , , ,

Promoting app features is a great way to keep people engaged in using the myParish App. Here are a couple of ideas:

  • Touch the windowpane (four boxes) icon in the top right of the app to get back to the main screen, where you can access all the features of that parish’s app.
  • It’s good to know how to access another parish’s app. Folks often need to attend Mass at a different time, find a Confession time that works for their schedule, etc. Knowing how to get to that information is great! Just tap the menu at the top left of the screen, then choose ‘change parish’ under the parish name. You can enter the city or zip code in the search box.
  • If  you or a parishioner would like to remove a message from your phone, swipe left to access the delete button. Press “delete” and the message is gone.
  • As an admin, it’s a good idea to check with your ministry team and ask if they would like any messages sent out via the app. Say something like: “I’d be happy to enter events/messages for your group in myParish App. Please email me at QWERTY@UIOP.com.“ You can also contact your ministry team through the app. Tap “Parish Info” on the main screen (the steeple), and then touch the “Directory” bar at the bottom and find the right person. Then, touch the icons to the right of their name to call or email directly from the app.

Letting app users know about these features means they are more likely to use the app consistently.

Remember, you can always watch and rewatch our admin videos for ideas, clarifications, and information about what myParish App can do.

changes

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Administrators, Ideas & Tips, Update, , , , , ,

Make sure your app is up-to-date for Ordinary Time.

Note as of 1.9.17: This blog post is causing some confusion; our apologies. Here is an updated version regarding re-loading:

The app updates automatically. The different platforms (iOS-Apple, Android) handle updates differently. Androids do a complete update weekly in the early morning hours on Saturday (midnight-1:00 a.m. or so). Apple also does a complete weekly update, but it’s scheduled according to when the app was loaded to the device, so we can’t be specific as to when it is. 

Additionally, different parts of the app check for updates for their content regularly. For example, if you tap on messages, the app goes to the server to check and see if there are new messages.
You only need to do a re-load if you’ve made a change that’s not showing up, and you don’t want to wait out the week.
Again, our apologies for any misunderstanding and/or confusion.
______________________________________________________

As we leave the Christmas season behind and enter into Ordinary Time, you’ll notice some changes to the look of your myParish App. You’ll also see some content changes, as we’ll be removing the Advent and Christmas reflections.

One thing to remember: you (and your parishioners) will need to “re-load” the app on whatever device you’re using. That means you open the app and click on the Menu (the three bars in the upper right corner.) Once there, tap “change parish,” and select your parish. (You may need to search for your parish, then select, as the app gives suggestions based on your location.) This will update all the content you and your parishioners see.

It’s a good idea to run a little note in the bulletin for a few weeks; that way, your parishioners won’t be stuck in Advent when Lent rolls around!

Thanks to all the parishes who took part in our Advent and Christmas reflections and backgrounds. We enjoyed hearing from many of you during the holiday season.

May your New Year be blessed and peaceful!

create Groups

Step-by-Step: A How-To For The Groups Feature

Administrators, Groups, Ideas & Tips, , , , , , ,

For parishes, the new Groups feature on myParish App has multiple and wonderful uses. Parish admins need to know exactly how to create a group.  Just follow these steps:

  • First, login to the myParish App admin page.
  • Next, click on the “Groups” tab on the top of the page. (It’s next to “Homilies.”)
  • Choose English or Spanish for the group, and then click on the “Create Group” button.
  • You’ll need to choose “Church.” Then, you need to put your  church’s zip code in the “Filter by a Church” box that appears. If you are an admin for several parishes, you may need to type in the parish name.
  • You’ll be asked to name your Group, and then add a short description (the description is required to save your Group.) For example, you might name the Group “Moms’ Bible Study” and describe it as “For moms of all ages. This group meets every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. in the Marian Room.”
  • Click “Save” in the bottom right corner of the box.
  • At this point, you’ll see two icons in the bottom left corner. The “lock” means that this is not a conversation; the moderator can send out messages only. This is great for when you have a large group, or merely want to use the Groups feature to inform. The second is an “eye” icon. This allows you to “hide” the group for a period of time (for instance, a Bible study group that does not meet during the summer months might use this.)
  • Once you save your Group, you’ll want to assign the moderators for that Group. For this example, you might add the parish staff member who oversees the Moms’ Bible Study Group, plus the group leader. Type in the name, hit “enter” and then add another name, if needed.
  • Once your Group is created, you can click on “Manage Group” underneath the Group name/description.
  • This is where you can add or change moderators, add discussion questions, and moderate the discussions. (Remember, you can send an invite through the app to add members, but not via the admin page.)

That’s it – you’ve got your Group! As always, if you need assistance with this or any features of the app, please feel free to contact us for assistance.