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Christ Church and the Internet




Why does Christ Church need a website?

It is hard to argue that we need a website, but if we wait until we do need it, it might be too late. The Internet is revolutionizing communications and information flow. It is changing the way companies do business, how students learn, and how friends and family stay in contact. Although we like to think of the services a church provides in different terms than a business, there are practical similarities. We shouldn't ignore what's going on all around us -- it won't go away. The web offers some new efficiencies for old tasks, and provides unique new possibilities as well.

Has this been approved by Staff, the Executive Council, the Communications Committee, etc?

Yes this an "official" project. A presentation was made to the Communications Committee at their meeting on December 2, 1998. It was decided to proceed with a "prototype" site from which we would seek . The first progress report was delivered to the Communications Committee in January, and they continue to encourage the effort. The agenda for the February meeting of the Executive Committee includes further discussion of the website and its integration with the ministries of Christ Church. The whole staff has been included in the process of identifying meaningful and appropriate content for the site, and in finding ways to integrate the project with existing efforts (e.g. maintaining the Calendar).

Who will benefit?

The first and most obvious goal is that Christ Church and her ministries will benefit. One of the efficiences that the web introduces is timeliness. For example, for those willing to access information on-line, schedule changes can be made available quickly without individual phone calls. Committee meeting minutes can be posted promptly for review without the cost and delay of regular mail. Scheduling conflicts might be avoided more easily. A sermon of Chuck's that you'd like to review is likely to be available on the website. If you have to miss Sunday Worship, the bulletin, sermon, Scripture passage, and hymns may all be there. At this point we don't know if the site will be used for all of these purposes, but they illustrate just some of the possibilities.

It can also be a means for providing information to people inquiring about the church. People are increasingly turning to the Internet for information. The church office has already received one telephone inquiry from someone who found us by way of a link to our website. It will never be desirable for us to eliminate human contact, but a website just might introduce us to some people that we'd never meet otherwise. If we don't meet them, we can't talk with and minister to them.

Who is it intended for?

This is one of the fundamental questions which must be answered for this project to take shape. Possible answers could include: existing members, prospective members and others seeking information about Christ Church locally, or even a global audience. The actual answer is likely to be some combination of the above (with emphasis on the first two). Obviously the specific content depends on some resolution to this question. Once the intended audience(s) are determined, we need to know how we want the website to serve them. For example, what do we want local information seekers to learn about us using this open medium? What do we want existing church members to be able to accomplish through the website? What message might we want to offer a wider audience?

Why now?

Establishing a web presence today places the Church somewhere ahead of the curve. What may seem somewhat revolutionary today, will likely be rather mainstream tomorrow. There will be increasing numbers of people who can be legitimately served by this (and other related) means with every passing month. And this is likely to become the single most effective method of reaching and serving at least some people. It's probably not a necessity right now, but again, we shouldn't wait until it is. Call it preparing for the future -- which is arriving faster all the time.

What are the plans?

Paul Tukey has assembled an ad hoc committee of people from the church with the necessary technical and graphic-arts skills to create a website. He is working closely with the communications committee to work out the specifics. A site with some basic content is now available for viewing and comment. It is early enough in the project that the plan is still evolving. We want to make sure that a process devolops that encourages participation and creativity while moving us toward whatever specific goals the Church determines for the site.

Will this replace traditional communications?

No. It complements and supplements more traditional methods. It is neither more important, nor less important. The website should be seen as another appropriate means of communicating our message, and not just the side-line of a handful of the more technically oriented members. We should view it as legitmately as any of the more traditional communication methods we use currently. But it won't replace them.

Is this intended to reduce the need to mail the Bulletin, and to reduce costs?

This is not a stated objective for the website, but is one possible result. As explained above, the plans are still evolving. We don't know every specific purpose the site will address, but anything that serves the members and those we minister to is a reasonable goal. If enough members decided they would rather get the bulletin from the website or have it e-mailed to them, this would be a worthwhile thing to do. It might be to save money, trees, or time, but if people believed they would be better served it would be a perfect use of the website. And if it reduces costs at the same time, that's even better.

This is precisely the kind of question we want the whole membership to be involved in. If you have thoughts on this issue, or any other suggestions, they are always welcome.

