The Glen Waverley Uniting Church PSALTER
Communications Committee Minutes
Glen Waverley Uniting Church is a faithful, Christ-centred community that meets God and shares that unconditional love: [email protected]
Monday, 7 July 2014, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, Room 2
1. Sharing Time
John Snare based on Psalm 119:105-112 - Light from the Law of the Lord
John Hurst will lead sharing time in August.
Ken Coutts will lead sharing time in September.
2. Attendance and Apologies
Attendance: Lesley Armstrong, Jan Clear, Ken Coutts, Vida Foo, John Snare, Jit Tan
Apologies: Aaron Blakemore, John Hurst
3. Confirmation of the agenda
The agenda was confirmed as circulated, with a report of a meeting with leaders from the GO Evangelical Church under ‘other business’.
4. Matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting
Minutes of the previous meeting are at http://wiki.gwuc.org.au/gwuc/CommunicationsMinutes20140602
5. The GWUC Web Site
Report from Aaron:
"All committee members can now view the site at: http://new.gwuc.org.au/
On my end I still need to get the Bulletin downloads working smoothly and upload some news items to make it look a little less scarce. I also need to select an image for the front page.
All content has been provided now.
And finally I am still waiting on Russell to get the podcasts working smoothly."
Discussion:
Following the meeting with the Go Evangelical Church who hire our church, the idea has arisen of finding a place on the website to list the hirers of our church and contact details for hirer. One possible option would be to add a page linked to an extra item in the menu under ‘About’.
To limit the maintenance overhead, this will be s simple list of name of hirer and contact details. Contact details can be whatever the hirer wants (e.g. name and phone number, email address, web site address or combination of these).
Follow up: John Snare (done)
6. Communicating the Code of Conduct
The pages concerning guidelines and policy for email and social media have been updated to show how they relate to the Code of Conduct, as has the relevant preamble on the Communications Top Page (in the relevant places below the meeting information table).
At the time of the meeting, the Code of Conduct was still being considered by Church Council so the matter of communicating it was deferred until the next meeting.
There was some discussion of how people who are hurt by violations should be dealt with - whom do people turn to if they feel bullied/insulted that will lead to some action? It was noted that this is not the responsibility of the Communications Committee, but John Snare will discuss with the chair of Church Council.
Subsequent to the meeting advice has been received that the revised Code of Conduct has been approved by Church Council. On the matter of how Church Council intend on handling breaches of this code, the following response is suggested.
“Transformation happens from within oneself. We are challenged as Christians to respond in love and set an example that lines up with the lead that Jesus enacted.”
Follow up: Next meeting
7. Code of Conduct for using the PSALTER wiki
See draft PsalterPolicy
The draft is as follows. It will be discussed at the next meeting.
Psalter Wiki Policy
The policy for the use of the Psalter wiki explains the application of Code of Conduct for members of the Glen Waverley Uniting Church congregation to the use of the Psalter wiki.
The Glen Waverley Uniting Church congregation acknowledges the importance of good communication and will:
- communicate courteously, openly and honestly;
- listen with understanding
- refrain from communicating in a offensive, abusive, intimidating, sarcastic or patronising manner.
Scope
This policy applies to all members of the Glen Waverley Uniting Church congregation.
Objective
To ensure that information and commentary on the Psalter wiki is responsible, respectful and lawful.
Psalter wiki Guidelines
Content
You are encouraged to correct or add to editable pages that contain information.
You are encouraged to express different points of view in discussion pages. New areas for discussion can be created by contacting [email protected] .
Protect your own privacy
Be mindful of posting information that you would not want the public to see. While the Psalter wiki is primarily intended for use within the Glen Waverley Uniting Church congregation, some content is publically visible. Advice is available on how to control access (from the wikimasters).
Respect Confidentiality
It is perfectly acceptable to publish factual information or opinions. However be careful not to publish confidential information. You must take proper care not to purposefully or inadvertently disclose any information that has been provided to you in confidence, or that may affect the privacy of other people. If you are unsure about the confidentiality of any information, consult the Communications Committee before publishing on the Psalter wiki.
Respect your audience
When engaging in discussions on the Psalter wiki, don't be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory. If you are unsure, consult the Communications Committee before publishing on the Psalter wiki.
Respect copyright laws
It is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use or fair dealing of copyrighted material owned by others, including the Assembly’s Synod’s and GWUC’s own copyrights and brands. You should always attribute quotes or work to the original author/source. It is good general practice to link to others' work rather than reproduce it. If you are unsure, consult the Communications Committee before publishing on the Psalter wiki.
