Mary Queen of Peace (MQP) Catholic Church Communications Policy
General Communications Policy:
This policy is intended to address written, electronic and “live” communications to the Mary Queen of Peace Parish Community. It includes, but is not limited to: Parish Bulletin, Flyers, Parish Website, Facebook, Twitter, Email and speakers or groups who would like to present programs or material to the parish at large or individual groups within the community.
All requests for communication of information to MQP Parishioners should be presented to the Parish Office which will determine feasibility, verify publication date, and address other considerations (i.e. coordination with other individuals or groups, availability of resources, etc.).
Bulletin Policy and Procedure:
The weekly bulletin at MQP is for parishioners and is used to effectively and efficiently communicate to our parish family what is happening within our parish, our school, our community and Diocese.
All bulletin articles are due to the Parish Office by noon on the Tuesday prior to the publication date. The timeframe for bulletin submissions is necessary to meet the printing and shipping deadlines set forth by the printer. Preference will be given to liturgical, sacramental, formational, and parish/school items, programs, and events. Some holidays may affect this deadline, check with the parish office to determine print schedule.
General Procedures:
Any group wanting to use the Weekly Bulletin should consider this part of their overall communications plan.
- Write articles in the third-person voice (i.e., do not use I, me, us, we, or you, etc.).
- Submit articles via email using Microsoft Word or a compatible word processor.
- Be sure to include the: Who, What, When, Where, How and Why
- Spell-check and grammar-check articles prior to submission.
- Follow publication schedule deadlines when submitting articles.
- Be aware that all articles are subject to editing by the parish office.
- Any item that is in question will be reviewed by the parish office and returned to the sender for editing.
- The parish will not promote or otherwise advertise groups or agencies unless specifically approved by the Parish Office. Groups and agencies that are not current advertisers of Mary Queen of Peace will not be included in the bulletin or on the website. The Parish reserves the right to publish only items that will support and express our Catholic beliefs.
Distribution of Parishioner lists and contact information:
The pastor and parish staff have access to contact information as submitted as part of the Parish Registration process including, but not limited to address, phone numbers and email addresses. The confidentiality of this information should be maintained and should never be disseminated to any outside source or vendor without authorization of the Pastor.
Select Parish staff has access to the database and can generate lists of parishioners according to defined criteria such as ministry, group member, date became a member, etc.
Mailings and emails:
Mailings to parishioners are to be done at the discretion of the Pastor and coordinated with the Parish office.
- Occasional use of “Email blasts” to send a specific communication to all parishioners will be at the Pastor’s discretion.
- Email lists and groups created by MQP Ministries, (i.e. Faith Formation, Adorers, Liturgical Ministers etc.) need to protect the privacy of volunteers. The list should not be shared with outside agencies or people.
Websites:
The MQP websites provide information about worship opportunities, parish ministries, and activities of both the church and school. The websites are regularly updated by the Parish Office.
Information for the website may be submitted by the Pastor, Parish staff and/or Ministry leaders.
- To submit information: Information should be submitted electronically and emailed to the Parish Office at parishoffice@mqpcatholic.org.
- For event posting: Required information includes the name of the event, date of the event, where the event is being held, who is it intended for and how to register for the event. Submission can be completed electronically and emailing it to the at parishoffice@mqpcatholic.org. Your event cannot be posted without complete information.
- All council and committee agendas and minutes should be posted to the website – please submit items by email to the parishoffice@mqpcatholic.org.
Content of the site must be approved by the Parish Office under the supervision of the Pastor. Links to websites other then the Official MQP websites must post a disclaimer stating that the viewed site is not an official website of MQP.
Entrance/Exit Literature holders:
- Submit requests for any information that you would like placed in the literature holders at the back of both churches. Space is limited.
Social media:
- Content needs to be submitted by email to parishoffice@mqpcatholic.org. If email is unavailable, please drop off pertinent information to the Parish Office. Information is posted and updated by the Parish Office as time allows.
The above policies should be reviewed a minimum of once a year and updated as necessary by the Parish Office. Changes and updates to be approval by the Pastor and presented to the Parish Council.
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