It’s curious that in our digital age, people are still sending around sign-up sheets during the second hour of our local meetings. However, since we only met for one hour on Palm Sunday and we didn’t meet locally at all during General Conference, there were no sign-up sheets.
This has created a curious problem in my local ward. Nobody signed up to feed the missionaries. As a result, the missionaries are not being fed.
Starving missionaries should not be an Easter tradition.
There is a better way, and it is church-sanctioned, believe it or not. (More on that later.)
The Church’s Digital Calendaring System
I’ve written quite a lot on the Church’s digital calendaring system, not that anyone is paying attention… Anyway, a “Missionary Meals Calendar” could be created on the Church’s system, and the meals could be managed that way.
Creating the calendar would take all of about 20 seconds. I know leaders are pressed for time, but surely someone can handle that.
What needs to be done?
A person with administrative privileges needs to create the calendar. That means the bishop, one of his counselors, an executive secretary or assistant executive secretary, a ward clerk or assistant clerk, an email communication specialist, or some other ward website administrator could do so.
While on the Calendar, they should click on the gear menu and select “Manage Calendars.”
Create the Calendar as a public calendar, name it, and enable whoever manages the calendar to be a Calendar Editor, probably by name. Just start inputting their name, and it should pop up, and you can select it.
Select the button to create it, and you are done.
THAT’S IT!
The Missionary Meals Manager
Whoever manages the missionary meals now has access to input data. For example, if the Smith’s sign up on April 17 for a dinner at 5:30 pm, the Manager can fill out the form and add the information to the Missionary Meals Calendar. Anyone in the ward can view the calendar, determine when the missionaries need to be fed and contact the manager to sign up for their preferred date.
Creating the calendar would take all of about 20 seconds. I know leaders are pressed for time, but surely someone can handle that.
What needs to be done?
A person with administrative privileges needs to create the calendar. That means the bishop, one of his counselors, an executive secretary or assistant executive secretary, a ward clerk or assistant clerk, an email communication specialist, or some other ward website administrator could do so.
While on the Calendar, they should click on the gear menu and select “Manage Calendars.”
Create the Calendar as a public calendar, name it, and enable whoever manages the calendar to be a Calendar Editor, probably by name. Just start inputting their name, and it should pop up, and you can select it.
Select the button to create it, and you are done.
THAT’S IT!
The Missionary Meals Manager
Whoever manages the missionary meals now has access to input data. For example, if the Smith’s sign up on April 17 for a dinner at 5:30 pm, the Manager can fill out the form and add the information to the Missionary Meals Calendar. Anyone in the ward can view the calendar, determine when the missionaries need to be fed and contact the manager to sign up for their preferred date.
The missionaries will also have access to the calendar and be able to determine when they are getting fed, when they are being fed, where they are being fed and by whom.
Simple!
So, Why Do We Stick With the Sign-up Sheets?
So, if it is so simple and straightforward, why hasn’t anything been done yet for creating a Missionary Meals Calendar? Well, I have a couple of theories.
Theories:
Simple!
So, Why Do We Stick With the Sign-up Sheets?
So, if it is so simple and straightforward, why hasn’t anything been done yet for creating a Missionary Meals Calendar? Well, I have a couple of theories.
Theories:
- Nobody in leadership knows how to properly use the Church’s calendaring system.
- Nobody reads the instructions for how to properly use the Church’s calendaring system.
- Nobody reads the instructions for how to properly use the Church’s calendaring system, because they don’t know where to find the instructions.
- Nobody would read the instructions if they knew where they were because almost nobody follows instructions anyway. They just “wing it.”
- Nobody spends much of their time winging it because they are too busy planning social activities that almost nobody attends.
- Nobody really cares about using the calendaring system properly.
- Nobody really cares that missionaries starve.
What Additional Barriers?
As I’ve pushed for this over the years, I’ve encountered some weird resistance from a variety of leaders and members. I’ll try to describe them and explain why it is unwarranted.
1. Inaccurate Views of the Calendaring System
This is a big one. I happened to overhear a local leader make a reference to the “LCR Calendar.” I cringed when I heard that. If that is how they view it, it explains a lot.
As I’ve pushed for this over the years, I’ve encountered some weird resistance from a variety of leaders and members. I’ll try to describe them and explain why it is unwarranted.
1. Inaccurate Views of the Calendaring System
This is a big one. I happened to overhear a local leader make a reference to the “LCR Calendar.” I cringed when I heard that. If that is how they view it, it explains a lot.
(LCR is an acronym for Leader-Clerk Resources. This is almost the exclusive domain of priesthood leadership. It's where personal, private, and administrative information is kept. Access should remain confidential and limited.)
I’ve got news for you gentlemen, the Calendaring system is NOT part of the LCR! Some information from the LCR is pushed onto the Calendaring system, but it isn’t part of it.
Giving people access to the calendaring system DOES NOT GIVE THEM ANY ACCESS TO THE LCR!