Be Honest
Do not use pseudonyms or false screen names. We believe in transparency and honesty. Use your real name; be clear who you are when engaging in discussion. Remember that the Psalter wiki keeps a record of who has created or edited content. Do not say anything that is dishonest, untrue, or misleading. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, point it out.
8. Seniors' week promotion
The following request was received from Alison Clarkson.
"On Sunday 26 October the Senior Service at 2.30pm will be advertised as a special event in the Monash PALS calendar for Seniors’ Week. I would hope that we may attract visitors from the community as well as or own congregation. The service will be a celebration of God’s creation through poetry, readings and special music, followed by afternoon tea. I would like to have a display - posters, leaflets, photos, etc - showing the activities we provide at GWUC for seniors. I am letting you know about this before I go away for 2 months to give you plenty of time to think about it and to plan. I don’t expect the display to be huge, but it is an opportunity to reach out to the community."
It was agreed that this is an excellent outreach opportunity and the request for a display is approved. In addition to the requested display, notices/posters in the door notice boards may be valuable. It may also be useful to use the video display above the office door. (This needs to be prepared and then converted and made into a DVD that can be played on the DVD player in the office. John Snare can help convert materials to a DVD.) The service can also be advertised the week before in the front notice board.
Follow up: Jan Clear, because she and Elwyn are covering Alison’s work while she is away.
9. The PSALTER
Not discussed.
10. The GWUC Facebook Site
Not discussed.
11. Next meeting
Monday August 4th, 7:30pm, Room 2. Sharing Time – John Hurst
12. Other Business
Meeting with Go Evangelical Church
For information.
Late in 2013, we received a request for signage concerning worship in our church by the GO Evangelical Church. This is a delicate decision because we don’t want to create a precedent that could apply to all regular hirers of our church premises and we don’t want to create the misleading impression that the GO Evangelical Church is affiliated with the Uniting Church.
As previously resolved by the Communications Committee:
"The majority of the Communications Committee was of the view that, for these reasons, a notice as requested on the front notice board is not appropriate. However, the requested notice could be placed on outside door notice boards - perhaps with the TLA expanded to read ‘GO Evangelical Church Chinese Service - Saturdays 7:00pm’.
However, there was a minority view that because the notice is about worship, a notice on the front notice board could be OK provided that it was clear that it is the GO Evangelical Church and not the Uniting Church. The above wording could be OK.
This decision was referred to the Church Council. As a follow up, a meeting was held on Wednesday July 2nd with representatives of the GO Evangelical Church and Warren Greenwood, Neil Peters, and Lesley Armstrong .
At this meeting, the multicultural activities of each church were explained.
The Glen Waverley Uniting Church representatives noted that at present our four playgroups have about 10 families from Korea, all from Seoul. We have five families from India, one from Sri Lanka, one from Singapore, one from the US, two from England, one from Malaysia, one from Hong Kong, one from Thailand and about 50 families from China. Recently we have also had families from South Africa and Indonesia. Only five families are members of GWUC.
The GO Evangelical Church representatives were pleased that we were so willing to meet with them, and it was agreed to seek opportunities for more interaction between the two worshipping communities. They were happy to accept the signage proposal, and it was suggested that this be augmented with a ‘sandwich board’ sign place on the lawn in front of the entrance just before and during GO worship. We will also see if we can find a place on our web site to indicate that they worship in our buildings (see earlier discussion of the new web site).
Advice on Campaigns for Mission Group Leaders
The following information might be helpful for mission group leaders and others with a need to promote events.
"To engage members of the congregation in special activities, the Communications Committee recommends the following as a starting point for a campaign.
1. Six to eight weeks before the event, prepare a paragraph or two for inclusion in the monthly bulletin with information about the event. The idea is for the item to be included in the bulletin for the month in which the event occurs.
2. Three weeks before the event, include information on the relevant notice board.
3. Three weeks before the event, by the end of Thursday at the latest, discuss the need for notices during worship in the weeks leading up to the event with the ministerial team. It is best if notices during worship are backed up by having a manned table in the foyer after the service to allow follow-up by those interested (before they forget).
4. Three weeks before the event, seek agreement from the Communications Committee and Property Committee to have a manned table, optionally with a poster board behind it, before/between/after services to get people to sign up /buy tickets etc.
5. Consider preparation and display of video promotional material on the screen above the office door before and after worship. (Material for this display must be recorded onto a DVD that can be played on the DVD player in the office. John Snare can assist in preparing DVDs from information in other formats.)
6. Ten days before the event, discuss with the office placing notices in the door entrance notice boards.
7. Ten days before the event, discuss with the office inclusion of information about the event in the weekly bulletin for the week in which the event occurs."
Follow up: 1. Members of the Communications Committee to check and improve this advice. 2. John Snare to pass on to mission group leaders.
13. Closure
No later than 9:00pm