Prior: Part 20: But the Stake HAS to Do This!
Note: A new calendar system was released on November 16, 2022. It had to be rushed out for a number of reasons. It does not have full functionality yet. Some of the features I've covered previously are not present yet or may be replaced. I'll update this blog series as things change.
I have already listed all the conclusions and solutions I can come up with. The only thing left is despair, and there is plenty of that, I assure you.
I have despair because I have been beating this drum for so long and in so many different units. I quote chapter and verse from the Church’s instructions and people still fight me. I do not know why.
We would not be where we are right now if we had implemented the Church tools some years ago. If we had, all the events could go on the calendars and all the notices and announcements could have gone on the stake and ward newsletters.
Church units would not have sent out all these emails and gotten labeled as a spammer.
It did not have to happen. We do not have the newsletter feature anymore because so few used it and the Church did not find it worth its while to continue it.
However, maybe now with the email situation, they will construct a new one that we can use and will be motivated to use.
These Tools Represent a Profound Shift
Until now, it was always the Church’s responsibility to get information into the hands of people. There has actually been a profound shift.
It is now the members’ responsibility to ACCESS the information. Members simply cannot sit back and wait for leaders to provide them with everything.
Leaders do need to place the information on the calendar and other information tools. However, it is the members’ responsibility to proactively access it themselves.
Some Final Musings
As I have constructed this series, various other ideas have occurred to me.
For example, instead of calling or assigning separate Stake Calendar Administrators or Ward Calendar Administrators, these digital responsibilities could be assigned to a specially called Assistant Executive Secretary or Assistant Stake/Ward Clerk. They would be default website administrators and could do everything digitally necessary.
Obviously, this would shut women and youth out of the system but it is a way to address the issues with Regular/Standard callings which are important to the Church.
Pesky problems will always arise, but we must just think through the implications and situations.
Since it is currently that time of year, I have been reflecting on the annual Primary Children’s Sacrament Meeting presentation. If it goes on the calendar, where should it go?
Even though it is a regular Sacrament meeting that does not need to be calendared, most of us anticipate this meeting yearly and would like to know when it is.
It probably ought to go on the regular ward events calendar instead of the Primary calendar for that reason.
Issues like these just need to be thought through and carefully considered given the Church’s guidance and the good sense we already possess.
Thank you!
My thanks to all of you who have endured this 21-part series. I think it is one of the most important things I have ever constructed.
It is one way I have tried to magnify my calling as a Ward Technology Specialist.
I have despair because I have been beating this drum for so long and in so many different units. I quote chapter and verse from the Church’s instructions and people still fight me. I do not know why.
We would not be where we are right now if we had implemented the Church tools some years ago. If we had, all the events could go on the calendars and all the notices and announcements could have gone on the stake and ward newsletters.
Church units would not have sent out all these emails and gotten labeled as a spammer.
It did not have to happen. We do not have the newsletter feature anymore because so few used it and the Church did not find it worth its while to continue it.
However, maybe now with the email situation, they will construct a new one that we can use and will be motivated to use.
These Tools Represent a Profound Shift
Until now, it was always the Church’s responsibility to get information into the hands of people. There has actually been a profound shift.
It is now the members’ responsibility to ACCESS the information. Members simply cannot sit back and wait for leaders to provide them with everything.
Leaders do need to place the information on the calendar and other information tools. However, it is the members’ responsibility to proactively access it themselves.
Some Final Musings
As I have constructed this series, various other ideas have occurred to me.
For example, instead of calling or assigning separate Stake Calendar Administrators or Ward Calendar Administrators, these digital responsibilities could be assigned to a specially called Assistant Executive Secretary or Assistant Stake/Ward Clerk. They would be default website administrators and could do everything digitally necessary.
Obviously, this would shut women and youth out of the system but it is a way to address the issues with Regular/Standard callings which are important to the Church.
Pesky problems will always arise, but we must just think through the implications and situations.
Since it is currently that time of year, I have been reflecting on the annual Primary Children’s Sacrament Meeting presentation. If it goes on the calendar, where should it go?
Even though it is a regular Sacrament meeting that does not need to be calendared, most of us anticipate this meeting yearly and would like to know when it is.
It probably ought to go on the regular ward events calendar instead of the Primary calendar for that reason.
Issues like these just need to be thought through and carefully considered given the Church’s guidance and the good sense we already possess.
Thank you!
My thanks to all of you who have endured this 21-part series. I think it is one of the most important things I have ever constructed.
It is one way I have tried to magnify my calling as a Ward Technology Specialist.
In Honor of the End ...
Here's the full checklist:
- All stake calendars and events should start with “Stake.”
- When wards share buildings, each event should start with an acronym.
- Enter all callings in the LCR as Standard/Regular callings and not Custom callings.
- Set up calendars on the basis of callings and not people’s names.
- Confine meetings, especially leadership meetings, to Private calendars.
- Put events relevant to the general membership on Public calendars.
- Always calendar and schedule building resources for all events.
- Make information detailed and complete. Answer all the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how.
- Correct or remove inaccurate information immediately.
- Private events like weddings, family parties, funerals, etc. should only be put on the location/building calendar by the Building Scheduler.
- Make information easy to find and access by making it predictable and located in established areas.
- Only calendar items within your authority or jurisdiction
- Only calendar official events and announcements
- Do not use abbreviations, acronyms, or short references for anything.
- Only use the repeating event function carefully.
Beginning Post: Part 1: Information Haves and Have Nots
Assignment for Leaders: Use the system now and in the future as intended. Access the Help Center to keep up on any changes or guidance.
Assignment for Members: Lobby leaders to get the entire calendar system reliable and up-to-date and keep it current in the future.
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