I’ve worked as a Ward Website Administrator. I’ve created calendars, I’ve added other administrators, deleted administrators, designated calendar editors, entered information, given people access, and every other task associated with calendaring, and I’ve NEVER had access to the LCR.
2. Concerns About Learning the System
This is a perennial problem with just about everything, isn’t it? People think it is complicated or difficult to learn and administer.
When I sent an email to the stake asking them to make a change to reflect reality on the calendaring system, a good friend and assistant stake clerk responded to me that he had done it, by following my instructions. He said, and I quote, “Krista, it was ridiculously easy!”
It is ridiculously easy. People are resisting for no good reason. Granted, best practices take some thought, but manipulating the calendaring tools is easy.
3. Myth: It Needs to Be Done by Leadership!
Really?!? Does leadership currently manage the missionary meals calendar, send it around, ask people to feed them, notify the missionaries about who is feeding them, or anything else associated with administering missionary meals?
The Church has set up the calendaring system to free up leadership from doing much of anything associated with it. There are so many things that only they can do. Let the rest of us manage the calendaring as well as missionary meals.
Whoever manages the Missionary Meals Calendar as a Calendar Editor wouldn’t have access to any of the other calendars in the calendaring system, just that specific one. That’s the beauty of it.
I’ve got news for you gentlemen, the Calendaring system is NOT part of the LCR! Some information from the LCR is pushed onto the Calendaring system, but it isn’t part of it.
Giving people access to the calendaring system DOES NOT GIVE THEM ANY ACCESS TO THE LCR!
I’ve worked as a Ward Website Administrator. I’ve created calendars, I’ve added other administrators, deleted administrators, designated calendar editors, entered information, given people access, and every other task associated with calendaring, and I’ve NEVER had access to the LCR.
2. Concerns About Learning the System
This is a perennial problem with just about everything, isn’t it? People think it is complicated or difficult to learn and administer.
When I sent an email to the stake asking them to make a change to reflect reality on the calendaring system, a good friend and assistant stake clerk responded to me that he had done it, by following my instructions. He said, and I quote, “Krista, it was ridiculously easy!”
It is ridiculously easy. People are resisting for no good reason. Granted, best practices take some thought, but manipulating the calendaring tools is easy.
3. Myth: It Needs to Be Done by Leadership!
Really?!? Does leadership currently manage the missionary meals calendar, send it around, ask people to feed them, notify the missionaries about who is feeding them, or anything else associated with administering missionary meals?
The Church has set up the calendaring system to free up leadership from doing much of anything associated with it. There are so many things that only they can do. Let the rest of us manage the calendaring as well as missionary meals.
Whoever manages the Missionary Meals Calendar as a Calendar Editor wouldn’t have access to any of the other calendars in the calendaring system, just that specific one. That’s the beauty of it.
When I trained one Ward Clerk on the Church's calendaring system, he remarked, "On the Calendaring system, you aren't dealing with confidential information. This is all public information."
It's all public information that gets shared verbally, personally, in meetings, and in the bulletin.
4. Myth: In Order to Adminsiter the Calendar, You Need to Have a Calling
Local organizational leadership are default Calendar Editors. However, anybody can be a Calendar Editor, and any calendar a unit needs can be created. The Church says so!
For example, when I was a Ward Website Administrator, I created a Building Cleaning Calendar and designated the Ward Building Representatives as the Calendar Editors. Nothing could be simpler.
What are the Benefits of Using a Digital Missionary Meals Calendar?
The benefits could be enormous.
Conclusion
If you’ve got concerns or want to question me about other problems, please do so in the comments. I’ve been screaming about this for 20 years now, and I cannot fathom the resistance.
Note: I live out in the country, too far out to feed the missionaries. We give them gift cards.
4. Myth: In Order to Adminsiter the Calendar, You Need to Have a Calling
Local organizational leadership are default Calendar Editors. However, anybody can be a Calendar Editor, and any calendar a unit needs can be created. The Church says so!
For example, when I was a Ward Website Administrator, I created a Building Cleaning Calendar and designated the Ward Building Representatives as the Calendar Editors. Nothing could be simpler.
What are the Benefits of Using a Digital Missionary Meals Calendar?
The benefits could be enormous.
- The missionaries would always have a master list of their meal schedule.
- People who want to feed the missionaries would know when the openings are.
- People who never see the sign-up sheet could sign up to feed the missionaries.
- Missionaries wouldn’t starve when the sign-up wasn’t sent around.
- The digital calendar could be printed off on Sunday and still sent around during the second hour.
- Not sending around sign-up sheets could reduce distractions during the second hour.
- People would have a reason to visit the Church website and the calendar.
Conclusion
If you’ve got concerns or want to question me about other problems, please do so in the comments. I’ve been screaming about this for 20 years now, and I cannot fathom the resistance.
Note: I live out in the country, too far out to feed the missionaries. We give them gift cards.
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