Much thought, lately, has gone into how best to communicate parish news to the congregation. At the APCM last year we were told that different age groups relied on different methods: social networking, emails, parish website, parish magazines, all have their age-related following. With this in mind we set up a database of available email addresses and now use that for important parish communications. But data protection means that we can’t dash off emails every time there’s an event we want to tell you about. So what do we do?
Craft Fair 26.27 April
For a couple of months now we’ve been mentioning the Craft Fair to be held at the end of April (26/27) but we’re very conscious that putting it in the magazine isn’t enough to get word round to everyone. (See pages 19 nd 20 for our plans so far)
We’ve started a ‘volunteer section’ where month by month different groups of volunteers will highlight their need – all the ‘working’ groups (sidesmen, coffee makers, cleaners, stewards etc) do need more people. It’s the turn of the coffee team this month – page 13.
And then there are entertainments – Desert Island Discs and Arsenic and Old Lace this month – for whom the magazine is just one in a variety of ways of advertising.
Strangely, in this electronic age, we seem to rely more heavily than ever before on pieces of paper – even the pewsheet has to be supplemented with individual handouts for concerts, fairs, foodbanks and so on. Whatever happened to the paperless society we were promised?
One of the ways we communicate with people OUTSIDE the congregation is the Voluntary Rate. 1 The primary purpose of this is to invite people who don’t attend the church, but value its presence as an historic building in Hampstead, to contribute to its upkeep, but we add information about services and events, parish news and contact details so it serves a dual purpose – the residents help us but at the same time we can offer our help to them.
We need your help
There are around 4,500 households in the parish, 4,500 sets of information to be put into envelopes, 4,500 envelopes to be put into letterboxes – you’ll see where I’m going with this. When I say WE communicate I do mean WE because without YOUR help it won’t happen. The day for filling the envelopes is Saturday 2nd March. We do it in church, starting about 10.30 (time to be confirmed in the pewsheet) and going on till it’s done, which is sometimes as early as 2.30 if enough people turn up. Lunch is provided, coffee and tea are available throughout the day and it’s actually a really nice opportunity to sit with people you perhaps haven’t met before and chat. From then on we ask that people help with the deliveries. Hampstead’s pretty in the spring and contains some lovely streets. (OK, some not so lovely as well, as anyone who has slogged along Finchley Road will testify.)
Lent: Stations of the Cross
It was at an envelope stuffing day that the determination to build on Father Jim’s Stations of the Cross was born. This year again we will be putting up artwork by members of the parish for private devotion at any time or for collective prayer on Fridays at 1pm.
So, lots of information to communicate: and the very best way of all is to talk about it. Tell your friends, discuss the plans – ‘What are you doing for the Craft Fair?’ ‘Will I see you at the envelope stuffing?’ ‘I’m thinking of joining the coffee team, have you ever done it?’, put it on your Facebook page, on Twitter, help us get the message across.
Finally, if you enjoy statistics, do look at the table of numbers attending Christmas Services over the last five years (page 30) which seem, bizarrely, to indicate that people come to Midnight Mass every other year. Do we communicate better some years than others? Can’t wait for this year’s figures!
February
Judy East