InterConnections Tipsheet

There are mobile applications—or “mobile apps”—for a wide range of uses today, from finding out what happened on this day in the Civil War to getting the scoop on when your subway train will actually arrive.

Now there’s an app coming for Unitarian Universalism, and you can help determine what it will do. The UUA will be developing a UU app this summer, and they’d like your suggestions on what it should be.

For ideas, go to the UUA Facebook page and read what others have proposed. Ideas have included using the app to make a weekly meditation available, find the nearest UU congregation while traveling, or to create a news feed for religious news. Not on Facebook? Submit your ideas through the UUA’s website.

Deadline for submissions is June 15. Once the ideas are winnowed, UUs will have an opportunity to indicate their favorites.

The UUA blog New Media for Unitarian Universalists has an overview of the opportunities and challenges of using social media in congregations. Topics include building online relationships with those who visit your congregation, and sorting out when and why to use various new media, including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, podcasting, and YouTube.

The blog includes a video of a presentation by Shelby Meyerhoff, the UUA’s public witness specialist, to the Massachusetts Bay District’s 2010 Spring Conference on the topic of using social media.

The blog also has a Frequently Asked Questions section, one on “Getting Started” with new media, and separate sections on specific tools like Facebook and podcasts.

InterConnections is not the only source of useful information for lay leaders. Check out uuworld.org for articles about UUA changes and congregational activities. Sign up for a weekly email about new articles on uuworld.org.

• UUA moves pension fund The UUA decided to move its pension funds from Fidelity Investments to TIAA-CREF after Fidelity refuses to divest from companies doing business in the Sudan (thus contributing to the genocide there). The change will have no effect on congregational pension plans. 5.24.10

• Congregations embrace social media Twitter, Facebook, Meetup, and blogs help to spread Unitarian Universalism. 5.15.10

• UUA restructures staff Reduced funding inspires more effective ways of doing ministry, including focusing social justice work at the congregational level. 5.17.10

• UUA moving toward changes See what changes the UUA has in mind for the election of its president and moderator, reducing the size of the UUA board, and altering General Assembly. 5.15.10

• Read UU World’s comprehensive coverage of General Assembly 2010, June 23–27, on UU World’s GA blog and at uuworld.org.

Looking to improve your congregational website? Check out Faith and Web, the blog of Anna Belle Leiserson of the First UU Church of Nashville, Tenn. She is a professional web coordinator and says she is committed to “web standards, accessibility, handsome design, elegant code, and deep dark chocolate.”

She writes about all types of web issues. A recent article explains how to “Launch a Church Email Newsletter in 9 Simple Steps.” Other articles: “Top 10 Tips for Church Blogging,” “Content Audits Are a Beautiful Thing,” and “Finding Stock Art for Your Website.”

The Rev. Christine Robinson, senior minister at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, N.Mex., has written on her blog, iMinister, and on her Facebook page about the ways that Facebook can be useful to ministers. Lay leaders will also find the information helpful.

She notes that “friending” one’s minister on Facebook is different from being a friend of the minister. “Facebook friendship is to real friendship what coffee hour is to an encounter group. Facebook is a way of keeping in touch, briefly and pleasantly, with aspects of people’s lives in one sentence, one picture, one ‘read this that I’ve linked to’ bites.”

Robinson also explains ways ministers (and by extension lay people) can keep Facebook from becoming a “time sink,” including “hiding” people who continually post trivia. One can also click “like” to acknowledge a post, rather than writing a response.

She notes: “Like all new technologies, Facebook has a learning curve. This one is a little less user-friendly to newbies than, say, Google products are. Be patient with yourself, and ask questions of your Facebook friends. After you’ve learned, Facebook is much more manageable and much more fun than email.”

Beyond Robinson’s comments, it is worth noting that lay leaders can use Facebook to maintain relationships with other lay leaders and leaders in other congregations. And since many congregations have Facebook “fan” pages, one can become a fan of other churches and learn about their programs and practices. Facebook can also be a tool to expose nonchurch friends to Unitarian Universalism in a nonthreatening way.

To find InterConnections on Facebook visit facebook.com/InterConnections.

Update: The Rev. Cynthia Landrum offers advice on her blog, Rev. Cyn, about the value in creating different “friend groups” on Facebook (and how to do this) to separate people from the various parts of life––work, church, high school, etc. (3.31.10)

InterConnections now has a Facebook page to make it as easy as possible for leaders of congregations to keep up with the latest in useful information about congregational topics, including membership, stewardship, and administration.

Facebook is a place to not only read about new InterConnections articles and blog posts, but to comment on them. We also welcome suggestions for articles. In the short time InterConnections has been on Facebook, hundreds of people have already become “fans,” and we’re hearing some great feedback. So if you or your congregation is on Facebook, why not become a fan of InterConnections?