When a group from St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Arlington requested help learning to do more with their website, an idea was born: hands-on technology workgroups.
Members of St. Alban’s who are involved with the church’s communications formats – WordPress website, Facebook, and the e-newsletter – invited diocesan communications staff to come work with them on Tuesday, February 10, with a follow-up session Wednesday, February 11.
Six members of St. Alban’s arrived at Theatre Arlington, tech devices in hand, ready to work. Peter Polk had set up a projector and screen so everyone could see the how-to parts of the work session. Ministry Support and Communications Officer Tracie Middleton offered a brief presentation, and then the group got down to the work itself. Priscilla Promise had drawn up a list of specific tasks they wanted to learn how to do, and Dave Burrows pulled up the “back end” of the St. Alban’s website and projected it onto the screen.
The format created a supportive atmosphere, and before long, the group was figuring out how to upload and post images and files to their website. After completing several tasks on the website, the group switched gears to work on St. Alban’s Facebook page. Combining forces with laptops and phones, they were able to create an event for Bishop High’s visit, post a photo, and invite people to come.
Having checked off several items on their list, a couple of the members agreed to meet again the next morning.
Right before a meeting of diocesan church administrators at Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, three of the St. Alban’s tech team met with Communications Director Katie Sherrod and Social Media Coordinator Susan Kleinwechter. Kleinwechter, Burrows, and Sherry Morgan untangled an issue with the website calendar, while Sherrod and Promise worked on Facebook to set up a group list to share items specifically with other St. Alban’s members.
Since these workgroups were well-received and productive, another one is set for March 10, come-and-go, from 1-3 pm at the diocesan office in the conference room. All are invited. Promise said, “It was time well-spent, and we’re looking forward to the next one.”
If you want to do more with your church website or social media sites, or you have a particular technology problem, or you would just like to learn how to do more with technology, bring your laptop and your questions. Here are some topics that have been requested so far. Technology workgroups will be on the second Tuesday of each month. To RSVP for a technology workgroup or to request a topic for the workgroups to address, email tracie.middleton@edotn.org.