Loose Change

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Geraint Harries, a technology specialist for St. John the Evangelist in Lancashire, that, if his parish first steps with Social Media , it is not quite correct.

"at first we didn't really know what Social Media means for The Church and fell into The Trap of just chasing The Number of likes and followers on our Facebook page," he says.

But when a member of the community credited the Facebook page for their decision to return to The Church , then he felt the strategy had begun to work.

Weekly posts on the Social Media side of The Church , the question is simply "How can we pray For You today?" in resonance with The Woman going through a divorce Last Christmas .

"it can Sometimes be daunting, In Person to the service, so that the connection online is more anonymous, it is easier to take the first step in The Building that is happening here," he adds.

more and more People through the door is a challenge for The Church of England.

His own figures show that the attendance at the services has gradually a decrease of between 10% and 20% between 2007 and 2017.

However, while physical presence has decreased, digital efforts seem to gain traction.

According to The Church data, monthly reach on Social Media has doubled from 1. 2 million in 2017 to 2. 44 million in 2018.

in the context of the Digital Labs program, More Than 2,000 C and E parishes, the meetings attended, across the country, as from 2018, the advice you get on Facebook, Instagram, SEO and the exchange of best practice.

Mr Harries to be running a blog to write master-classes. "The attendance at our Sunday service went from 15 to 80 in The Last couple of years, and we are the fastest growing in the diocese of Blackburn and a part of a strong digital presence," he says.

"it's remember, However, important that there is a shop window for their Church, And Then it goes down to The Church , whether People should stay and remain engaged, which is why we are always on the search for how we can improve. "

High up on his agenda and the plans to extend the opening Hours and tech are helping the challenge.

Many of the rural churches are closed outside of scheduled services to deter vandalism and crime.

thanks to an infrared digital tracker, Revesby St Lawrence, Lincolnshire discovered that hundreds of People were to find on arrival at The Venue , only to shut it down. In response, The Church , its opening Hours revised.

Churchwarden Robert Allen says, to visit as many of the People outside of the main services

At St Mary's in Chartham, Kent, is the provision of a high quality CCTV system, The Building can be left open.

"Some of the old guard were concerned about theft, but we were intended to be open and accessible to the whole community," says churchwarden Robert Allen .

"I spoke with a woman whose grandson was gravely ill and had come to pray, a week in the afternoon.

"you said that you don't want to attend services but would like to, on their own, when it was quiet, the would not have been possible before. Many People come here outside the main services, just to think. "

- specialist software

For the time, the camera also serves as a makeshift attendance monitor, while the parish applies to a digital counter to keep track of the Assembly growth.

visiting an influence on the amount of income a parish, the diocese pays, known as the parish Share, so keep an eye on the numbers is imperative, says Robert.

"If you don't have to pay, to Divide the parish, you do not get a priest, it is just like that. The amount covers all the clergy expenses, salaries and pensions. "

It explains why a growing number of churches are using special software. Church Suite is a cloud-based Church management system, which is currently around 1,800 churches of all sizes and denominations.

Apart from the message of the figures, Managing Director Gavin Courtney claims the tool to drive engagement with members whose commitment may vary, although, he adds, the use of the technology in this property, sit uneasy with some of the traditionalists can.

"There is a presumption; if the pastor does not mean that a particular member was the Assembly about as much as usual, check the figures, it is confirmed at Church Suite, and if, to reach this person.

"There are some who believe that the clergy should only be in the position, whether someone is drifting away from The Church , and it is really more of a pastoral Problem, but in larger organizations, this may not always be possible. "

During the British municipalities, the drawn-out US-American market. when you use this type of software, Mr Courtney statutory requirements such as the data protection cited regulation (GDPR), with priority being given to data management to an increase in the use of

more and more, the technology is sort used, to you can manage to arrange all aspects of parish life, including the Organisation of the rota for the flowers (an "historical Chaos" to, manually, says Mr. Courtney ), planning in the register of voters and handling the finances.

"There are even more online, to deal, and gift-aid claims the way in the use of data with now, and more to come how much income that was never really the case," added Mr Courtney .

Digital collections: The Reverend Margaret cave, in the parish of contactless tried to give

in fact, The Reverend 's plate Margaret cave of Christchurch, East Greenwich has seen first-hand how more flexibility in terms of payment has left your Church, you have to rely less on People with "Loose Change ", after you tested a non-contact collection.

"Where we traditionally make a donation only over the velvet collection bag, we now have a contactless card reader, as well as what increases has to use," she says, although she doesn't want to, drawn to numbers.

"In fact, because my parish priest is leaving, we provide The Card reader with multiple donation options The Other day and ended up raising £200 for his gift of the municipality, the your Apple pay the watch to. "

"of course, there are some members who prefer to stay with cash, but there was no resistance. It is so important for the churches to embrace technology, as it speaks of how we are a Church for the 21St Century , People . "

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Source of news: bbc.com