Will I miss important information if I don't have Internet access?

No. In fact you won't miss out on any official information. Anything of general interest to the congregation will continue to be communicated by traditional means. Some things may also be made available electronically, but this will be for those who choose this means, and will not replace the communications methods people depend on.

What will it cost the Church?

Very little. The company we've chosen to host our website is Pair Networks. Their monthly fees total $7. There is also a $35 annual fee for registering the ChristChurchSummit.org domain name. This was all paid from last year's Communications Committee budget. As the site grows and more services are added, it is likely that we'll need to increase the level of service from pair Networks, but any fee increases will be nominal.

As for the work of creating and maintaining the website, this has all been done by volunteers from within the congregation. Much of the artwork was done by Lynn Starun, and the rest was gathered from freely available sources. There has been other useful input from members of the "virtual website committee", and it has all been glued together by Paul Tukey. When we studied other church sites, we found some that were created by members and others that were contracted out. We have been blessed with some very talented people, and have been able to do the work so far with member volunteers. We expect that this will always be true.

Will any private information (e.g. the Directory) be made available on the web?

It's too early to say for sure, but we expect that eventually some services like this will be made available. This will likely require some part of the site being set apart as a private area, not accessible to the general public. We will not make information public that could compromise the privacy of our members.

Is it safe to make such information available?

Nothing is perfectly safe, and it is impossible to absolutely protect privacy. The risks aren't necessarily greater on the Internet, just different. But not understanding the risks can increase them, and those of us responsible for developing the site are well aware of this. If something like this is planned, it will only be after the necessary safeguards are in place.

I hear there's pornography on the Internet. Is it appropriate for Christ Church to use such a medium?

Pornography on the Internet, like security and privacy, is probably no different than anywhere else. If you go looking for it, you will find it. If you don't want to see it, you can probably avoid it. But it isn't necessarily any more prevalent than walking into a 7 Eleven store or the local newsstand.

It is true that some areas are worse than others. Usenet has been ruined by selfish, off-topic traffic.   (Usenet, or newsgroups, are forums for open discussions of virtually any imagineable topic. There are groups for discussing accounting, anagrams, zen, zima, and everything in between -- including Karl Malden's nose)   Many of the off-topic posts are pornography related. But on the Internet, you choose where you want to go, and whether you see pornography or not really does depend mostly on the locations you choose to visit.

Pornographers are often among the first groups to make use of new communications technologies, as we saw with home video. While many people may not approve of pornography, that does not invalidate the medium simply because they use it. Pornography is found in magazines, yet that doesn't keep people from reading other magazines. While we will share the web with pornographers, that's the only thing we'll have in common with them. There is no real connection, any more than there's a connection between Time Magazine and any pornographic magazine.

How can I participate?

Contact Paul Tukey (), Paul Tukey (), or Jim Simon.

I don't know much about creating a website. Can I still help?

Absolutely. There are many tools available which make participation possible even for people without much technical knowledge. If you have a computer, the chances are you already have some software which could help the project. (e.g. Netscape Communicator, Internet Explorer, Lotus Smart Suite, MS Office, Adobe PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro, etc.) There is other free software available, which we'd be happy to help you find.

If that's more than you care to do, but you're still interested in contributing, we will be happy to take whatever you create -- graphics, plain text, word processing documents -- and try to include it on the site. You don't need any software besides what you already use. We'll take care of the rest.

Also, we are always looking for worthwhile links to place on our home page. If you see something of interest while browsing the web, send the url (web address) to Paul Tukey.

There are many ways you can help, and you don't have to know anything about creating a website if you don't want to. We need the broadest possible support for this project, and welcome contributions from everyone, no matter their technical skill level. We want everyone at Christ Church to feel as though they are owners of the website.

Will the youth be welcome to participate in the project?

Yes, we welcome participation from one and all. If any of the youth are interested in helping, they can contact Regina , or through the church office. It might even be suggested that some of the younger folk are more likely to be "in touch" with newer technologies, and more readily able to lend a hand. True or not, all are welcome. Young and old alike.

Office: (908) 273-5549
Fax: (call)
Email:

 
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